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DELAWARE RIVER VALLEY — The Upper Delaware Council (UDC) hosted a presentation from the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) on Tuesday, March 31, with the DRBC providing updates on the research it has done into the effects of data center development.
The DRBC began researching the impacts of data centers after identifying them as an emergent issue, said DRBC Water Resource Scientist Amanda Khalil.
The Delaware River Valley would be a logical place for data center development, given its location midway between northern Virginia (an area already home to major data center development) and New York City, said Khalil; it’s not “unrealistic” to be planning for that type of development. While the DRBC has no approval or application for a data center at the moment, it would be “foolish” to think one wouldn’t cross the organization’s desk, she said.
In its research on data centers, the DRBC found 66 active data centers in the Delaware River Valley and 24 proposed. However, Khalil said, data centers can come in a range of shapes and sizes. She referenced a nine-point scale that started with a single room full of computers and ended with full-on “hyper-scalers,” the type of major project that’s making headlines nationwide.
With the exception of one proposed hyperscaler project down in Bucks County, located in the Lower Delaware River Valley, one of two facilities Amazon plans to locate in Pennsylvania, the data centers located in the Delaware River Valley are of the first seven types, which are much less concerning than the final two.
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Of the nine classifications of data centers, the first seven currently exist within the Delaware River Valley; the last two do not.
The states of the Delaware River Valley include 90 existed or proposed data centers, according to research from the Delaware River Basin Commission.
Projectsions from the Delaware River Basin Commission show a decrease in projected water withdrawals from the Delaware River Basin until 2060.
Of the uses of water from the Delaware River Basin, thermoelectric power makes up one of the largest categories, with industrial uses, public water supply uses and irrigation uses being significant uses as well.
The most substantial impacts data centers can have on their surrounding environments are their impacts on water and power resources. Data centers use significant amounts of water to cool the systems inside and significant amounts of electricity for power.
The direct effect data centers have on water supplies isn’t always easy to parse. According to Khalil, all the data centers the DRBC identified within the Delaware River Valley are connected to public water systems. These systems don’t like sharing data about individual water customers, to the point where non-disclosure agreements exist between data centers and public water systems.
The other end of the data center impact equation, the energy end, could wind up affecting water supplies as well, Much of the water withdrawn from the Delaware River gets used as part of energy generation. Khalil said that especially since the region is connected to [Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland] PJM (one of the largest power grids in the country), data center development even outside the Delaware River Valley could lead to increased water withdrawals for power generation purposes.
However, those projections for increased water withdrawals come at a time when water withdrawals have overall been declining for the Delaware River. According to the DRBC, the total water withdrawal from the Delaware River peaked at around 10 billion gallons per day in 2005 and decreased to 6 billion gallons per day in 2024. The consumptive water use within the river valley (the withdrawals that take from the river and don’t put the water back) has dropped slightly from 1.1 billion gallons per day in 1990 to 0.825 billion gallons per day in 2024.
See below for more on what local and state leaders are doing to address the emerging land use challenges of data centers.
While many conversations about data centers are still in their early stages, some local leaders throughout the Upper Delaware River Valley on the PA side have begun to take steps toward action.
The Damascus Township Board of Supervisors voted at a March 16 meeting to impose a six-month moratorium on data center development in the township.
Township supervisor Steve Adams told the River Reporter the moratorium will give the township’s planning commission time to research the use and review the township’s ordinances. “Since data centers represent a new type of commercial use, we want to determine if any updates or changes to our regulations are necessary,” he said.
On March 4, Greene Township held a public hearing on a proposed set of ordinances for data centers.
According to township supervisor Amanda Seagraves, a rough draft for the ordinance was provided to the township by a township resident who was familiar with data centers.
Township solicitor Jeffrey Treat said in reviewing the ordinance that precise definitions for what a data center is are important. Without them, an applicant could argue that their project didn’t fit the description and didn’t need to conform with the regulations.
The draft ordinance specifies requirements for data centers, which include a 100-foot buffer zone includes evergreen trees for screening; a strong recommendation for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification and roof-mounted accessory solar energy; evidence of adequate water supplies; and noise control, complete with a sound study. For the full results, visit greenetownship.org/ordinances.
As municipalities across the nation face the need to consider data center development, some are further ahead in the process of reflection than others. Municipalities that have been through the project review process already are offering their expertise and learning to municipalities that are still in progress with their regulations.
