Omaira Garcia, an Air Force veteran living on a small ranch in Abilene, Texas, thought she had found her family's dream home. Then construction started next door. Clouds of dust from a mysterious project began engulfing her property, and she soon discovered OpenAI's Stargate data center was being built directly beside her house, complete with a natural-gas-powered plant just 500 yards from her kitchen window. The facility's exhaust stacks are now a daily reminder of a system that Garcia says left her family with no warning and no recourse. "We weren't given any time to understand what this impact was going to be on us," she says. "We're trapped here."

Texas is on track to become the nation's top data center market by 2030, with over 300 facilities already operating and 200 more in development. But a Floodlight investigation reveals that many of these projects are exploiting a regulatory loophole: instead of obtaining major air permits—which require environmental reviews and public input—developers are securing minor permits typically used for dry cleaners and auto body shops. These permits are rubber-stamped with little scrutiny, allowing companies like Stargate's developer Crusoe to build massive on-site power plants without community engagement. Crusoe says the project has contributed to local economic development, funding fire trucks and school expansions, but residents like Garcia say the trade-off is unacceptable.

The scale of the problem is staggering. Since 2024, at least 38 Texas data centers have received minor permits to operate over 2,100 backup diesel generators, which together can emit nearly 2,500 tons of nitrogen oxides annually—more than triple the output of the state's newest coal plant. Stargate alone is permitted to emit over 1.6 million tons of greenhouse gases per year, and it's now seeking expansion permits for 41 more turbines. Former EPA and TCEQ officials say the incremental permitting approach amounts to a "sham" that circumvents proper oversight. For Garcia, the future is uncertain: she tried to sell her home but got no offers, and Stargate has not responded to her. "I don't know what the future looks like," she says.

Source: Wired