Datacenters are spurring a boom in fossil fuel pipeline projects at a time when the Trump administration is gutting rules that protect from disasters along the lines, a new review of federal records shows .

The report, compiled by the Environmental Integrity Project, also found pipelines are being built to meet demand for natural gas exports fueled by wars in Ukraine and Iran. Federal records identified almost 200 pipeline projects that are proposed or in the works, and would collectively span 17,000 miles (27,000km).

Not only has the Trump administration targeted laws that protect the environment and human health from pipelines’ risks, it has also pledged not to enforce regulations around them, the report adds.

The findings bring into focus a little-considered environmental threat in artificial intelligence and datacenter proliferation – the US already records about 1.7 pipeline accidents, spills, fires or explosions per day, and these projects would almost certainly lead to more.

The pipelines could…