Potential ramifications of a data center proposed in Lower Towamensing Township is a hot topic in neighboring Palmerton Borough.

Jared Cebrosky, a former resident Palmerton who now lives on the outskirts of the borough, broached the topic at Thursday’s borough council meeting.

Cebrosky said he wanted to be sure the borough was doing its “due diligence” with regard to data centers.

Borough Manager Autumn Canfield asked Cebrosky if he was referring to the curative amendment in Lower Towamensing Township.

Canfield said she believes the borough intends on going to the curative amendment hearing scheduled for 6 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Aquashicola Volunteer Fire Company.

Council President Terry Costenbader said he personally would like to see what is proposed in Lower Towamensing Township.

Councilman Andrew Hollywood said that you can’t ban a data center, and added no one is coming to borough council to ask its members’ opinions.

Councilman Kris Hoffner said, “I’m opposed to it. If that data center would go in, it could have an impact on our water supply.”

Costenbader reiterated his prior stance.

“I haven’t seen anything on a piece of paper that tells me where it is going to be built,” Costenbader said. “It does affect this community; I’d like to see something on a piece of paper.”

Save Carbon County plans to hold a meeting to organize volunteers concerning the data center proposed in Lower Towamensing Township.

The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. Oct. 1 in the Palmerton Area Library’s Gallery Room to organize leafleting to get the word out about the upcoming public hearing and to organize speakers for the public hearing.

Save Carbon County said the meeting is not a public hearing to voice opposition to the data center proposal, but rather an opportunity to organize the community, schedule actions and identify speakers for the public hearing.

The proposal

At a special meeting last week, Lower Towamensing Township appointed legal counsel for a challenge to the validity of the zoning ordinance filed by DTA Alliance LLC.

Graham Simmons III, of Norris McLaughlin PA, was hired at the rate of $275 per hour for associates and $325 per hour for partners.

Simmons, a business and real estate lawyer, has worked with economic development projects, real estate transactions, leases, and land use and zoning matters.

Projects have included the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone and the Bethlehem City Revitalization & Improvement Zone.

The proposal in Lower Towamensing calls for 13 data center buildings and a possible power generation building off Fireline Road, at the sites of Blue Shamrock Golf Course and DTA Alliance LLC, 415 Golf Road.

The challenge to the zoning ordinance was filed Sept. 1. The township’s board of supervisors has 60 calendar days from that date to conduct a public hearing.

About 20 people attended the Sept. 10 township planning commission meeting to discuss the curative amendment filed Sept. 1, many of whom expressed concerns about water, noise and property values.

The property owners filed the curative amendment to challenge the township’s zoning ordinance, alleging it is defective because it fails to provide for data center use anywhere in the municipality.

The amendment proposes allowing data centers as a permitted use within an overlay district encompassing the Resort & Recreation and Rural Conservation zoning districts.

The proposed data center developers are the owners of the Alliance Sand Quarry, which is DTA Alliance LLC, and Murphy’s Meadow LLC. Dan Connor, operations manager for DTA Alliance, said that Murphy’s Meadow is owned by DT Allen Contracting in New Jersey, and that 368 acres are under contract, including the Blue Shamrock Golf Course.

Connor added that the property transfer is expected to take place before the end of the year.

The proposal is for multiple properties encompassing about 700 acres, stretching from Bowmanstown’s borders through to the border near Memorial Park in Palmerton.

Connor noted the power plant most likely would be natural gas, as natural gas is the fastest way to get power.

Planning commission Chair Angela Farrell said the data center ordinance was at about 95%, and estimated the zoning to be completed within the next several months.

Farrell said a data center would be allowed in an industrial zone.

Other centers

Christman said data centers will occupy huge land areas including environmentally sensitive lands and valued open space. Centers have been proposed in Banks and Packer Township, Nesquehoning and Penn Forest Township.

In Schuylkill County, two centers are proposed. An approximately 600-acre artificial intelligence cloud and data center campus is planned in Highridge Business Park in Butler Township. Amazon Web Services is planning a 2.5-million-square-foot data center campus spanning a 346-acre site near Interstate 81 and Route 309.

In Monroe County, one is proposed in Tobyhanna Township.

Christman said the local communities cannot adequately oppose these highly funded developments.

In Lycoming County, a township has teamed up with Green Amendments For The Generations (a Pennsylvania-based environmental organization) and Muncy Township, neighbors and residents have challenged sections of the state Municipalities Planning Code as unconstitutional.

The case, filed in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania on Friday, argues that the asserted “deemed approval” of the Danko Data Center violates environmental rights and due process protections.

On April 28, Danko Holdings II LP and Fishlips LLC attempted to submit an application for development of what is commonly referred to as the “Danko Data Center,” proposed to be built in Muncy Township.

The data center would include three data center buildings, two 14-pod facilities, one eight-pod facility, water storage tanks, a water treatment facility, a substation and auxiliary structures, and would be located next to residential, historic and agricultural landscapes.

In July, when the township had not held a conditional use hearing within 60 days, Danko Holdings and Fishlips published notice that its application was “deemed approved,” according to the Municipalities Planning Code, a state law authorizing and overseeing local land use decision making.