WASHINGTON— More than 200 environmental and community organizations urged Congress today to reject efforts to block federal or state officials from enacting rules governing the artificial intelligence industry, including the data centers and the dirty energy infrastructure that power it.

“It’s despicable that Trump and Congress want to steamroll local communities so Big Tech can keep poisoning our air and climate, draining our water and driving up energy bills for working families,” said Camden Weber, climate and energy policy specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Their no-rules approach puts corporate profits ahead of the people they were elected to serve by sabotaging any state or local government trying to build some protections against this AI explosion. Americans don’t want their elected officials blocking efforts to protect their kids, their neighborhoods, and their wallets from massive data centers.”

Today’s letter responds to dangerous proposals from the Trump administration and Congress that would remove federal or state authority to regulate the AI industry. Most recently the Trump administration directed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve data center connection in 60 days. The letter also details the severe consequences that unchecked AI and fossil fuel-powered data center expansion would have on the environment, efforts to combat the climate emergency, and energy affordability for American households.

The letter was signed by the Center, Friends of the Earth U.S., Earthjustice Action, GreenLatinos, Moms Clean Air Force, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, and hundreds of other green and environmental justice groups.

“Unrestrained data center development threatens to dramatically worsen the climate crisis and undermine any chance of reaching greenhouse gas reduction goals,” said Karen Orenstein, director of the Climate, Energy, and Oceans Program at Friends of the Earth U.S. “The frenzy to build hyperscale data centers to power AI is driving an explosion in energy demand — propping up planet-destroying methane gas plants, keeping dirty coal plants online, polluting communities, and driving up electric bills for consumers.”

In July the Trump administration released its AI Action Plan, which would fast-track AI expansion by removing environmental and consumer protections. This would increase pollution and hike energy bills while funneling taxpayer dollars to Big Tech and fossil fuel interests. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has introduced the SANDBOX Act, which would allow AI companies to bypass federal protections for up to 10 years, and potentially permanently.

Unchecked AI data center growth is already driving more than 10,800 megawatts of new fossil fuel capacity, locking in decades of pollution and delaying the urgently-needed clean energy transition. By 2030 this surge could contribute to 1,300 premature deaths annually and $20 billion in health costs, while offering few local benefits and consuming enormous amounts of fresh water.

“Any waiver or moratorium on federal or state oversight would be a sweeping gift to Big Tech at the expense of public health, environmental justice, and energy affordability,” the letter warns.