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Stop Bad Data Centers

Exposing AI Data Center Threats and Harms

Gateway 6

Construction & Operational Permits

Permits give you leverage to demand data be collected and reported, and set penalties for noncompliance

Even after major approvals and financing are in place, data centers still need a cascade of individual permits to actually build and operate: building permits, electrical and mechanical permits, air quality permits for backup generators, stormwater management approvals, fire safety certifications, and more. Each permit has its own review process, inspections, and requirements that all create ongoing opportunities to intervene throughout construction and into operation. This is also the last chance to gather baseline data on expected impacts.

Permit processes offer multiple opportunities to secure protective conditions, identify code violations, demand enhanced monitoring, set penalties, and document non-compliance. Building inspectors, air quality officials, and fire marshals have specific technical mandates and often respond to well-documented concerns. If these conditions are violated during construction it can trigger stop-work orders, fines, and requirements for corrective action.

This stage matters because most permits require an opportunity for the public to submit comments that the agency must consider. While most agencies have to issue permits that meet the requirements of laws and regulations, it is an opportunity to share local information relevant to the kind of permit that the agency may not know, and get the word out about a project’s impacts to the community. The exact number and type of permits will vary for each data center depending on its location and design, but they almost always require public notices. Communities can establish systematic permit tracking, attend public hearings, file technical challenges to inadequate plans, and demand enforceable permit conditions with clear penalties. Creating ongoing monitoring networks that document violations in real-time has proven effective, especially when communities build relationships with enforcement officials who can act on violation reports. Developers want smooth approvals with minimal oversight, which means organized community monitoring can force accountability.

There will be a lot to keep track of; pick a checklist and modify it as you learn more about what permits your project has.

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Key Targets (Gatekeepers)

  • Building inspectors and code officials: Local officials enforcing construction codes and standards
  • Air quality permit officers: Regulators review site emissions and assess the impacts on local and regional air pollution
  • Water and stormwater management officials: Agencies managing runoff, erosion, and water quality
  • Fire marshals and emergency planners: Officials responsible for fire safety and emergency response
  • Occupational safety inspectors: OSHA and state safety officials monitoring workplace conditions

Possible Interventions

  • Monitor All Permit Applications: Track every building, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and specialized permit application to identify intervention opportunities. Check the legal notices in your local paper and town websites and request a public hearing.
  • Challenge Inadequate Plans: File technical critiques of construction plans showing insufficient noise control, emissions management, or safety measures
  • Demand Enforceable Conditions: Advocate for specific, measurable permit conditions with clear and preferably automatic enforcement mechanisms and penalties
  • File Complaints on Violations: Document and report all permit violations, safety issues, noise exceedances, and environmental infractions
  • Continuous Community Monitoring: Establish resident-led monitoring programs for noise, air quality, traffic, water pressure, water discharge quality, and other impacts and share your results with authorities and the community

Gateway Intervention

Campaign Playbook

Each campaign will have its own unique challenges and context. We are here to help talk through steps. The steps in this guide are informed by community victories so we aren’t reinventing the wheel. Contact us to talk about your campaign.

1. Monitor Permit Notices and Gather information:

Establish permit application tracking system. Create a network of community members to monitor and track permit applications across different agencies, boards, and commissions. Identify all relevant permitting authorities and processes. Engage technical experts for plan review. Check with historical societies for sites, buildings and burial grounds that should be protected and preserved and identify protected waters and species and who uses nearby land and water for hunting, fishing, farming, and gathering. Get info on height restrictions, noise ordinances, light ordinances, set back requirements from schools, homes, hospitals, and recreational areas.

2. Active Intervention:

Look for notices about permits and public hearings in local newspapers, on agency and municipal websites, and buried in Board meeting agendas. Review and comment on all permit applications. Attend permit hearings and inspections when possible. File formal objections with the permitting authority to inadequate conditions that don’t address community concerns or likely impacts. Push for company funded baseline monitoring before operations begin so there is a clear record of existing conditions and future impacts can be identified. If that isn’t possible, consider community-led baseline monitoring. Partner with local schools or advocacy organizations with monitoring experience. Advocate for enhanced monitoring where existing regulatory requirements may not capture likely impacts, and require that monitoring data and results be readily available for public review. Use drones, piloted flights, web cameras, traffic counts, noise monitors, air monitoring, water monitoring to keep eyes on the site and gather data you can share with regulators and the public.

3. Enforcement & Compliance:

Design and implement a community-run science monitoring program to capture photos, videos, noise levels, traffic, air pollution, water pollution, and any other site-specific impacts of concern. Document anything that might be a problem and work with partners (e.g. environmental organizations, a retired expert, a friendly employee) to get a second opinion or gather supporting data. Use hotlines and email inboxes published by state and local agencies to report suspected violations promptly. Most states have separate numbers or emails to report algae blooms, oil spills, explosions, bad smells, visible air pollution, stormwater run-off, lack of run-off berms, smelly or oddly-colored pipe discharges into waterbodies, and other common site problems. Municipalities may have phone numbers where you can leave messages reporting problems with active construction sites. Request inspections and enforcement actions from agency staff and loop in elected leaders to back you up. Build relationships with people and enforcement agencies who will learn to trust your data.

Valuable Allies

You don’t need to take on bad data centers alone. There are organizations and experts who can help. Explore the Network to find other leaders, and discover organizations in the Alliance Map.

Code Compliance Experts: Search permits and board meeting materials for construction plans, and file freedom of information act (or your local equivalent) requests to get copies if they are not publicly available. Find people in your community (e.g. retired experts, local college or university professors or graduate students, grassroots support organizations) who know how to find and review publicly-available construction plans and identify deficiencies. Ask them to explain what they find to your group and suggest improvements that you can demand.

Environmental Monitoring Experts in Health Departments and Environmental Agencies: Conduct air, water, and noise monitoring; use cameras or drones to capture video and still images; install a traffic counter or access live traffic feeds; help you interpret and understand your monitoring data

Local Colleges, Universities, and Schools: Can help you set up monitoring sites, collect and analyze samples, and review data; may also get involved in advocacy through public hearings and submitting written comments

Community Organizers and Volunteers: Coordinate community science monitoring networks and partner with garden clubs, historical societies, hunting and fishing groups, PTAs, student groups, community service organizations, land trusts and land preservation groups, and other environmental and resource advocacy groups

Public Health Advocates: Document community health risks by recording impacts and identifying what health risks might be associated with them. Request follow-up monitoring of key health risks and collect available community-level data for deeper assessments. Encourage concerned community members to ask their doctors for screenings or other appropriate testing.

Environmental Attorneys: File enforcement complaints and appeals

Gateway 6: Construction & Operational Permits

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