The report comes as state Sen, Katie Muth (D-Montgomery) has announced an intent to file legislation to establish a 3-year moratorium on proposals and permitting of new hyperscale data centers in Pennsylvania.
[During the February 26 Senate hearing on DEP’s budget, Sen. Rosemary Brown (R-Lackawanna) also announced her support for a moratorium. Read more here.
[She joins Rep. Kyle Mullins (D-Lackawanna) and Rep. Kyle Donahue (D-Lackawanna) who announced their support for a moratorium earlier. Read more here.]
At least 23 hyperscale data centers have been proposed in Pennsylvania.
“Across the country, communities are already feeling the strain of unchecked data center growth. We have learned hard lessons from the past, and Pennsylvania cannot afford to repeat them. Reports like this raise serious red flags about power demand, water use, and local infrastructure impacts. That is why I am introducing a moratorium bill here in Pennsylvania because the health and safety of our residents are on the line, and we must get this right before communities pay the price,” said Senator Katie Muth.
The highly detailed report lays out the wide range of harms and hazards associated with the sudden explosion of the data center industry in the United States, including:
-- Annual water usage equivalent to 18.5 million households by 2028; annual electricity usage equivalent to 55 million households by 2028.
-- Dangerous new demand for fossil fuels, posing heightened risks of air and water pollution for impacted communities and a grave threat to our global climate.
-- A host of other societal threats, from national economic catastrophe, to loss of critical farmland, to unrelenting noise pollution, to threats to children and democracy.
“Our state constitution explicitly states that the people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and aesthetic values of the environment [Article I, Section 27]. Industry’s race to build hyperscale data centers in our communities is a direct threat to these rights,” said Food & Water Watch Senior Pennsylvania Organizer Ginny Marcille-Kerslake.
“Municipalities across the Commonwealth are scrambling to develop data center ordinances to protect these rights as well as the health, safety and well-being of residents against an onslaught of industry’s attempts to rezone land in their best interests.
“Pennsylvania needs a moratorium now to afford local governments the time to update their zoning laws for this new use,” explained Kerslake.
The new report details that 40 percent of energy for data centers comes from natural gas, and that figure is higher for Pennsylvania, the second largest gas producing state next to Texas.
As the state ranks 4th nationally for total carbon dioxide emissions, the potential for more pollution is a very viable danger.
In October, Food & Water Watch became the first national group to call for a data center moratorium. Since then, over 250+ organizations have joined the call — including 17 in Pennsylvania.
Click Here for a copy of the report.
Click Here for the report announcement.
Visit the Food & Water Watch website for more information on this and other issues.
PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:
-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Feb. 28 to March 6 - Abandoned Conventional Wells Hit 100; Investigating Seismic Event Near Wastewater Injection Well; Well Transfer Violations [PaEN]
-- DEP Investigating Seismic Event Near Penneco Environmental Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well In Plum Boro, Allegheny County [PaEN]
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - March 7 [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Air Quality Permit For MarkWest Harmon Creek Natural Gas Processing Plant In Washington County [PaEN]
-- DEP Accepting Comments On Chapter 105 Permit For 8 Mile, 24-Inch EQT ARO LLC Water Pipeline To Support Shale Gas Development In State Forest Land In Lycoming County [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Chapter 105 Permit For A Double 16-Inch Expand Operating LLC Water Pipelines To Support Shale Gas Development In Standing Stone Twp., Bradford County [PaEN]
-- DEP Accepting Comments On Chapter 105 Permit For Double 16-Inch Expand Operating LLC Water Pipelines To Support Shale Gas Development In Forkston, North Branch & Windham Twps., Wyoming County [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 74 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In March 7 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week:
