Hundreds Of Residents From Communities Across PA Dealing With A.I. Data Center Development Rally At State Capitol To Support Bipartisan Legislation To Enact A 3-Year A.I. Data Center Moratorium

On June 23, hundreds of residents from communities across Pennsylvania dealing with A.I. data center development rallied at the State Capitol Rotunda to urge lawmakers to support bipartisan legislation enacting a three-year A.I. data center moratorium-- Senate Bill 1359 (Muth-D-Chester, Brown-R-Lackawanna, Comitta-D-Chester) 

The rally, organized by Food & Water Watch, featured speakers on the frontlines of data center proposals and remarks from Sen. Katie Muth.

Click Here for a video of the rally.

Pennsylvania has emerged as a pivotal data center battleground where dozens of projects have been proposed at the municipal level to fierce community opposition, according to Food & Water Watch. 

Recent polling found 68% of Pennsylvania voters would oppose an A.I. data center being built in their community.

Sen. Katie Muth said-- “We are being told that hyperscale A.I. data centers and their associated infrastructure build-out here in our Commonwealth is a sign of progress, a sign of economic growth. 

“We are told that they're necessary for economic development and national security. 

“We are told that these are inevitable. They're coming, they're coming. You better just be ready because they're getting built no matter what. 

“What I'm asking today is very simple-- Who is this progress for and at whose expense?” 

“If you think we're going to sit by and let us live next to massive high voltage power lines, massive hyperscale data centers, and then also foot the bill for it, you're out of your mind. 

“We will not accept this.” 

“The lesson of Pennsylvania's industrial history is clear. 

“When government fails to ask hard questions at the beginning, communities pay the price for generations. 

“We cannot afford to repeat those mistakes, not with our water, not with our air, not with our families and our communities, and not with our future, because--

“Pennsylvania is not for sale.”

Ginny Marcille-Kerslake, with Food & Water Watch and emcee of the rally, issued this statement:

“Pennsylvania is not for sale. Not our agricultural land, not our fresh water, not our energy, not our communities where families live. 

“Today’s show of force should send a very clear message to Governor Shapiro: Pennsylvania says no to A.I. hyperscale data centers.

“Pennsylvania must hit pause on this exploitative industrial development and prevent greedy Big Tech giants from determining the direction of our state and ultimately, our futures. 

“A.I. is not inevitable, nor are the detrimental impacts they bring. The people are saying no, and our lawmakers must join our call.”

A Food & Water Watch 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.

NewsClips:

-- PennLive: Nearly 200 Rally At Capitol To Demand A Moratorium On A.I. Data Center Construction In PA

-- The Center Square: PA Lawmakers Called ‘Sellouts’ As Residents Seek A.I. Data Center Moratorium

-- PA Capital-Star: Rally Attendees Criticize Gov. Shapiro For Being ‘Incredibly Cozy’ With Data Center Industry

-- ABC27: Pennsylvanians Unite Against A.I. Data Centers At State Capitol

-- Fox 43: PA Lawmakers Call For 3-Year Moratorium On Data Centers

Related Articles This Week:

-- Hundreds Of Residents From Communities Across PA Dealing With A.I. Data Center Development Rally At State Capitol To Support Bipartisan Legislation To Enact A 3-Year A.I.  Data Center Moratorium  [PaEN] 

-- PA House Passed 20 A.I. Data Center Bills, Many By Lopsided Bipartisan Votes; PA Senate Acts On Tax Changes  [PaEN] 

-- PA House Passes Bill Giving Individual Municipalities Authority To Pause Consideration Of A.I. Data Center Proposals For 6 Months  [PaEN] 

-- PA House Nearly Unanimously Passes Bill To Repeal State Data Center Computer Equipment Sales Tax Exemption  [PaEN]  

-- PA House Passes Bill Limiting State Data Center Sales Tax Exemption To Those Developers Following Gov. Shapiro's Responsible Infrastructure Development Standards  [PaEN]   

