紐時賞析／蓋資料中心公眾意見將受限

EPA Moves to Curb Public Input on Data Centers

蓋資料中心公眾意見將受限

The Trump administration is moving to make it harder for communities to weigh in on proposed data centers, even as a backlash against the behemoth projects grows across the country.

川普政府正採取行動，讓社區更難就擬議的資料中心表達意見，即使全美對這些巨型專案的反彈日益高漲。

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate a federal requirement that states publicize and solicit public input on applications for air pollution permits for a range of industrial facilities, including new data centers and the power plants needed to run them.

環保署計畫取消一項聯邦規定，即各州須公布並徵求公眾意見的空氣汙染許可申請範圍，涵蓋一系列工業設施，包括新資料中心及其供應電力所需的發電廠。

The move could prevent residents from raising concerns about — or even learning about — data centers before permits are approved and construction starts.

此舉可能使居民在許可核准、動工之前，無法對資料中心提出疑慮，甚至根本無從得知。

Nearly 200 advocacy groups and more than a dozen states have voiced opposition to the change, making it the latest flashpoint in the national debate over the data centers powering the artificial intelligence boom.

近200個倡議團體與10多個州已表達反對，使此案成為驅動AI熱潮的資料中心的全國辯論之最新引爆點。

“People need to have a chance to have a say before they see bulldozers,” said Keri Powell, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, a nonprofit legal advocacy group.

非營利法律倡議組織南方環境法律中心資深律師凱莉・鮑爾說：「人們需要在看到推土機前有機會發聲。」

Tech companies are increasingly building their own gas-burning power plants to fuel energy-hungry data centers, sometimes in response to pressure to keep the facilities from raising electricity costs.

科技公司日益自行興建燃氣發電廠，為耗電量大的資料中心供電，有時是為因應壓力，避免設施推高電價。

But gas plants can release greenhouse gases that are driving climate change as well as harmful pollutants like particulate matter and nitrogen oxides, which can contribute to asthma, heart disease and other ailments in people living nearby. In some states, the permitting process is the only time the public is notified about plans for the plants.

但燃氣電廠會排放推動氣候變遷的溫室氣體，以及懸浮微粒、氮氧化物等有害汙染物，恐導致附近居民罹患氣喘、心臟病等疾病。在某些州，許可程序是公眾唯一得知電廠計畫的時機。

Carolyn Holran, an EPA spokesperson, said in an email that the proposal would “provide the state and local agencies most familiar with local issues the discretion to determine whether, when, and for how long to provide opportunities for public participation.”

環保署發言人卡洛琳・霍蘭在電郵中說明，提案的目的，就是讓最了解地方狀況的州與地方機關，自行決定要不要開放公眾參與，以及開放多久。

Holran said the move was intended to “responsibly speed up permitting, supporting American economic development and energy dominance. Our proposal does not alter emission standards or weaken environmental protections.”

她說此舉旨在「負責任地加快許可審查，支持美國經濟發展與能源主導地位。我們的提案不會改變排放標準，也不會削弱環境保護」。

The EPA has proposed another sweeping change that would let developers start building data centers before their permits are approved. And it has exempted the gas plants that fuel many data centers from limits on pollutants that cause acid rain.

環保署另提出一項變革，允許開發者在許可核准前就開始建資料中心，並豁免為資料中心供電的燃氣電廠，使其不受造成酸雨的汙染物限制。

文／Maxine Joselow，譯／國際中心