Salem Township supervisors approved expansions of the Special Data Center Overlay District on October 27, including changes associated with 4-3 Glennbrook Group's proposed Salem 3 campus and Moores 109 LLC's approximately 185-acre Salem 4 expansion. The decisions authorize zoning changes but do not constitute land-development or construction approval for either project.
October 30 is this site’s editorial update date; the source report is dated October 27. The Salem 3 proposal involves a planned 4,466-acre campus with developer-projected potential electricity demand of up to 4 GW. These scale and investment figures remain projections, rather than established operating capacity or completed investment.
Fit Energy hosted an October 28 information session about its proposed 15-building data-center and on-site power campus in Newport Township. The company presented plans and discussed potential community benefits as residents continued to question the project’s scale and impacts. Township zoning permits were issued in August, but additional land-development approvals remain necessary.
October 30 editorial update based on October 29 WVIA reporting. Separate Citizens’ Voice reporting reproduced by the township documents a lawsuit by three residents challenging the procedures used to adopt the April 2026 zoning ordinance. The allegations have not been established by a court ruling in the reviewed material, and the lawsuit does not itself invalidate the issued zoning permits. Community benefits, jobs and investment remain developer projections; no final tenant or construction approval is established.
DTA Alliance and affiliated applicants filed a curative amendment seeking to establish a data-center overlay on approximately 55 acres in Bowmanstown Borough. The proposal includes a 375,000-square-foot building near Ore and Ridge Streets and is related to the larger proposed Lower Towamensing data-center campus. The filing challenges existing zoning restrictions; it does not constitute approval of the requested overlay or construction.
October 30 is this site’s editorial update date; the reporting was published October 10. The filing proposes an infrastructure connection with the neighboring Lower Towamensing site. Neither zoning approval nor construction authorization is established.
Meeting details can change. Confirm with the issuing township before making plans.
Hazle Township Curative-Amendment Deadline
Times Leader reports that township solicitor Sean Logsdon identified December 7 as the deadline for the township’s curative-amendment process. This is not a scheduled public hearing or a guaranteed ordinance adoption date. Check Hazle Township for future notices.
Lower Towamensing Township confirms a December 17 public hearing on the curative amendment submitted by DTA Alliance LLC and Murphy’s Meadow LLC. The filing challenges the township’s existing zoning restrictions and proposes allowing data-center development within an overlay district. The requested zoning changes and development have not been approved.
Aquashicola Fire Company · 270 Little Gap Road, Palmerton, PA 18071
Salem Township supervisors approved expansions of the Special Data Center Overlay District on October 27, including changes associated with 4-3 Glennbrook Group's proposed Salem 3 campus and Moores 109 LLC's approximately 185-acre Salem 4 expansion. The decisions authorize zoning changes but do not constitute land-development or construction approval for either project.
October 30 is this site’s editorial update date; the source report is dated October 27. The Salem 3 proposal involves a planned 4,466-acre campus with developer-projected potential electricity demand of up to 4 GW. These scale and investment figures remain projections, rather than established operating capacity or completed investment.
Fit Energy hosted an October 28 information session about its proposed 15-building data-center and on-site power campus in Newport Township. The company presented plans and discussed potential community benefits as residents continued to question the project’s scale and impacts. Township zoning permits were issued in August, but additional land-development approvals remain necessary.
October 30 editorial update based on October 29 WVIA reporting. Separate Citizens’ Voice reporting reproduced by the township documents a lawsuit by three residents challenging the procedures used to adopt the April 2026 zoning ordinance. The allegations have not been established by a court ruling in the reviewed material, and the lawsuit does not itself invalidate the issued zoning permits. Community benefits, jobs and investment remain developer projections; no final tenant or construction approval is established.
DTA Alliance and affiliated applicants filed a curative amendment seeking to establish a data-center overlay on approximately 55 acres in Bowmanstown Borough. The proposal includes a 375,000-square-foot building near Ore and Ridge Streets and is related to the larger proposed Lower Towamensing data-center campus. The filing challenges existing zoning restrictions; it does not constitute approval of the requested overlay or construction.
October 30 is this site’s editorial update date; the reporting was published October 10. The filing proposes an infrastructure connection with the neighboring Lower Towamensing site. Neither zoning approval nor construction authorization is established.
Luzerne County Council scheduled discussion of a proposed data-center zoning amendment for its October 27 work session. The proposal would establish special-exception review and operating standards for data centers in 19 municipalities governed by county zoning. The Planning Commission recommended the revised ordinance October 8. No council adoption has been independently verified.
The October 27 work session was scheduled to follow the 6:01 PM voting session at the courthouse. The separate 5:55 PM public hearing concerned a different ordinance; it was not the data-center ordinance's required public hearing. The county's project page still displays its pre-meeting notice; the discussion's outcome needs verification.
