The Weekly Wrap: The EPA Wants To Let Data Centers Skip Public Comment

Welcome back to The Weekly Wrap, our Friday roundup of stories that explain the problems oppressing people in cities and elevate the solutions that bring us closer to economic, environmental, and social justice. If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague and tell them to subscribe. EPA Proposal Would Let Data Centers Skip Public Comment A proposal from the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency could make it significantly harder for residents to learn about — or weigh in on — plans to build AI data centers in their communities, the Associated Press reports. The EPA plan would eliminate a federal requirement that states notify the public and accept comment before issuing air pollution permits for data centers and other industrial facilities, leaving it to individual states to decide whether to seek public input at all. Critics say the move is especially dangerous in Southern and Midwestern states that currently rely on the federal floor as their only meaningful public notice requirement. “Data centers and other industrial sources should not be able to get their air pollution permits in secret,” said Keri Powell of the Southern Environmental Law Center. The proposal comes amid a bipartisan, urban-rural backlash against data center proliferation that has reshaped local politics across the country. Data centers have emerged as a flashpoint in state legislative races and local elections in Virginia, Georgia, Texas, and beyond. The EPA is expected to finalize the rule next year. Trump Administration Destroying Fair Housing Enforcement The 1968 Fair Housing Act bans discrimination in housing accommodations based on protected categories, including race, disability, gender, and religion. But enforcement of the law is almost entirely outsourced by the government to third-party nonprofits that carry out investigations of potential violations. These fair housing organizations have been hobbled by delays in funding applications since the beginning of the second Trump administration, but as The American Prospect reports, HUD’s latest Notice of Funding Opportunity effectively bans any nonprofit that received funds in the last two years from receiving funds this year. The crude bureaucratic maneuver would essentially end fair housing enforcement altogether and gut one of the country’s most important protections against discrimination. Heat Wave Deaths Vastly Exceed CDC Count A two-year joint investigation into heat-related deaths by NPR and Boston University found that an estimated 9,000 people die every year due to heat in the U.S, far higher than the 1,700 to 2,000 recorded each year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many heat deaths are not marked down as such because they take the form of heart attacks and other killers, according to the report. While large cities including Houston and Los Angeles are still significantly undercounting heat deaths, the report notes that a few localities have managed to improve their protocols for identifying and tracking heat-related deaths. Arizona’s Maricopa County, for example, “trains ‘death investigators’ to look for signs of heat stress, such as asking about the state of the deceased’s air conditioning system, their ability to pay electric bills to run ACs, their use of medications that increase heat sensitivity, and more,” NPR explains. Glacial Melting Drives Deadly Flash Floods in Nepal and Tibet A massive glacier in the border between Nepal and Tibet has melted, causing an extraordinary collapse of rock and ice on Aug. 26. The landslide triggered devastating flash flooding that has killed at least 1,000 people with 4,000 people remaining missing, according to Nature. More than 160 glaciers in Nepal have completely melted, losing more than a quarter of the country’s glacial area since 1970, according to Grist and WIRED, making deadly collapses more likely. Despite satellite images showing the glacier descending days before the collapse, experts tell Nature that such incidents are hard to predict in part because these mountainous areas are “remote, difficult to access and generally lack continuous monitoring.” Grist points to a recent study in Science that finds that 40% of the world’s glacial ice could vanish if the world does not keep warming to under 1.5 degrees Celsius. America’s Natural Gas Buildout Is Out of Control According to a report released by Global Energy Monitor, new gas power projects connected to data centers doubled in the first 6 months of 2026. About 189 gigawatts of new gas-powered plants were announced or in different phases of construction, more than double the amount of new starts this time in 2025, much of it to power data centers. Two thirds of these projects were in Texas, which was followed by Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia for new projects. Data centers account for an estimated 16.9 gigawatts of gas power in projects currently under construction. The buildout has been complicated by local data center bans and a limited supply of gas turbines, not to mention the precarious finances of the AI industry. MORE NEWS - Social housing program gets city task force sign-off in Portland, Maine. Smart Cities Dive - New law requires New York hairdressers to learn how to do all hair types, including Black hair. ABC7 - Florida bans highway license-plate readers as backlash over surveillance spreads. Reuters - Bangkok is trying a new way to get people off the streets. Bloomberg - This secretive West Texas housing agency is building an apartment empire. Houston Chronicle - For affordable housing fund, Cleveland embraces private partnerships. Smart Cities Dive - New York is relying on office conversions to address its housing crisis. New York Times - Trump administration moves to relax fuel efficiency standards for commercial trucks. The Hill - American drivers think speeding is okay because everyone else is doing it. Jalopnik - Police departments across the U.S. are buying Israeli surveillance tech. Responsible Statecraft OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES - Stanley 1913 is accepting applications for its Creators Fund, which supports bold and innovative leaders of nonprofits anywhere in the world (with budgets between $200K and $2M to be eligible) working to strengthen their communities. Apply by Sept. 13. - Impact Fund is accepting grant applications for impact litigation advancing economic, environmental, and social justice. Submit a letter of interest by Sept. 29. This article is part of The Weekly Wrap, a newsletter rounding up stories that explain the problems oppressing people in cities and elevate the solutions bringing us closer to economic, environmental and social justice. Click here to subscribe to The Weekly Wrap newsletter. Roshan Abraham is a contributing editor for housing and homelessness at Next City. Based in Queens, New York, he has written extensively about city policy, including prisons and policing, housing and homelessness for The Guardian, The New York Times, Slate, The Baffler, Village Voice, The Verge, Pacific Standard, The Appeal, Vice and other outlets. At Vice, he was formerly a staff writer covering the housing beat. He is a former Open City Fellow and Witness Fellow at the Asian American Writers Workshop and a former Equitable Cities Fellow at Next City. Add to the Discussion Next City sustaining members can comment on our stories. Keep the discussion going! 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