Secretive Deal for a $10 Billion Data Center in Rural North Carolina [1]
"Residents say they were left out of the decision-making process for a project that includes hundreds of polluting diesel generators."

"Residents say they were left out of the decision-making process for a project that includes hundreds of polluting diesel generators."
"A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday said the Trump administration improperly terminated billions of dollars in funds to boost clean energy projects, handing a win to a coalition of nonprofits picked to run the Biden-era effort."
"The stopgap includes extenders and authorizations for a number of environmental and infrastructure programs but leaves out special funding the White House had requested for national parks operations, wildfire management and disaster recovery in North Carolina."

The U.S. freight system delivers significant environmental impacts nationwide, especially in states that host major rail-and-road hubs and seaports. Meanwhile, new federal laws and policies are making it harder to curtail pollution generated by freight trucks, trains and warehouses. Journalist John Lippert looks at how the public, private and nonprofit sectors are rising to this challenge.
"A proposed expansion of an Elk Valley Resources’ coal mine in southeast British Columbia is moving through the environmental assessment process despite concerns over pollution. Decades of coal mining in the valley has led to harmful selenium concentrations and loads downstream, in British Columbia and the U.S. states of Montana and Idaho."
"The number of companies, associations and advocacy groups lobbying around data center issues more than doubled this spring compared to the same time last year as Congress and the Trump administration sought to address the industry’s rapid growth."
"The Trump administration is repurposing large chunks of federal land to host enormous data centers and the power plants needed to run them as officials seek to accelerate the development of artificial intelligence and overcome growing local opposition to the facilities."
"Insiders at leading oil and gas companies have made millions from stocks since the Iran war began."
"The Department of Energy announced Tuesday that it is in talks with Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Idaho to create special nuclear hubs that would support “final disposition of used nuclear fuel.”
"EPA declared Monday that power generators that don’t sell power to the grid aren’t beholden to Clean Air Act acid rain standards."
Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/headlines/secretive-deal-10-billion-data-center-rural-north-carolina
[2] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/climate-change
[3] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business
[4] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/energy
[5] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health
[6] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-politics
[7] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/government
[8] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/infrastructure
[9] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/laws
[10] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/people-population
[11] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/pollution
[12] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/technology
[13] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/81
[14] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national
[15] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southeast
[16] https://insideclimatenews.org/news/04082026/north-carolina-amazon-data-center-secret-deal/
[17] https://www.sej.org/headlines/appeals-court-says-trump-epa-was-wrong-kill-20-billion-climate-fund
[18] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/activism
[19] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-justice
[20] https://apnews.com/article/epa-grants-climate-united-trump-36ad8c6684939a1788dd49979e0f3ad9
[21] https://www.sej.org/headlines/senate-panel-releases-stopgap-bill-disaster-environment-funds
[22] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/disaster
[23] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/forests
[24] https://www.eenews.net/articles/senate-releases-stopgap-with-disaster-environment-funds/
[25] https://www.sej.org/publications/features/taming-freight-beast
[26] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication-types/features
[27] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/air
[28] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer
[29] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health
[30] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media
[31] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/policy
[32] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/transportation
[33] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/california
[34] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-lakes
[35] https://www.sej.org/headlines/proposed-bc-mine-expansion-raising-pollution-concerns-canada-and-us
[36] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics
[37] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/land
[38] https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/proposed-mine-expansion-raising-pollution-concerns-in-canada-and-us/
[39] https://www.sej.org/headlines/data-center-boom-sparks-lobbying-surge
[40] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/water
[41] https://www.eenews.net/articles/data-center-boom-sparks-lobbying-surge/
[42] https://www.sej.org/headlines/trump-admin-repurposing-federal-land-ai-data-centers
[43] https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/climate/trump-federal-data-centers.html?unlocked_article_code=1.1lA.kH4Q.eIurXg3_wAAY&smid=url-share
[44] https://www.sej.org/headlines/fossil-fuel-executives-cash-selling-stock-during-iran-war
[45] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/conflictcorruption
[46] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/military
[47] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international
[48] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international/middle-east
[49] https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/climate/fossil-fuel-executives-stocks-iran.html?unlocked_article_code=1.1FA.kDmo.H-dZrzxAaHfv&smid=url-share
[50] https://www.sej.org/headlines/energy-dept-names-5-states-possible-nuclear-waste-disposal
[51] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/nuclear-power/radiation
[52] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/waste
[53] https://www.eenews.net/articles/5-states-advance-in-energy-departments-high-stakes-nuclear-fuel-disposal-program/
[54] https://www.sej.org/headlines/epa-excuses-data-centers-acid-rain-regs
[55] https://www.eenews.net/articles/epa-excuses-data-centers-from-acid-rain-regs/
[56] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business?page=6
[57] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business?page=3
[58] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business?page=4
[59] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business?page=5
[60] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business?page=8
[61] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business?page=9
[62] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business?page=10
[63] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business?page=11
[64] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business?page=432