During remarks delivered in Franklin, Tennessee, on Tuesday, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin reportedly said communities should consider the merits of data center proposals on an individual basis, rather than push for blanket bans as seen in New York.
Zeldin visited Franklin as a featured speaker for the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce Infrastructure Summit, where the EPA states that he spoke to an audience of more than 300 about what infrastructure is necessary support Tennessee as its population and economy continue to grow.
While the EPA administrator’s speech focused on the changes at his agency under the leadership of President Donald Trump, and highlighted a nuclear project in Tennessee that received EPA approval in just eight days, he reportedly offered his view on the proposed construction of data centers to support artificial intelligence (AI).
So great to be back in Tennessee this morning, speaking in Franklin with state business leaders about how EPA has been limiting our power to the single best reading of federal law, while proving that protecting the environment and growing the economy can BOTH be chosen and… pic.twitter.com/bYhMop0a5Y
— Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) July 15, 2026
“The bad news is that when they think about data centers, too often they’re only hearing about those controversial projects,” said Zeldin, according to The Tennessee Lookout.
Zeldin reportedly stated, “For a local community that is thinking through bringing a data center to their area, I would encourage them to ask three questions: Is the project going to make my bills go up or down? Is the project going to be a net provider onto the grid, or a net taker? And what are they going to do with water? Is it a closed-loop data center? Is it 100% recyclable?”
He notably made the statements in the wake of the decision by his home state, New York, to adopt a moratorium on data centers for up to one year. Zeldin’s race against Governor Kathy Hochul in 2022 was the closest gubernatorial election New York had seen since 1994.
The administrator’s remarks follow similar remarks made last month at a Washington, D.C. event organized by German-owned Politico.
“While we hear these stories of the worst-case data center that is most controversial and has the most amount of opposition, we might hear less about the data center that is following all the best practices,” Zeldin said, according to the outlet.
Among these best practices, Politico reported the administrator, “cited closed-loop data center designs that don’t have to regularly tap into local water supplies, as well as President Donald Trump’s ratepayer protection pledge, the voluntary agreement with major tech and artificial intelligence companies to pay for grid upgrades necessary for data center loads.”
The remarks by Zeldin come amid multiple public controversies related to AI or data centers in Tennessee, including in Hawkins County.
In 2024, 84 percent of voters in the rural county backed Trump during the presidential election. Less than two years later, the Hawkins County Commission has enlisted the progressive attorneys at the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) to defend against a lawsuit brought by a cryptocurrency mining company that sought to open a data center within the county limits.
The SELC also sent a letter to an AI data center company that is reportedly already under contract to buy a property near the Nashville Zoo. Mayor Freddie O’Connell has since announced a plan to seize the property using eminent domain to prevent the construction of a data center.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
