The paper says in part-- "data center development affects the mission in the following ways by exacerbating the challenge of conserving and stewarding natural, cultural, recreational, and agricultural resources that make the region unique.
"These include water consumption and quality, energy infrastructure (power transmission, generation, and consumption), noise, landscape character, aesthetics/views, air quality, transparency (ability of municipalities to make good faith decisions based on all of the facts and share information and have discussions with residents), rapid pace (which challenges many municipalities from enacting thoughtful data center ordinances).
More specifically, data centers would impact the region in several ways--
-- Conserved resources—Often directly conflicts with conservation activities and goals, creating new challenges on top of existing challenges of conserving and stewarding natural, cultural, recreational, and agricultural resources.
-- Vibrant communities—Direct economic impact of data centers is diffuse. Employment during operations is relatively low per square foot compared to other uses like manufacturing. It is difficult to determine whether the economic value generated will translate into broad community prosperity.
-- Sense of place—Industrial campuses can erode community and rural character and regional identity due in part to loss of productive and scenic farmland and forests, weakening residents’ and visitors’ attachment and heritage identity. Hyperscale campuses are especially concerning.
-- Collaboration—Does not prevent collaboration. However, when transparency or facts and information are limited, collaboration stalls.
-- Well-planned growth—DC development is occurring without well-coordinated and informed decision-making at the commonwealth and local levels due in part to the pace of land speculation and development proposals and availability of resources and facts. This dynamic has led to DC development on rural and/or rural- and residential-adjacent land, drives further speculative land conversion, and develops significant electric and natural gas energy generation and transmission expansion projects.
-- Sustainable economic development—Intense land conversion and development pressure has existed in the region for over a decade, and DC development has further quickened the pace.
Data Centers crowd out other forms of development on what few economic development sites we have in the South Mountain region. Constrained availability of land makes it difficult for local manufacturers to grow within the region.
Also, balancing development proposals with the need to conserve and steward land and public natural assets such as waterways and community character creates a sustainable development obstacle.
DC development in particular strains many of the public and private natural resources in the region.
The current dynamic is preventing well-planned growth and drives development that is not in keeping with the region’s sense of place, natural assets, and strengths that make it economically competitive; this makes it more difficult to assess impacts on agricultural, historical, natural, and outdoor recreation resources.
The white paper also reviews challenges related to water quality and quantity, loss of resources, public health, and recreation.
“While hyperscale data centers can provide important services to our increasingly digital society, evaluation of the impacts of hyperscale data centers against our State of the Region regional challenges reveals legitimate impacts to the region as a whole and incompatibility with designated environmentally sensitive areas of the South Mountain region.
“Pennsylvania's Environmental Rights Amendment (Article I, Section 27) guarantees citizens the right to clean air, pure water, and the preservation of natural, scenic, historic, and aesthetic environmental values.
“Therefore, we have an opportunity to use municipal planning tools and community advocacy to ensure planned DCs in the South Mountain region have the least impact possible for residents.”
Click Here to read the entire white paper.
For more information on programs, initiatives, upcoming events and how you can get involved, visit the South Mountain Partnership website. Sign up for regular updates from the Partnership (bottom of the webpage).
Find out more about Friends of South Mountain Partnership. The Partnership serves Cumberland, Adams, Franklin, and York counties.
Visit DCNR’s Conservation Landscape Initiatives webpage for more on similar programs around Pennsylvania.
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[Posted: November 6, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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