By: Julie Kimmel, Senior Manager, Editorial & Member Cultivation
Date: May 28, 2026
About: Revision to “Begin Actual Construction” in the New Source Review Preconstruction Permitting Program, Docket # EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0618
To: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Hi, my name is Julie Kimmel. I live with my family in Northern Virginia, and I work with Moms Clean Air Force. I strongly oppose EPA's proposal to redefine "begin actual construction." This proposal would let polluters begin construction on major new pollution sources before communities have a voice—putting children's health at risk and making it nearly impossible to stop harmful facilities once construction has begun.
I live in northwestern Fairfax County, immediately next door to Loudoun County, a.k.a. Data Center Alley, the global hub for data center development. There are 680 data centers planned, under construction, or operating in Virginia, and literally hundreds of them are just a few miles down the road from me. Anytime I drive into Loudoun—to run errands or go to the dentist or take my kid to a swim meet—I try to count the data centers I pass and I usually lose track around 15 or 20.
The data centers here are primarily powered by dirty methane gas, and some of them have been found to pollute even more than nearby gas power plants. These facilities spew vast amounts of soot, nitrogen oxides, formaldehyde, and other insidious air pollutants. And they are surrounded by neighborhoods full of family homes, schools, parks, shopping centers, and medical office buildings.
It’s incredibly jarring—and all feels a bit out of control. So why would EPA want to sabotage one of the few opportunities for input our communities still have over this aggressive, unwieldy expansion? Why wouldn’t we consider the significant health impacts of air pollution from facilities like these before companies break ground—and then use that opportunity to consider alternatives? The health of hundreds of thousands of local children, including my own, is at stake.
We simply cannot let developers excavate land and build foundations and “non-emitting” site infrastructure without air permits or analysis—because after millions are invested in this initial development, it will be near-impossible for communities to stop construction.
I oppose this proposal to redefine "begin actual construction." Economic development must take place in a thoughtful and considered way that does not impair human health and quality of life.