Salem Township scheduled public hearings on proposed data-center overlay applications for October 27 at 5:30 PM at Berwick Assembly of God, 801 E. Fifth Street, Berwick, with a Board of Supervisors meeting to follow. Supervisors subsequently adopted the Salem 3 and Salem 4 overlay expansions that day.
October 25 is this site's original meeting-notice date. Supervisors adopted the Salem 3 and Salem 4 overlay expansions October 27, as noted in the October 30 update. These zoning changes do not grant land-development or construction approval.
Hazle Township's Planning Department held a special meeting October 29 at Hazleton Area High School to receive public comments on proposed zoning amendments governing data centers and associated energy infrastructure. The draft would permit data centers by right in the I-1 Industrial District, while some related facilities would require special-exception approval. Residents raised questions about setbacks, environmental safeguards and whether data centers themselves should require special-exception review. The ordinance has not been adopted.
Updated October 30 with Times Leader reporting. Originally published here October 25 as a meeting announcement; it was rescheduled from earlier dates and ultimately held October 29 at 6 PM in the Hazleton Area High School auditorium, 1601 W. 23rd Street, rather than Hazle Township Commons. The solicitor identified December 7 as the curative-amendment deadline, not a scheduled public hearing or guaranteed adoption date. Commonwealth Court appeal 827 CD 2026 remains Active and is separate from this zoning review.
Plains Township's Board of Commissioners voted October 22 to reject a proposed technology and energy overlay district that would have allowed data-center development on land currently zoned for conservation. Commissioners instead plan to draft a revised ordinance allowing data centers within the existing Industrial District through conditional-use review. A public hearing on the replacement ordinance will be scheduled, but no date has been announced.
The decision rejects the proposed zoning expansion, not data-center development throughout the township. The replacement regulations have not been enacted. No specific data-center application was identified in the reporting.
Smithfield Township and the applicant reached an October 21 agreement limiting the scheduled October 28 Board hearing to party-status matters. The agreement called for revised plans and additional engineering review before a subsequent substantive hearing. The hearing's outcome and a continuation date have not been independently verified.
Historical township correspondence about the October 28 schedule, not a record of what occurred. The procedural agreement did not establish a Planning Commission recommendation or grant conditional-use or construction approval. Check the township project hub for a verified outcome and any new hearing notice.
Archbald Borough Council unanimously denied the conditional-use application for Cornell Realty Management's proposed 14-building Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus on approximately 578 acres. The October 21 decision followed nine hearings. A potential appeal has not been confirmed.
Lackawanna County reporting. This is a decision on the Wildcat Ridge application; it does not establish a borough-wide data-center ban or confirm an appeal.
A continued public hearing challenging Tobyhanna Township's data-center overlay ordinance is listed for October 29 at 5 p.m. at Kalahari Resorts & Conventions in Pocono Manor. The challenge concerns Ordinance No. 580, which established an overlay district associated with the Pennsylvania Glacial Till proposal. The date appears in a regional event notice and an update from the resident organization pursuing the challenge. Attendees should verify arrangements directly with the township.
October 19 is this site's editorial update date, not the notice issuance date. MonroeCountyPA.com is independent regional media; Protect Rural Tobyhanna Township is a resident organization pursuing the challenge. Allegations of unlawful spot zoning are not legal findings. The zoning challenge remains pending; this is not a project approval hearing. Update October 30: the listed hearing date has passed; no official ruling or subsequent hearing date has been independently verified.
Governor Josh Shapiro filed an October 15 petition seeking to intervene in a Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission proceeding concerning how PPL Electric allocates costs and reliability risks associated with large data centers. The petition supports an October 2 complaint from the Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate and calls for stronger protections against shifting data-center-related infrastructure costs to existing electricity customers.
The administration supports separate rate classifications for large data centers, stronger requirements for allocating transmission and regional reliability costs, and safeguards against electricity supply disruptions. PPL already maintains a large-load rate schedule, but the Consumer Advocate argues its protections are insufficient. The proceeding remains active; no PUC ruling on the complaint has been established. The petition seeks party status; no grant of intervention or new customer charges or rate changes is established by this filing.
Fit Energy scheduled an October 28 public information session for its proposed 15-data-center and power-generation campus in Newport Township, Luzerne County, at Greater Nanticoke Area High School. WVIA subsequently reported that the developer-hosted open house took place.
Newport Township issued zoning permits in August, but additional approvals are still required. Fit Energy says it is developing a Community Benefits Agreement with Newport Township and finalizing plans for land-development review. No finalized benefits agreement or construction approval has been established. The October 28 session is a developer-hosted open house, not a municipal hearing. Update October 30: WVIA reports that the October 28 open house was held. See the newer Newport Township article for the meeting report and separate zoning-lawsuit context.