Writing for the Pennsylvania Municipal League’s Municipal Reporter, Cumberland County Director of Planning Kirk Stoner identified data centers as one of the most pressing land use issues being faced across Pennsylvania. In addition to attracting significant public interest and concern (Stoner writes of one municipal meeting he attended: “‘Happy people don’t attend night meetings,’ my internal voice whispered as I pulled into the overflowing municipal parking lot. Judging by the line at the sign-in table, it was going to be a long evening.”) data centers are a use municipalities need to consider for their own development.
Stoner cautions municipalities against overplaying their regulatory hand. The way zoning works, municipalities must accommodate all lawful land uses; if a municipality writes its data center ordinances in such a way that it de facto prohibits them, those ordinances can be a target for legal challenges.
“Despite their energy and water demands, data centers are fundamentally industrial buildings housing computer servers,” writes Stoner. “Municipal zoning ordinances often miss this fact and impose disproportionate restrictions that can unintentionally (or intentionally) preclude the use and expose municipalities to legal challenges.”
However, municipalities can work with the zoning process to ensure that their communities are protected. Stoner mentions the need to ensure data centers are sited in areas that respect natural resources and community character, and the centers could possibly be worked with as they come into a community, to ensure that community priorities like fire apparatus, parks and infrastructure get funding. Additionally, while municipalities have little direct control over the water and energy resources a data center will use, they can collaborate with the oversight bodies that do have that control.
“Seeking and sharing information from PJM, the grid manager for the Northeast, and public utilities may help municipalities and their residents understand the preventative measures taken elsewhere to protect against data center-induced price increases. Similarly, meetings with the municipal water authority, river basin commission or public water supplier can help to coordinate municipal land use policies to ensure that enough water is available to support a preferred future land use plan and not just data centers,” writes Stoner.
HARRISBURG, PA — State Rep. Tarah Probst has introduced legislation that would require wetland mitigation to remain local, warning that current practices are stripping Monroe County and other regions of critical environmental protection at a time when demand on water and energy resources is rapidly increasing, including from proposed data center development.
The announcement comes amid ongoing concerns over the I-80 Expansion Project, which is expected to impact wetlands across her district and beyond. To offset that damage, PennDOT has proposed using a mitigation bank in Damascus Township, Wayne County, which is more than 60 miles away and outside the local Upper Brodhead Watershed.
“We are taking water protections away from one community and handing them to another,” said Probst, D-Monroe/Pike. “You can call it mitigation, but to the people who live here, it feels like theft.”
Probst said the issue is becoming more urgent as Pennsylvania positions itself for growth in AI-driven infrastructure, including data centers, which require significant amounts of electricity and water to operate.
“These facilities can consume the energy of entire cities and place real strain on local water systems,” Probst said. “At the same time, we’re allowing wetlands, the natural systems that protect our water, to disappear locally. That makes no sense.”
Wetlands play a critical role in filtering pollution, reducing flooding, and maintaining water quality. Federal law allows offsets to occur far from the affected community. Although areas of her district and Damascus Township fall within the broader Delaware River Basin, that watershed is made up of smaller, local systems, including Upper Brodhead Watershed, which do not directly connect. As a result, replacing wetlands 60 miles away does not restore the water quality protections, flood control, or ecological benefits lost locally in her district.
Probst’s proposed legislation would require that wetland mitigation occur within the same local watershed, ensuring that restoration efforts directly benefit the communities where impacts happen.
“Mitigating in the same watershed on paper doesn’t protect people in real life,” Probst said. “When communities lose wetlands, they lose those protections, too. It’s time to fix that.”
House Bill 2296 was referred to the House Environmental and Natural Resource Protection Committee.
HARRISBURG, PA — As Pennsylvania faces a rapid rise in electricity demand driven by large-scale data center development, House lawmakers have approved House Bill 1834, a measure that begins to establish a policy framework for managing the sector’s impacts on the state’s grid, consumers and environment. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
Data centers, which can consume as much electricity as entire towns, are expected to significantly increase energy demand across the PJM Interconnection region. The passage of HB 1834 reflects growing recognition in Harrisburg that this growth requires clear rules and oversight, according to the Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter, part of America’s oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization.
“Pennsylvania is entering a new phase of electricity demand growth, and this legislation is an important step toward planning for that reality,” said Tom Schuster, Director of the Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter. “HB 1834 begins to set standards for how these very large energy users connect to the grid, who pays for the infrastructure they require and how their impacts are managed.”