-- PA House Unanimously Passes Bill To Eliminate 6% Gross Receipts Tax On Electric Bills, Fix Electric, Natural Gas, Water, Wastewater Utility Ratemaking Process To Limit Shareholder Profits  [PaEN] 

-- PJM Interconnection Holds Next Generation Capacity Auction June 30, Results To Be Announced July 14  [PaEN] 

-- PJM Adds New Emergency Procedures To Deal With Strained Grid: A Capacity Advisory; Directive For Data Centers To Use Backup Generators  [PaEN] 

-- Lt. Gov. Davis Brings Together Utility Industry Experts To Highlight Solutions To Rising Energy Costs

-- Senate Democratic Policy Committee Holds Hearing On Solutions To Lower Consumer Electric Bills

NewsClips:

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Environmental Groups Push PA Lawmakers To Pass HB 1834 To Protect Ratepayers, Regulate A.I. Data Centers

-- PA Capital-Star: PA House Passes Bill With $1.7 Billion Tax Cut On Electricity, Reins In Public Utility Company Profits [Electric, Natural Gas, Water, Wastewater] By Setting New Rate Formula

-- House Unanimously Passed Bill To Base All Electric, Natural Gas, Water And Wastewater Rates On A Market-Based Return On Equity To Address  Increasing Utility Bills  [House Bill 2224]

-- PennLive: PA Senate Passes Bill With Changes To Tax Code, Including Repealing Data Center Sales Tax Exemption; Eliminating 6% Gross Receipts Tax On Electricity; Opening Sales Tax Holiday For School Supplies; Other Changes

-- The Citizens’ Voice: Project Hazelnut A.I. Data Center Offers $10,000 To Hazle Twp. Households As An Incentive To Approve The Plan  [4,505 Households In Twp. - $45 Million]

-- Inquirer: Constellation Energy Three Mile Island Nuclear Data Center Power Plant Engineer Manager Indicted On Federal Insider Trading Charges Of Illegally Profiting On Stock Options Related To The Plant Reopening

-- PennLive: Amid Growing Voter Outcry, A.I. Data Centers Have Emerged As An Election Issue For PA Lawmakers

-- PennLive: Massive 3,200 Acre Homer City A.I. Data Center Campus, 4.5 GW Gas Power Plant Swallowing Tiny PA Coal Town In Indiana County: ‘It Will Devour The Future’

-- Republican Herald: Mount Carmel Area Residents Concerned About Data Centers Launch New Grassroots Group Aimed At Giving Coal Region Communities A Stronger Voice 

-- PennLive: Western PA Coal Towns Are Ground Zero For A.I. Data Centers: ‘A Boom Coming’ 

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: How A.I. Data Centers Lost The PR War And What It Means For Business

-- AP: A.I. Is An Energy And Water Hog, Here’s What You Can Do To Counter That

-- Utility Dive: Grid Operators Making Significant Progress In Generation Queues, But No Evidence Requests Are Being Processed More Quickly; Fast-Track Policies Promote Fossil-Fuel Heavy Generation 

-- Utility Dive: North American Electric Reliability Corp: Deployable Generation Reserves Shrinking As Coal, Gas-Fired Power Plants Forced Outage Rates Rise

-- Utility Dive: US DOE Orders Keeping Power Plants Open Beyond Their Closure Dates Are Incurring $550 Million In Added Costs, What Are The Benefits?

-- Utility Dive: US DOE Offers $17.5 Billion In Loans For 10 Westinghouse Nuclear Power Reactors; Westinghouse Has Signed Letters Of Intent With 7 Partners, Each With Identified Project Sites 

-- Wall Street Journal: A.I. Data Center Boom Sparking Third Wave Of Inflation - Cost Of Computer Chips - Following Energy, Labor & Constructions Costs

[Posted: June 23, 2026]  PA Environment Digest