Luzerne County's Planning Commission voted October 8 to recommend a revised data-center zoning ordinance to County Council. The proposed regulations reduce previously recommended setbacks and revise noise limits while requiring special-exception review for data-center applications. County Council adoption remains pending, and the ordinance is not yet in effect.
The proposal would apply to 19 municipalities under Luzerne County zoning jurisdiction. Newport Township, which administers its own zoning, is not covered. This is a county policy recommendation, not approval of Project Hazelnut or Newport Township's Fit Energy proposal.
The October 27 Lower Towamensing curative-amendment hearing was postponed at the applicant’s request. The township has since confirmed a December 17 continuation; the requested zoning changes and development have not been approved.
November 3 verification update: Lower Towamensing Township has confirmed the continued hearing for December 17, 2026, at 7 PM at Aquashicola Fire Company.
Smithfield Township scheduled Planning Commission review of the Gateway data-center application for October 21 and a Board of Supervisors conditional-use hearing for October 28, both at J.T. Lambert Intermediate School. The township notice assigned party-status requests to the October 28 Board hearing, not the October 21 review.
Historical township scheduling notice. The dates have passed; this notice does not establish either meeting's outcome. Conditional-use approval would not be construction approval.
About 100 people attended an October 1 community meeting ahead of Lower Towamensing Township’s October 27 public hearing on a proposed data-center zoning amendment. The gathering was organized by Save Carbon County and was not an official township hearing. The proposal discussed in current reporting involves the Blue Shamrock Golf Course / DTA Alliance property and a potential large data-center campus.
Historical coverage of the October 1 community organizing meeting, which was not the township hearing. The October 27 curative-amendment hearing was subsequently postponed; the township now lists the continued hearing for December 17, 2026.
The Pennsylvania House Energy Committee advanced several data-center measures, including proposals addressing when developers must secure electric service, responsibility for grid-related infrastructure costs, and curtailment during power emergencies. HB 2775 would require certain large-load developers to apply for electric service and pay associated fees before seeking zoning approval. HB 2828 addresses infrastructure-cost responsibility and emergency curtailment of data centers.
Committee action, not enacted law. The measures advanced from committee and would require additional legislative action before becoming law.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission issued a tentative order seeking comment on proposed changes intended to prevent large data centers from being automatically treated as protected critical load during electricity emergencies. A related cost-allocation conference had been scheduled for November 17, but its current schedule requires confirmation.
Official tentative order, not a final regulation or a requirement that every data center shut down during an emergency. An industry report says the PUC postponed the November 17 conference on October 28; the underlying PUC notice could not be independently opened during this review. Do not plan around that date without confirming with the PUC.
Recent coverage has brought renewed attention to Project Hazelnut, NorthPoint Development’s proposed 15-building data-center campus on roughly 1,300 acres in Hazle Township, Luzerne County. NorthPoint says its $165 million community-benefit package would include $10,000 grants for eligible township households. Hazle Township previously denied the land-development plan, and the developer’s appeal remains in litigation.
Wider Northeast Pennsylvania / Pocono foothills reporting. The $10,000 grant is part of a developer commitment tied to the proposed project; it is not an existing public benefit. The township denial remains under appeal and is not final construction approval. Update October 30: the official appellate docket distinguishes the earlier county-court order from the active June 10 appeal by NP Hazleton Holdings 1, LLC, Commonwealth Court 827 CD 2026.
Pennsylvania Farm Bureau released a policy paper arguing for a pause on data-center development to give policymakers and communities time to study the impacts of data centers and their supporting infrastructure, including farmland loss, resources for rural municipalities, and an equitable share of benefits for local communities and ratepayers. This is an advocacy organization’s policy position, not enacted state policy.
Advocacy position, not law. The Farm Bureau board voted in July to support a statewide moratorium; the September policy paper explains its reasoning.
Policy & ZoningForests & Land UseTransmission & Grid
Salem Township’s Planning Commission again recommended expanding its Special Data Center Overlay District by more than 4,000 acres for the proposed 4-3 Glenbrook Group project. The matter now moves to the township Board of Supervisors, expected to consider it in October. The Planning Commission recommendation is not final construction approval.
Northeast PA reporting outside the Pike and Monroe project tracker. A planning-commission recommendation is advisory; the Board of Supervisors decides. Update October 30: supervisors adopted the Salem 3 and Salem 4 overlay expansions October 27. These zoning changes do not grant land-development or construction approval.
Smithfield Township’s Gateway project hub now includes a second township-engineer review and a Monroe County Planning Commission courtesy review. The documents raise unresolved questions involving water capacity, grid reinforcement, acoustical-model compliance, screening, lighting and emergency planning. These are technical review comments, not a decision on the pending conditional-use application, and, at the time, no replacement hearing date had been announced.
Official township source. Review comments are not a decision; check the township project hub for hearing notices.
