# Senators Urge EPA to Retain Permit Notices

On October 5, 2026, Senators Ruben Gallego, Mark Kelly, Sheldon Whitehouse, and colleagues urged EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to withdraw a proposed rule that would eliminate the mandatory 30-day public-notice period for certain air permits, including permits for data centers. The senators also asked nine data center companies to preserve existing public-participation standards regardless of the rule’s outcome. Until the proposal changes current requirements, developers and permitting contractors should plan around the existing notice period and account for community engagement and permitting uncertainty in project schedules.

- The proposal could change the public-input process for covered air permits, affecting data center development schedules and permitting support work if finalized.
- Companies involved in data center projects can plan community engagement under current requirements while the rulemaking remains unresolved.
- The senators’ request to data center companies is a call to preserve participation standards, not a new mandatory contractor requirement or a contract opportunity.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Information Technology, Environment
**Topics:** Regulatory Compliance, Digital Infrastructure
**Published:** October 06, 2026

### Government Entities
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- U.S. Senate

### Vendors
- Anthropic (Data center company addressed by the senators)
- AWS (Data center company addressed by the senators)
- Google (Data center company addressed by the senators)
- Fermi (Data center company addressed by the senators)
- Joule (Data center company addressed by the senators)

### Sources
- [Kelly, Whitehouse Press EPA, AI Companies on Rollback of Public Input Rules for Data Center Air Permits  - Senator Mark Kelly](https://www.kelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/kelly-whitehouse-press-epa-ai-companies-on-rollback-of-public-input-rules-for-data-center-air-permits/) - Kelly Senate
- [Duckworth Join Colleagues in Pressing EPA, AI Companies on Rollback of Public Input Rules for Data Center Air Permits | U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois](https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/news/press-releases/duckworth-join-colleagues-in-pressing-epa-ai-companies-on-rollback-of-public-input-rules-for-data-center-air-permits) - Duckworth Senate
- [Gallego, Colleagues Press EPA, AI Companies on Rollback of Public Input Rules for Data Center Air Permits](https://www.gallego.senate.gov/news/press-releases/gallego-colleagues-press-epa-ai-companies-on-rollback-of-public-input-rules-for-data-center-air-permits/) - Gallego Senate