Dr. Colby Wesner, the video spokesperson for the CCMC, described what happened to them in Montour County in a March 15 Reel video on their Facebook page.
“At our February [2026] meeting, the same Amazon attorney who was working with Talon [Energy] came to our small [Montour] County Planning Commission to essentially oppose the ordinance our community has worked on.
“They presented their edits [to a draft ordinance] and we thought it was important to share some of the things that are apparently not palatable to those developers.”
Limit Noise Limits
“One, our ordinance defined “sensitive receptor” property lines as residential homes, but also included schools, parks, playgrounds, churches, campgrounds, and other community minded places.
“When addressing sound requirements, Amazon only wanted that to apply to residential homes and not these other sensitive areas.
“We find this very ironic since the most recent petition submitted by Talon [Energy] included land that was right up against the Montour Preserve.
“Apparently Amazon and Talen could have cared less if we could hear their facilities when trying to enjoy nature in that area.
[Noise limits were included in the Final County Ordinance.]
Diesel Generator Exemption
“You know what else they didn't like about the sound?
“That our ordinance said the backup diesel generators would also be subject to the sound requirements.
“That was definitely crossed off for Amazon.
“Again, very ironic since the Montour Preserve region was where this campus was targeting.
“And if you don't think this is a big deal, it should be noted that the US Department of Energy is using federal mandates to allow data centers to run on their generators if the PJM grid is ever stressed enough.
“We all know how unstable the grid currently is, so when the common public needs power, Amazon can fire up their generators to take stress off the grid.
“And again, Amazon doesn't want them to be subject to any sound regulations.
“I would just love to enjoy a sunset at the Montour Preserve with [dozens of] backup diesel generators humming on a hot summer day.”
[Diesel generators were not exempted in the Final County Ordinance.]
No Vibration Studies
“Vibration studies crossed off.
[Included in the Final Montour County Ordinance.]
No Water Studies
“Significant water studies to prove the Northern Montour County watershed wouldn't be jeopardized and residential wells wouldn't dry up.
“Nope. Amazon didn't care for that either. [If their source of water was not from a public supply.]
[Amazon also deleted a requirement to provide proof of review of any water withdrawals needed from the Susquehanna River Basin Commission.]
[Included in the Final Ordinance.]
No Property Value Impact Study
“Appraisals from a realtor demonstrating home values won't decrease.
“Yep, you guessed it. Amazon didn't care.”
[Included in the Final Ordinance.]
No Measures To Reduce Light Impacts
“Dark sky compliant crossed that off.”
[Final Ordinance said the facility shall be “Dark Sky” compliance.]
No Decommissioning Requirements
“Decommissioning. Amazon definitely didn't want anything to do with that.”
[The Montour Ordinance required the submission of a decommissioning plan to ensure the property is returned to a useful condition when the facility becomes obsolete and is closed or abandoned.
[The Ordinance required the posting of a bond to ensure funds are available to dismantle the facility in the event the owner does not remove equipment and restore the land.
[Amazon proposed no alternative.
[This is in the Final Montour County Ordinance.]
Click Here for a copy of Amazon’s changes to the ordinance from February.
Click Here for a copy of a local zoning ordinance Amazon suggested.
Click Here for the adopted Montour County Ordinance.
“It's abundantly clear that these developers truly do not want to have adequate measures in place to ensure these monstrosity data centers are not a huge nuisance.
“They absolutely could locate and build a data center campus that follows some of these rules, but they don't want to because it would be too costly and too inconvenient for them.
“They want to build them fast, they want to build them cheap, and they want to build them without any regards to how much it would truly destroy certain communities.
“So here's our advice. Look up when your next township or municipal meeting is and start doing some research to help your local officials get ahead of this.”
Visit the Concerned Citizens of Montour County Facebook page to learn more about their experiences.
NewsClip This Week:
-- The Daily Item: Montour County Board OKs Amendments To A.I. Data Center Rules Increasing Height Limit, Setbacks from Sensitive Receptors
Resource Links:
-- Concerned Citizens Of Montour County: Data Center Developer Wants To Make It Harder For Citizens To Appeal Zoning, Permits; DCED Secretary Explains More On How They Want New GRID Principles To Work [PaEN]
-- PA Capital-Star: Montour County Denies Rezoning Plan For 800 Acres Requested By Talen Energy For A.I. Data Centers
-- Inside Climate News - John Hurdle: Grassroots Resistance To Data Centers Rises In Pennsylvania [Montour County Highlighted]
-- Montour County Commissioners Vote To Reject Talen Energy’s Request To Rezone 800 Acres Of Agricultural Land For Industrial A.I. Data Centers [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week:
-- DEP Receives Federal Funding To Study Human Health Impacts Of Leaking, Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells; Conventional Regulation Updates Delayed; Reports On Setback Petition By End Of 2026 [PaEN]
-- Environmental Health Project Calls On Gov. Shapiro To Address Health Hazards Of Fossil Fuels [PaEN]
-- DEP Signs Consent Orders With CNX Gas, Leatherwood LLC Requiring The Plugging Of 5 Conventional Coal Bed Methane Wells Prior To Longwall Coal Mining In Center Twp., Greene County [PaEN]
-- PUC Adopts Voluntary Large Load, Data Center Tariff Framework To Help Protect Ratepayers [PaEN]
-- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Approves Extension Of PJM Capacity Auction Price Cap, Floor For Next 2 Auctions [PaEN]
-- Senate Committee Hears Electric Grid Issues Getting Worse; PJM Has Attracted 220 GW Of New Generation Proposals; PJM ‘Backstop’ Procurement Critical To Making Data Centers Pay For New Generation [PaEN]
-- House Energy Committee Sets May 4 Meeting To Act On More Bills To Address Electric Grid Reliability, Affordability Issues: Authorize Virtual Power Plants, Update Net Metering, More [PaEN]
-- PA House Passes Bill To Require A.I. Data Centers To Report Water Use, Discharges To DEP [PaEN]
-- Gov. Shapiro Announces $267 Million Investment In 31 PA Industry Projects To Reduce Air Pollution, Cut Energy Costs, Create Jobs, And Combat Greenhouse Gas Emissions In 23 Counties; Next Grant Round Opens May 15 [PaEN]
-- Concerned Citizens Of Montour County: Data Center Developer Wants To Make It Harder For Citizens To Appeal Zoning, Permits; DCED Secretary Explains More On How They Want New GRID Principles To Work [PaEN]
-- Tri-County Regional Planning Commission Publishes Model A.I. Data Center Ordinance; Links To Other Model Ordinances [PaEN]
-- Gov. Shapiro Appoints Mark Szybist New Special Counsel For Energy Affordability [PaEN]
-- PA Technical Assistance Program July 16 Webinar On Funding, Incentives For Energy Efficiency Improvements For Manufacturers [PaEN]
-- DCNR: Grid-Scale Solar Energy Installations Are Not Permitted On Any DCNR Lands Or On Lands That Have Received DCNR Grant Funds [PaEN]
-- Environmental Defense Fund: Rollback Of Federal Methane Emission Limits On Oil & Gas Facilities Have Wasted $4.8 Billion Worth Of Natural Gas That Could Have Served 22 Million Homes- And Counting [PaEN]
-- US Dept. Of Energy Cyber Threat Center Issues Another Warning To Oil & Gas Industry About Automatic Tank Gauge Manipulation By Malicious Cyber Threat Actors [PaEN]
[Posted: May 1, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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