-- PA Shale Gas & Public Health Conference: Dr. Gary Allison - 75% Of Shale Gas Chemical Disclosure Listings Hide What’s In 200 Million Pounds Of Materials Used In PA Fracking; A Colorado Law Would Fix That [PaEN]
-- Protect PT To Hold Workshops In Plum Boro March 12, Monessen March 19 On How To Protect Your Community From Environmental Threats Caused By Shale Gas Development [PaEN]
-- Environmental Quality Board Meets March 10 On Final Stream Redesignations Package; Report Due On DEP Review Of The Petition To Increase Setbacks From Shale Gas Wells, 4 Other Petitions [PaEN]
-- DCNR House Budget Hearing: House Republicans Propose More Shale Drilling In State Forest Land, Under State Parks; Gas Drilling Has Caused The Loss Of 30,000 Acres Of Core State Forest Land So Far [PaEN]
-- Senate PUC Budget Hearing: PUC Chair Says PJM Market Auction Not Designed For Data Center Demands; PA Needs To Diversify Fuels Used To Generate Electricity; Bring Your Own Power Critical [PaEN]
-- House Committee Reports Out Bills To Require Data Centers To Disclose Energy, Water Use, Direct DCED To Develop Model Data Center Ordinance [PaEN]
-- New Comprehensive Report Lays Out Case For 3-Year A.I. Data Center Moratorium To Be Introduced In Pennsylvania [PaEN]
-- Penn State Extension Hosts April 7 Webinar On Data Centers - State And Local Regulation [PaEN]
-- Sen. Yaw Urges FERC To Allow PJM To Keep Charging Pennsylvania Ratepayers Record High Capacity Auction Prices For Power, But Charge Other States Even More [PaEN]
-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - March 9 [PaEN]
-- PUC Issues Cybersecurity Advisory To Electric, Natural Gas Other Utilities Amid Growing Global Tensions [PaEN]
-- PA Solar Center, Capital Good Fund Partner On Pennsylvania BRIGHT To Deliver Nearly 70 Solar Energy Projects Worth Up To $40 Million [PaEN]
-- Guest Essay: Pennsylvania Needs To Act Now To Prevent A New $700 Million Increase In Electric Costs For Ratepayers - By Steve DeFrank, Chairman, Public Utility Commission [PaEN]
-- Energy Efficiency Alliance: March 12 Webinar - How Virtual Power Plants Strengthen Our Grid, Protect Ratepayers [PaEN]
-- Penn State Extension Hosts April 13 Webinar On Geothermal Energy Opportunities [PaEN]
-- Pittsburgh Penguins Reduce Carbon Footprint By Buying Carbon Credits Supporting 272 Acres Of Green Space In Allegheny County [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- WESA/The Allegheny Front - Reid Frazier: MarkWest Spills Over 1 Million Gallons Of Drilling Fluid Into Abandoned Coal Mine During Pipeline Construction In Washington County
-- Bradford Era: No Injuries In Overnight Fire At American Refining Group Refinery In Bradford, McKean County
-- The Allegheny Front: Ohio - Water Districts, Municipalities Join Call For Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well Moratorium
-- Utility Dive: US Warns Energy Companies To Increase Security In Response To Potential Threats From Iran; Utilities Lack Tools To Guard Grid From Drone Attacks
-- Morning Call/AP: Iran Strikes Amazon Data Centers In Middle East Highlighting Industry’s Vulnerability To Physical Disasters
-- The Derrick: War In Iran To Cause Massive Disruption In Oil Industry, According To Oil City Native & Middle East Expert Andrew Tabler [PDF of Article]
-- War Profits: Windfall Profits Tax On The Oil & Gas Industry? Household Rebates To Offset Spiking Energy Costs
-- Inside Climate News - Kiley Bense: How Will President’s War On Iran Affect Your Utility Bills?
-- Financial Times: Coal Prices Jump As Utilities Seek Alternative To Spiking Natural Gas Prices Due US President’s War With Iran
-- Reuters: There Is Little LNG Producers Can Do To Immediately Replace Lost Qatari Cargoes
-- Bloomberg: Oil Market Chaos Set To Deepen As More Gulf Giants Cut Output Because Of President’s Iran War
-- TribLive/AP: Energy Prices Surge As Tanker Disruptions And Facility Shutdowns Rattle Global Supply [US Natural Gas Prices Linked To World Markets Thanks To LNG]
-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Prices Hit 3-Year High As Qatar LNG Halt Rocks Markets [US Natural Gas Prices Linked To World Markets Thanks To LNG]
-- The Economist: The Nightmare Iran Energy Scenario Is Becoming Reality [PDF of Article]
-- Bloomberg: President’s War On Iran Has Traders Staring Down An Energy Crisis [War-Caused Price Spikes Good For Oil & Gas Companies, Bad For Consumers]
-- Financial Times: US Shale Drillers Resist Quick Ride To Rescue For Iran War Oil Disruption [PDF of Article]
[Posted: March 4, 2026] PA Environment Digest
No comments :
Post a Comment