The Department of Environmental Protection published notice in the July 18 PA Bulletin announcing a public meeting/hearing August 20 on an NPDES Stormwater Permit and a Chapter 105 Encroachment Permit for the Carbon Node East Data Center Development in Newsquehoning Borough, Carbon County. (PA Bulletin, page 4322)
This activity will have an impact on Broad Run (Exceptional Value), Dennison Run (Exceptional Value), Nesquehoning Creek (Cold Water Fisheries) and Exceptional Value Wetlands.
Separate Notice For NPDES Permit
DEP published a separate notice in the July 18 PA Bulletin on the NPDES Stormwater permit (PA Bulletin, page 4273) inviting public comments saying this permit covers 88.62 acres--
“The scope of work associated with this project includes grading and leveling the site and constructing a new state-of-the-art data center campus, utilizing latest technology design to support High Performance Computing (HPC) for Artificial Intelligence (AI) workloads. The facility will be built to meet Tier 3 data center standards, ensuring high availability, physical security, and resilience against environmental and operational risks. All work will comply with applicable building codes and data center design best practices. The development includes pad preparation for two new substations and four data center Buildings of approximately 300,000 SF. The site includes stormwater management control basins, security fence and checkpoint, associated roadways and utility services.”
DEP said this permit includes these special conditions to deal with impacts to Exceptional Value wetlands--
“The permittee shall monitor water table elevations daily at each monitoring well identified in the approved PCSM Plan for EV wetlands for a minimum of five years. Reports providing water table elevations shall be submitted to DEP every six months, beginning in October of the 2nd year of coverage. These reports shall be submitted by October 31st and April 30th each year. All monitoring wells should confirm the presence of a water table no deeper than 12-inches below the ground surface for a period of at least 14 consecutive days during the growing season (April 1—October 1 annually) at a minimum frequency of 3 of the 5 monitoring years, unless a longer timeframe for monitoring is extended by DEP in writing. If a water table is not observed at the previously stated depth and/or for a duration of at least 14 consecutive days in 3 of 5 monitoring years (or in accordance with an alternate monitoring timeframe approved by DEP in writing), the wetland will be considered adversely impacted by the project, unless information and/or data provided to DEP demonstrates otherwise and DEP concurs that the project did not adversely impact the wetland.”
This separate notice for the NPDES Stormwater Permit says public comments are due by August 17-- 30 days after this notice.
However the notice of the meeting/hearing on August 20 says you can at least submit comments up until that date.
Read this PA Bulletin notice for more information. (PA Bulletin, page 4273)
Meeting/Hearing
The Department will answer questions and take testimony on NPDES Stormwater Permit Application No. PAD130057 and Water Obstruction and Encroachment Joint Permit Application No. E1302226-001. (PA Bulletin, page 4322)
The meeting/hearing will be held from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. Panther Valley Jr./Sr. High School located at 912 Coal Region Way, Lansford.
The meeting to answer questions will take place from 5:00 to 6:45 p.m. and the hearing for testimony will take place from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Individuals intending to ask a question at the meeting or to testify at the hearing submit a written notice of intent to Patricia Monahan, Community Relations Coordinator at: pamonahan@pa.gov.
[Note: This notice does not say how to submit public comments, but the usual practice is to submit written comments to DEP Northeast Regional Office, Waterways & Wetlands Program, 2 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre, PA or by email to Pamela Kania, P.E., Program Manager at: RA-EPWW-NERO@pa.gov.
[Note: This notice does not include a deadline for comments, but to be safe, any written comments should be submitted to DEP by August 20. Sometimes DEP accepts comments up to 10 days after a hearing, but the notice is silent on that kind of deadline.]
The NPDES Stormwater permit application documentation and conceptual plans are available for review at the Carbon County Conservation District Office, 5664 Interchange Road, Lehighton, PA 18235 at 610-377-4894 and/or the DEP Northeast Regional Office, 2 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre, PA, 570-826-2511.
[Note: This notice does not say where the Chapter 105 application is available for public review, but it would certainly be at the DEP Northeast Regional Office through DEP’s File Review Coordinator at 570-826-5472. You might also call the Conservation District to see if it is there.]
Read the entire PA Bulletin notice for more information. (PA Bulletin, page 4322)
For further information, contact Patrica Monahan, Community Relations Coordinator of the Department’s Northeast Regional Office at 570-826-2035 or send email to: pamonahan@pa.gov.
For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website. Submit Environmental Complaints; Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter; sign up for DEP’s eNotice; Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.
Related Articles This Week:
-- PJM Data Center-Driven Power Auction Prices Limited By $325/MW-Day Cap; Without Cap Would Have Been 70% Higher In PA, Most Areas; Missed Reliability Target By 6,831 MW [PaEN]
-- Gov. Shapiro's Legal Action To Impose Price Cap On PJM Interconnection Generation Capacity Auctions Results In Saving Consumers $13.3 Billion In Latest Power Auction [PaEN]
-- DEP To Hold Meeting/Hearing Aug. 20 On Water Quality Permits For Carbon Node East Data Center Development In Nesquehoning Boro, Carbon County [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Air Quality Permit For 15 Natural Gas Generators For Iron City No. 2 Data Center In Beccaria Twp., Clearfield County [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Air Quality Permit For 282 Generators For Amazon Data Center Project In Falls Twp., Bucks County [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On A Major Amendment To Chapter 105 Permit For Amazon Data Center PHL 100 Project In Salem Twp., Luzerne County [PaEN]
-- PJM Issues Hot Weather Alert For July 14 - 17; PJM Confirmed It Reached New All-Time Peak Load Demand 2,595 MW Over Previous Record [PaEN]
-- PJM Interconnection Issues Maximum Generation Alert For July 15; Requested & Received DOE Order To Put Data Centers On Backup Generators, Exceed Environmental Standards If Needed From July 15 To 21 [PaEN]
-- PJM Extends Maximum Generation Alert To July 16; Hot Weather Alert To Continue Thru At Least July 17 [PaEN]
-- PJM Board Approves Changes To Transmission Line Projects, Substations To Support Data Center Development [PaEN]
-- Quinnipiac University Poll Finds 74% Of PA Voters Would Oppose Building An A.I. Data Center In Their Community; 76% Are Following Data Center News Closely [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- Reuters: PJM Power Grid Auction Hits Prices Limit, Falls Short Of Reliability Goal
-- Utility Dive: PJM Generation Capacity Auction Prices Hit Price Cap, Reserve Shortfall Grows
-- PA Capital-Star: PJM Interconnection Electricity Price Hits Cap Again In Latest Auction
-- New York Times: A.I. Data Centers Add Billions In Power Costs In PJM Region
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: PA State Budget Saves $500 Million Data Center Sales Tax Exemption Amid Growing Opposition To A.I. Boom
-- WITF: New Poll Finds Opposition To A.I. Data Centers Is Growing Among PA Voters
-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: RISE PA Decarbonization Grants Expected To Reduce Industrial Air Pollution In Pennsylvania
-- The Allegheny Front: Lawmaker Introduces Bill To Authorize Balcony Solar To Offset Electricity Bills
[Posted: July 18, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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