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Aug 28 14:13 UTC

EPA says power for data centers can sidestep pollution laws (epa.gov)

73 points|by Levitating||29 comments|Read full story on epa.gov

Comments (29)

26 shown
  1. 1. Levitating||context
    Title is taken from the reuters coverage[1], but I used the link to the original epa.gov press release.

    [1]: https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/epa-says-power-data...

  2. 2. Zigurd||context
    About that P in your acronym...
  3. 3. blooalien||context
    > About that P in your acronym...

    For the next couple of years (at least) it stands for "Pollution" or "Poisoning".

  4. 4. 32ikU||context
    "privatization"
  5. 5. cestith||context
    The EPA as overseen by Donald J. Thatcher.
  6. 6. ethagnawl||context
    "Profit" or "Plunder" would seem to fit.
  7. 7. two_handfuls||context
    Surely this is going to cement the reputation of datacenters as a blight.
  8. 8. WarmWash||context
    Right, I can only imagine the most foolish DC operators are excited about this. Just more gas on the political fire, when DCs should be boring and out of public politics, even if they rank 15th for water consumption and 8th for energy consumption.
  9. 9. andsoitis||context
  10. 10. user00005||context
    Thank you. This seems like a pretty straight-forward clarification of current law. The current thread title (OP said taken from Reuters) saying this side-steps the law seems misleading.
  11. 11. londons_explore||context
    There are big benefits to having power generation grid connected.

    It is more reliable (due to many possible generation sources). It is more eco-friendly (solar in daytime, wind when the wind blows). It is more cost efficient (no need to overbuild for peak usage, generators don't sit idle when computers are off for maintenance).

    Yet our electricity grid has such a mass of regulations attached that people are choosing to lose these benefits - and with it we lose the benefit of them connecting to our grid.

  12. 12. dylan604||context
    That's partly a result of having 50 states writing laws for themselves instead having all statues living under federal laws for everything. The line between what is acceptable to be regulated by federal laws and what is not is something I, not being a lawyer, have never studied. Power and water type utilities does feel like it might be something that could benefit from same rules/regulations every where, but basing regulations on feelings is probably not the best bit of logic
  13. 13. tastyfreeze||context
    Hmm... rules for thee but not for me. Sounds like the beginning of the end for the EPA. Two tiered rules breed resentment. There are already plenty of people that don't like the EPA. Making exceptions just makes it easier to argue the EPA is useless or just a tool for oppressing the little guy.
  14. 14. dgellow||context
    It’s literally the playbook from project 2025. FWIW it’s not the beginning, that has been a process at play since day 1 of the 2nd trump admin

    Edit: actually since the 1st term as mentioned below

  15. 15. josefresco||context
    Clarification: During his first term, Donald Trump appointed former Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In his role as state attorney general, Pruitt had sued the EPA multiple times to challenge federal environmental regulations, including the Clean Power Plan and the Waters of the United States rule.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_policy_of_the_fi...

  16. 16. MisterTea||context
    > There are already plenty of people that don't like the EPA.

    Rich assholes who are upset they can't throw their trash on the ground. Anyone else is parroting propaganda generated by said rich assholes.

  17. 17. 0xy||context
    First they say data centers should pay their own way on power infrastructure, then when they start springing up entirely off-grid and fully self-funded power infrastructure, suddenly there's a new problem.

    The problem was never power or water (water being a known Chinese spy op after Karen Hao was caught exaggerating water usage by 1,000x in her book).

  18. 18. jordanb||context
    I'm trying to build a torment nexus and these negative ninnies complained that it used up all the electricity, so I made a machine that turns breathable air into toxic smoke to power the nexus and they don't like that ether!
  19. 19. triceratops||context
    You're saying multiple wrong ways to do a thing is evidence that the thing is undesirable?

    Why don't you want an auto repair shop in the house next door, and why won't you let them pour old engine oil on your lawn? Are you anti-car-repair? All your "noise and pollution" complaints sound like psy ops to me, paid for by the Chinese EV industry.

    ^ that's what you sound like.

  20. 20. zach_moore||context
    then whats the fucking point of the EPA
  21. 21. dylan604||context
    According to this administration, there isn't one. They have told us this for years, but I guess nobody believed them??? It just took someone willing to not give a damn about working with others and just forcing their will upon others. After all, the people elected them and they are just carrying through with their well advertised plans.
  22. 22. bix6||context
    How the fuck does anyone still support these world destroying assholes.
  23. 23. dylan604||context
    $$$ Hangers on looking to scoop up some of the loose change overflowing the rich asshole's pockets
  24. 24. nancyminusone||context
    They really accel at making people their supporters don't like angry.
  25. 25. wilburx3||context
    What a disgrace. Abysmal leadership in this country.
  26. 26. shimman||context
    This seems pretty inline with our leadership tho. This country has always put profits above people.