On December 11, 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Air and Radiation unveiled a new online resource hub designed to streamline Clean Air Act (“CAA”) compliance and permitting for artificial intelligence data centers. The Clean Air Act Resources for Data Centers webpage represents EPA’s direct response to President Trump’s January 23, 2025 Executive Order 14179, “Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence,” which directed federal agencies to expedite permitting and reduce regulatory barriers for qualifying AI infrastructure projects.

According to EPA’s press release, the new webpage will consolidate CAA-related resources into three primary sections:

Regulator Resources: This section will provide links to information on rules applicable to stationary combustion turbines and engines—common sources of primary and backup power for data centers—including New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs).

Air Permitting Resources: This section will house EPA guidance documents, historic permitting determination letters, and regulatory interpretations to help developers understand permitting requirements based on EPA’s past implementation of its statutory obligations.

Modeling Guidance: This section includes EPA’s Guideline on Air Quality Models and related technical resources for demonstrating compliance with CAA air quality standards, particularly under Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) programs.

Administrator Zeldin emphasized that many current CAA requirements affecting data center development date to the 1990s and have not been updated to reflect modern technology. According to EPA, the portal aims to provide transparency and clarity on existing regulations while the agency pursues formal rulemaking to streamline requirements.  EPA staff from the Office of Air and Radiation will be available for case-by-case consultation with permit reviewing authorities and individual sources.

Interestingly, this announcement comes on the heels of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s approval on party-line votes of a series of bills focused on easing CAA permitting for AI-data centers and energy projects associated with those facilities.  

We will continue to monitor and provide timely updates on AI-related regulatory developments at the Corporate Environmental Lawyer Blog.