The U.S. House passed the Ratepayer Protection Act 417–3. The bill would require state utility commissions to consider standards intended to make data centers larger than 100 MW cover the incremental electricity-generation and transmission costs needed to serve them.
Update — Sept. 30: The Senate voted 57–43 to advance the House-passed measure, short of the 60 votes required. The bill therefore failed to advance in the Senate. The proposal would have required consideration of a federal standard rather than automatically setting electricity rates.
Property owners filed a curative amendment seeking to allow a data center at the Blue Shamrock Golf Course / DTA Alliance property in Lower Towamensing Township, Carbon County. This wider-Poconos proposal is outside the core Pike and Monroe project tracker.
Wider Poconos reporting. The filing is evidence of a proposed land-use change, not a confirmed project approval or a core tracker entry.
Smithfield Township postponed the previously advertised September 9 conditional-use hearing for the Gateway data center. September 23 was a regular Board meeting, not a continuation hearing. The township later scheduled an October 28 hearing limited to party-status matters.
Historical public notice documenting the September postponement. Smithfield Township subsequently scheduled Planning Commission review for October 21 and the conditional-use hearing for October 28.
Loudoun County’s data-center growth brought major tax benefits—and debate over noise, power lines and development pressure. A look at the tradeoffs after years of expansion.
Outside case study: Loudoun County, Virginia. This is context for the Poconos, not a local project report.
Lessons From ElsewhereJobs & EconomyCommunity Response
An explainer of Pennsylvania’s new data-center executive order: what it requires of developers, where discretion remains, and what is still unresolved.
Data-center development has rapidly become a major Pennsylvania political issue, with candidates across competitive races taking positions on electricity costs, local authority, environmental protections, and the pace of new development.
DEP’s stormwater-permit review covers the Bushkill Falls–Birchwood Lakes transmission segment through Lehman and Delaware townships, with stream, wetland and land-disturbance concerns.
State Sen. Rosemary Brown proposed a three-year statewide moratorium on hyperscale data-center development, arguing that Pennsylvania needs time to address unresolved questions involving energy demand, water use, infrastructure, environmental impacts, and community planning.
The proposed three-year moratorium amendment failed 2–9 in committee, according to this report. It did not become a statewide moratorium.
U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan introduced legislation aimed at protecting municipalities that reject data-center proposals from costly federal litigation while also encouraging local workforce commitments when projects are approved.
Proposed federal legislation; this is not a statement that these protections are already law.
Pike County commissioners weighed the need for electrical reliability and future economic development against resident concerns about property impacts, routing, and eminent domain associated with the Shawnee–Walker transmission project.
Pike County residents gathered in Delaware Township to organize opposition to FirstEnergy’s Shawnee–Walker transmission project, circulate petitions, and raise concerns about property impacts, land clearing, eminent domain, and the project’s necessity.
This is reporting on community opposition. Claims by organizers are attributed to them, not independently verified here.
A community post raised questions about whether a large DEPG-owned property near Route 739 in Dingman Township could someday be repurposed for data-center development, particularly as new electrical infrastructure is considered nearby.
Community report · Unverified. This post republishes Facebook speculation. No public application, announced operator or confirmed data-center plan was identified in the sources reviewed for this property.
Dingman Township supervisors heard resident concerns about the Shawnee–Walker project, including possible effects on private property, environmental resources, electricity rates, and questions from residents about whether future industrial or data-center development could benefit from the added capacity.
Residents’ speculation about future warehouses or AI facilities is not evidence that Shawnee–Walker was designed specifically for data centers.
An early look at the Smithfield Gateway data center proposal, including how data-center development became part of the long-planned commercial site and what the initial concept looked like when it reached local review.
Plans have changed since this article was published. Its earlier two-building concept was superseded by the August 2026 revision: one two-story building, approximately 500,000 sq. ft. total, a 250,000 sq. ft. footprint and proposed 250 MW load. See the current project record below.
WVIA examines private wells, groundwater and cooling demand. Water use depends on the cooling system and site design; facilities do not all have the same needs.
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Our summaries provide context; the original reporting belongs to its publishers. Community reports are labeled separately. MonroeCountyPA.com is independent media, not a county government website. For current proposal details, consult our sourced project tracker
THE WVIA SERIES
Data Centers: Deal or Dilemma?
Three connected stories. Start with the water, follow the power, then hear from the communities weighing the tradeoffs.
WVIA examines private wells, groundwater and cooling demand. Water use depends on the cooling system and site design; facilities do not all have the same needs.
Loudoun County’s data-center growth brought major tax benefits—and debate over noise, power lines and development pressure. A look at the tradeoffs after years of expansion.
Documents, local reporting and public notices help build a clearer picture. Tip submissions aren’t open yet. We’ll add a contact destination here when it’s ready.
