HHN is an online directory, network, and online events calendar for leaders working to protect their communities and environment from the harms of oil & gas industry. Join for updates, to hear about our webinars series, and updates to the network.
Stop Bad Data Centers (Issue #13)
|
Hi Reader, A new EPA-proposed a rule change would allow state environmental agencies to eliminate public participation on most air permits for data centers. The majority of data center air permits cover diesel backup generators and on-site turbines. They are classified as “minor” sources of pollution because they don’t emit 250 tons per year or more of any single regulated pollutant. Right now, federal rules guarantee notice that a permit is coming, and a 30-day window to comment. EPA is proposing to drop those requirements, leaving the permitting process up to each state. This change would be a boon to data center developers. First and foremost, public comment periods are usually the first way that residents hear about a proposed project. Without that, it’s likely that more data centers will get built in secret, giving communities less time to respond in the early stages. You can read all the details about the minor source pollution loophole in this excellent article from Evan Simon at Floodlight. The good news: this is still a proposal, and the public record is open. Comments are due this week on Friday, August 21 at 11:59 p.m. ET. If you want help drafting or submitting a comment, **join our comment party TONIGHT.** Or if you can’t make it, hit reply to this email and we’ll be happy to lend a hand. Keep reading for more ways to take action this week, plus resources to support your community in the fight against data centers. Click here to view this email in your browser. This bi-weekly newsletter is a new project from Halt the Harm Network. For more regular updates and meetups on data center organizing, request access to the Stop Bad Data Centers group inside the HHN community space. What We're Following Is AI actually bad for the economy?The overwhelming narrative from industry and politicians is that AI is fueling economic growth. But there’s another way to look at Big Tech’s impact on the economy. A New York Times guest essay by Jennifer Harris, a former Biden White House economic official, argues that AI buildout may actually be hollowing out the economy by driving inflation and sucking up investment capital that could instead fund manufacturing, housing, and other growing sectors. For historical context, Harris compares AI to the railroad and dot-com eras, arguing in favor of macroeconomic and policy interventions that could interrupt the boom-bust cycle. (By the way, we usually try to avoid sharing paywalled articles, but this one is really worth the read if you have NYT access). New Resource: A shareable infographic on data center risksThe Environmental Health Project has a new seven-page infographic covering air pollution, noise, light pollution, rising costs for residents, water use, and climate change. Each page stands on its own, so you can screenshot one to share or hand it out at a meeting. Plus, every page links to the peer-reviewed research behind it. Big Tech has a PR playbookTech Policy Press mapped the tactics that industry uses to get ahead of local opposition. Most of it will look familiar to anyone who has organized against fossil fuel infrastructure: look-alike nonprofit front groups, AI super PACs, paid influencers and sockpuppet accounts, and “community forums” that replace on-the-record public hearings. None of it is improvised. It’s a playbook, which means it’s predictable. Naming these tactics out loud, in front of your neighbors and your commissioners, is one way to push back. Upcoming Events TONIGHT! EPA Comment PartyThe EPA is proposing to eliminate minimum federal public participation requirements for many "minor source" air pollution permits, the very permits often used for diesel backup generators at data centers. If adopted, communities could lose guaranteed notice and the opportunity to comment before new pollution sources are approved. Join us for a Comment Party designed to help you learn about the proposed rule and submit your comments before the August 21 deadline. Our host Malachi Key (Air Alliance Houston) will present on the proposed change and why it matters to communities facing data center development. The rest of our time will be spent writing and submitting our comments, with staff on hand to provide technical assistance and review. What Do AI and Tech Have to Do With Data Centers?The connection between AI and data centers is key to understanding why these projects are being built so quickly and with such damaging impacts on people and the planet. That's what we'll cover in this interactive workshop, presented by MediaJustice. Political Education Specialist Christine Peng will lead a presentation followed by a Q & A session. You Passed a Data Center Moratorium. Now What?Hundreds of communities across the US have passed or are considering data center moratoriums. But once that pause is in place, what happens next? This workshop explores the policy tools and organizing strategies to build lasting protections, so moratoriums build momentum rather than cementing the status quo. We will feature case studies from local organizers, review policy approaches, highlight strategies to counter industry retaliation, and hold breakout discussions for participants to workshop their specific challenges and questions. Event Recap All event replays can be found in the Recordings Space in the HHN Network. Public Utility Commissions 101As data centers place growing demands on our electric grid, many of the biggest decisions about who pays for new infrastructure, how much energy is needed, where new transmission lines are built, and how utilities plan for future growth happen before state Public Utility Commissions (PUCs). Yet for many community advocates, the utility regulatory process can feel confusing, technical, and out of reach. In this webinar, Tanya Paslawski, Founder and Principal of Elevated Engagement and Executive Director of the Community Energy Engagement Network, demystefies the role of Public Utility Commissions and explain how data center development is increasingly shaping utility decisions. Fracking Fuels Data Centers: Protective Buffers Make Communities SaferLearn how the data center build-out proposed for Pennsylvania will be fueled by more fracking and additional gas power plants, and how you can be part of an important effort that seeks more protections for communities. Closing Comment A lot of the decisions shaping data center buildout happen before a project is visible to most people. Communities shouldn’t have to fight for basic information or wait until a project is nearly approved to have a say. That’s why keeping the mandatory public comment period for minor source pollution is such a big deal. If you’re dealing with minor source pollution permitting and need some help, we’ve got your back. Just hit reply and let us know what’s happening. More soon, Elissa |
Halt the Harm Network
HHN is an online directory, network, and online events calendar for leaders working to protect their communities and environment from the harms of oil & gas industry. Join for updates, to hear about our webinars series, and updates to the network.
Hi Reader, A few days ago I posted a request in the network for photos or examples of clever messaging that communities are using to organize against data centers and got a couple entertaining replies. Thanks to Lynn Handlin for sharing this photo of the World on Fire Department Fire Truck wearing a data center “costume.” We are told that the outfit is complete with annoying sound effects. The truck was accompanied by ERpdx’s theater troop, Zany Bits, also dressed as data centers. 😜 I also...
Hi Reader, This month, we’re celebrating the hard work of leaders in Louisiana: after more than four years of community opposition, a proposed blue hydrogen and ammonia complex with carbon capture in the River Parishes has been cancelled. Carbon capture is a process that uses large, complex industrial equipment to capture some of the carbon dioxide from an industrial source, then move it by pipeline for storage underground. It’s often marketed as a climate fix, but can actually cause a host...
Hi Reader, I’ve been thinking a lot about farming these past couple weeks. The more we look at where data center projects are going, the harder it is to separate the build-out from a much longer history of extraction from rural places. That history begins with plantations. Plantation agriculture turned huge swaths of land toward the production of commodities and wealth for distant markets, relying on enslaved labor and extracting tremendous value from the land. After slavery was abolished,...