PA Environment Digest Blog: York County Economic Development Agency Official Calls PA Chamber Of Business & Industry Initiative Urging Opponents Of A.I. Data Centers To Take No Technology Pledge ‘Petty And Embarrassing’

In an August 25 post on Linkedin, Silas Chamberlin, Chief Strategy Officer for the York County Economic Alliance, called a PA Chamber of Business and Industry response to opponents of A.I. data centers “petty and embarrassing.”

Chamberlain said-- “As a member of the PA Chamber of Business and Industry, I think this ‘No Technology Pledge’ post is petty and embarrassing.

“We need thoughtful leadership that can help communities and businesses sort through a genuinely complex issue-- not lame gotcha pledges.

“Regardless of your take on data center development, we need better and more thoughtful leadership on this issue across the board.”

Chamberlain was objecting to the PA Chamber of Business and Industry No Technology Pledge on its website that asked-- “If you want to stop data centers are you willing to stop using the technology they power?” Read post here.

The PA Chamber said “data centers are the invisible infrastructure behind our digital economy” “yet policymakers across the country are proposing moratoriums and other restrictions that would make it harder to build the infrastructure behind these services.”

So the PA Chamber proposed any legislation to ban data center development should include a 13-point No Technology Pledge to stop using email, GPS, social media, streaming movies and shopping through Amazon.

[Note: This is the same strategy the Pennsylvania oil and gas industry uses in opposing measures to make oil and gas development safer-- are you willing to do without plastics and other products made from natural gas?]

The PA Chamber acknowledged there are legitimate questions surrounding data center development. They said communities deserve transparency and residents deserve a meaningful voice in development decisions.

They noted energy and water resources must be planned responsibly and consumers and ratepayers should be protected and developers should be held to clear standards.

The Chamber offered a Model Ordinance written by businesses as a framework for addressing local concerns while keeping the door open to responsible development.

Silas Chamberlin is also the Executive Director of the Outdoor Business Alliance of Pennsylvania and serves as Chair of DCNR’s Conservation and Natural Resources Advisory Council.

PA Oil & Gas Industry, Public Notice Dashboards:

-- Middle Susquehanna RiverKeeper: DEP Considering ‘Alternative Enforcement Measures’ To Assure Cleanup Of Eureka Resources Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Plants In Lycoming, Bradford Counties [PaEN]

-- DEP: Diversified Production LLC Contaminated Water Pipeline Release Pollutes Farm Field In Indiana County [PaEN]

-- DEP: Iron Cumberland LLC Conventional Well Plugging Results On Subsurface Release Of Cement Into Hargus Creek In Greene County [PaEN]

-- DEP: K Petroleum Inc. Shale Gas Well Site Had Contaminated Water Flowing Down The Side Of A Storage Tank In Washington County [PaEN]

-- Environmental Defense Fund Awarded Foxwynd Foundation Grant To Help Locate Conventional Oil & Gas Wells Abandoned By Their Owners In Settlers Cabin Park, Allegheny County [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - August 22 [PaEN]

-- DEP Invites Comments On Air Permit For Montour CT Natural Gas Power Plant Expansion In Montour County To Feed Data Centers [PaEN]

-- DEP Invites Comments On Chapter 105 Permit For Expand Operating LLC Double, 16-Inch Shale Gas Water Pipelines In Fox Twp., Sullivan County [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approved 35 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In July; 223 In 2026 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 70 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In August 22 PA Bulletin [PaEN]