The legislation establishes several new requirements for large load users, including:
These provisions represent meaningful progress in a policy area where no significant guardrails previously existed, according to the Sierra Club PA Chapter.
“At a time when electricity demand is projected to increase with unprecedented speed, it is critical to ensure that new large loads do not compromise reliability or drive up costs for existing customers,” Schuster said. “We call on the Senate to act quickly to adopt these important safeguards.”
“HB 1834 establishes a foundation, but it does not yet match the scale or speed of the issue,” Schuster added. “Additional policy work will be needed to ensure that data center growth does not lead to higher electricity bills, increased pollution, or avoidable strain on the grid.”
HARRISBURG, PA — Rep. Jeff Olsommer (R-Wayne/Pike) has introduced legislation, House Bill 2153, that would require any increase in property tax revenue from the construction of new data centers within a school district be used exclusively to fund additional Homestead/Farmstead property tax relief for district residents.
“Pennsylvania has become an increasingly attractive location for data centers due to its energy infrastructure, available land and proximity to major markets,” Olsommer stated. “While data centers can substantially increase a school district’s tax base, they can place strains on local resources. The measure ensures that while data centers may place increased demands on local infrastructure and land use, the financial benefits are shared directly with the community.
The Homestead/Farmstead exclusion is an established and effective mechanism for providing direct property tax relief to owner-occupied homes and farms. The legislation Olsommer introduced builds on that framework by dedicating new, data center-generated tax revenue to reducing the tax burden on local residents rather than allowing it to be absorbed into general spending.
The intent of the legislation is to be revenue-neutral to school districts. It does not reduce existing revenues but rather directs new property tax revenue resulting from data center construction toward property tax relief. Homeowners and farmers would see reduced school property tax bills, while school districts would not experience a loss of current funding.
“My legislation ensures that the financial benefits of data center development flow directly to the people who live in the affected communities,” Olsommer added.
House Bill 2153 has been assigned to the House Education Committee for consideration.
Residents are welcome to visit Olsommer’s website, RepOlsommer.com, as well as his Facebook page, Facebook.com/RepOlsommer. There, information can be found on the latest legislative developments in Harrisburg, state programs and the latest happenings in the 139th District.
The 139th Legislative District is comprised of parts of Pike and Wayne counties, consisting of the townships of Blooming Grove, Dingman, Greene, Lackawaxen, Milford, Palmyra (Pike), Shohola, Westfall, Cherry Ridge, Dreher, Lake, Lehigh, Paupack, Palmyra (Wayne), Salem, South Canaan and Sterling, and the boroughs of Matamoras, Milford and Hawley.
LACKAWANNA COUNTY, PA — As large-scale data center development proposals increasingly target Northeast Pennsylvania, Sen. Rosemary M. Brown (R-40) continues leading efforts to provide answers and clarity for constituents and local governments. Following multiple hearings and conversations with hundreds of impacted residents, industry representatives, utility providers and state and local officials, Brown said many important questions remain.
“During the past several months, our region has increasingly been targeted for large-scale data center development,” Brown said. “While Pennsylvania law grants final land use authority to local governments, I believe state-level legislative action is appropriate to protect the interests of our communities.”
Several months ago, Brown introduced legislation establishing pre-application requirements for data center developers to ensure transparency and accountability before a project can formally begin. Last week, she announced three additional proposals to complete what she is calling a comprehensive “Residents First” legislative package. Additionally, Brown has signed on as a co-sponsor of legislation that would establish a moratorium on data center developments in Pennsylvania.
“I have listened carefully to concerns about water usage, utility capacity, zoning protections and the long-term viability of this rapidly evolving technology,” Brown said. “This package is designed to answer the important questions residents and I share and to provide the much-needed clarity the people I serve deserve regarding any proposed data center development. I have said since the beginning of this issue that everyone should be focused on doing things right. For that reason, I support a temporary moratorium.”
In addition to Brown supporting the moratorium, Brown’s “Residents First” legislative package would:
“As I have talked with residents and local officials, and attended community meetings and hearings, there are still too many unknowns at this time to rush forward. That is why I am supporting this moratorium—to give us the time to learn more and move forward responsibly. That is the mission of my four-point legislative package. As we learn more, more steps may need to be taken, and I am ready to do so. But today, our top priority must be protecting our communities from unintended consequences from moving too quickly, which is why my Residents First package is so important.”
Brown encouraged residents to remain engaged and said she remains personally available to discuss the issue with members of the community.
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