Jim Thorpe Borough Council voted unanimously Thursday to adopt an ordinance making the borough’s data center zoning regulations official law.

Any company seeking to build a data center in Jim Thorpe must now apply for a special exception and comply with 11 pages of requirements covering noise, water use, cooling systems, aesthetics, emergency management and environmental protection. The law permits data centers only in the industrial zone.

Jim Thorpe’s industrial zone is concentrated in the corridor along the Lehigh River and the historic railroad tracks passing through the borough.

The ordinance defines a data center as “a building or buildings which are occupied primarily by computers and/or telecommunications and related equipment where digital information is processed, transferred and/or stored, primarily to and from offsite locations.” The definition encompasses “cryptocurrency mining, blockchain transaction processing, and server farms.”

Among the ordinance’s most notable requirements is a mandatory closed-loop cooling system for all server racks and IT equipment.

“Use of open, evaporative cooling towers for facility heat rejection is prohibited,” the ordinance states, “unless an applicant demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence that closed-loop technology is infeasible for the specific project.”

The ordinance notes that many recent model ordinances across Pennsylvania now require closed-loop systems as a standard. Data centers may not draw primary cooling water from private portable wells under any circumstances.

Facilities using nonpublic water sources and exceeding 10,000 gallons per day would be required to conduct a comprehensive water feasibility study demonstrating that their withdrawals “will not endanger or adversely affect the quantity or quality of groundwater supplies or surface waters in the vicinity.” If the borough’s sewer system lacks the capacity to handle a data center’s wastewater, the developer, not the borough, would be responsible for the full cost of upgrading it.

On noise, the law caps sound at the property line at 67 decibels during daytime weekday hours and 57 decibels during nights and weekends. Applicants must hire a professional acoustical expert to conduct sound studies at three separate stages — during the special exception process, during building permit approval and six months after the certificate of occupancy is issued. Backup generators are prohibited from running between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. except during emergencies, and all generators must be fitted with functioning mufflers and enclosures.

Setback requirements keep data centers at least 200 feet from any residential zone or property with a “sensitive receptor” — a term the ordinance defines to include schools, day care centers, long-term care facilities, retirement and nursing homes, places of worship, parks and campgrounds. Maximum building height is capped at 50 feet, inclusive of rooftop equipment. Exterior walls must use “low-reflective, subtle, or earth tone” colors; fluorescent and metallic finishes are explicitly prohibited.

Every applicant must submit an Emergency Response Plan prepared by a qualified professional, reviewed and accepted by the fire department and the borough’s emergency management coordinator before any special exception is granted. The plan must include procedures for fire suppression, containment, ventilation and evacuation, and must identify facility representatives reachable 24 hours a day. Any battery storage systems must comply with National Fire Protection Association Standard 855, which governs stationary energy storage systems, and must include fire suppression systems designed specifically for that type of storage.

“No data center shall be approved unless the applicant demonstrates that procedures for this subsection regarding emergency management are sufficiently protective of public health, safety and welfare,” the ordinance states.

Developers must also file a decommissioning plan at the time of application — a document detailing how equipment would be removed, hazardous materials disposed of and the site restored if a data center shuts down. If operations cease, decommissioning must begin within one year and be completed within 18 months.