Hazle Township’s board of supervisors voted unanimously to pause data center applications for 180 days amid growing local opposition.
More than 60 data center proposals across Pennsylvania face resistance from residents concerned about health and environmental impacts.
Coal’s toxic legacy in the region has fueled skepticism toward the data center boom and its potential harms.
NorthPoint Development offered a $165 million benefits package after losing legal battles, which critics called a bribe.
A bipartisan state bill proposes a three-year moratorium on hyperscale data center projects to allow for updated regulations.
The ghosts of Pennsylvania’s coal mining past are stirring again, and this time they’re wearing yellow T-shirts that read “Project Hazelnot” with a red circle slashing through the letter “o.” In Hazle Township, residents packed a supervisors meeting on June 8, their shirts a pointed message to developers of a massive data center complex proposed for the township’s coal-rich plateau. The project would put 15 buildings and an electrical substation on a site of nearly 1,300 acres. The board responded by voting unanimously to pause all data center applications for 180 days while updating zoning rules.
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