TAKE ACTION
Your Voice Matters.
Data-center proposals, zoning decisions, transmission projects, and state policy are shaped through public processes. You don't need to be an expert to participate. You just need to know where your voice can make a difference.
Our environment.
Our future.
ACT NOW
What Needs Your Attention Now
Key hearings, meetings, and deadlines affecting data-center development and related infrastructure in the Poconos.
Smithfield Gateway — Conditional-Use Review Ongoing
Conditional-use application under review. The October 28 Board hearing was scheduled to address party-status requests under an October 21 procedural agreement. The outcome has not yet been independently verified, and no subsequent substantive hearing date has been confirmed in the reviewed official records.
CHECK OFFICIAL MEETING DETAILS (opens in a new tab)Following the Party-Status Process
The township scheduled the October 28 session for party-status requests. The prior October 27 email-submission deadline has passed. Check the township’s current instructions and hearing record for any further opportunities to participate.
PARTY-STATUS INFO (opens in a new tab)Watch for the Substantive Hearing
The October 28 session was scheduled for party-status matters. No subsequent substantive hearing date or verified outcome is established in the reviewed official materials. Follow the township’s project page for application documents and scheduling updates.
CHECK CURRENT STATUS (opens in a new tab)Lehman Township
Follow Board of Supervisors meetings and notices for the Bushkill area. Residents may submit an issue in writing for the Board's consideration.
LEHMAN TOWNSHIP INFO (opens in a new tab)Schedule reviewed October 30, 2026. Confirm dates, locations and participation requirements with the linked official source.
GET INVOLVED
Choose How You Want to Help
Pick what works for you. Staying informed is a good start — and speaking up when a decision is actually on the table matters even more.
Stay Informed
Get updates when new proposals appear, plans change, hearings are scheduled, or deadlines approach — so you know what's happening before the vote.
GET UPDATESAttend a Public Meeting
Local boards make many land-use decisions. Attend in person or by livestream, and review the agenda beforehand. Smithfield currently livestreams meetings with Zoom access.
SEE UPCOMING MEETINGSContact Local Officials
The right person depends on the decision. For a project in a formal quasi-judicial hearing, use the official hearing process rather than private lobbying of the deciders.
FIND LOCAL CONTACTSSubmit Public Comment
Comment is most useful tied to a specific decision. Identify the project or permit, read the official notice, submit before the deadline, and keep a copy.
SEE CURRENT OPPORTUNITIESShare With Your Community
Local awareness changes local politics. When you share, keep our status labels intact — confirmed, infrastructure, watchlist, or rumor — so unverified claims don't become fake facts.
SHARE THIS SITEShowing up is one practical way to make your voice heard.
Attend, read the record, or submit a specific written comment through the official process.
WHO TO CONTACT
Contact Your Local Decision-Makers
The most relevant official depends on where you live and what decision is being made.
Pike County / Bushkill Area
Lehman Township Board of Supervisors
Aaron Springs — Vice Chairman
Daniel Medrano Jr. — Supervisor
Residents may submit an issue in writing for the Board's consideration.
VISIT LEHMAN TOWNSHIP (opens in a new tab)Pike County Commissioners
Ronald R. Schmalzle — Vice Chairman
Christa L. Caceres — Commissioner
Phone: 570-296-7613
PA Rep. Tarah Probst
Lehman satellite office: 193 Municipal Drive, Bushkill — Tue & Thu, 9 AM–2 PM.
CONTACT REP. PROBST (opens in a new tab)PA Sen. Lisa Baker
Phone: 570-226-5960
Monroe County / Smithfield Area
Smithfield Township Board of Supervisors
Robert J. Lovenheim — Vice Chairman
Michael Albert — Supervisor
Phone: 570-223-5082
Monroe County Commissioners
David C. Parker — Vice Chairman
Sharon S. Laverdure — Commissioner
Phone: 570-517-3102
PA Sen. Rosemary Brown
Phone: 570-620-4326
Not Sure Who Represents You?
PA legislative districts don't always follow county or township lines. Enter your address in the official tool to confirm your representative and senator.
FIND YOUR PA LEGISLATORS (opens in a new tab)Public office information reviewed September 5, 2026. District boundaries and office hours can change; confirm through the official contact links.
SHOWING UP
Attend a Meeting: What to Expect
If you've never attended a township or county meeting before, you're not alone.
BEFORE YOU GO
- Check the official agenda and location
- Verify the date immediately before attending
- Read any project documents you care about
- Find out whether speakers must sign in
- Bring written notes; arrive early for hearings
WHEN YOU SPEAK
- State your name and community if required
- Stay within the allotted time
- Lead with your strongest point
- Address the board, not the audience
- Ask for a specific action; submit written notes too
FORMAL HEARINGS ARE DIFFERENT
Smithfield's Gateway proceeding is a conditional-use hearing: the applicant must demonstrate compliance with ordinance standards, people may request party status, and decisions can ultimately be appealed to court.
SMITHFIELD GATEWAY PARTICIPATION (opens in a new tab)Not Sure Who to Contact? It Depends on the Issue.
A data center proposed in your township
Start with township supervisors + planning/zoning . For an active formal hearing, follow the official participation process.
A zoning ordinance
Contact township supervisors + the planning commission .
A transmission project
Utility + affected municipalities + state regulators. Check the utility’s current route and the permit notice for the segment affecting you.
SHAWNEE–WALKER INFO (opens in a new tab)Statewide policy or electricity costs
Contact your PA state representative + state senator .
FIND MY LEGISLATOR (opens in a new tab)A specific environmental permit
Follow the agency and public-comment process named in the official permit notice . Don't assume the township controls a state or federal environmental permit.
STAY INVOLVED
Stay Involved. Not Just Informed.
You don't have to agree on every data center or every piece of infrastructure to believe communities deserve transparency, careful planning, and a meaningful voice in what gets built.
SPEAK EFFECTIVELY
How to Make Your Comment Count
Strong public comments don't need exaggeration. They need specificity.
Be specific
Identify the exact project, ordinance, permit, or application you're addressing.
Focus on concrete impacts
Choose the issues that actually matter to you instead of cramming everything into one three-minute comment.
Ask for something
A useful comment tells officials what you want them to do. For example:
Distinguish fact from concern
It's legitimate to raise an unanswered question. The strongest arguments survive fact-checking.
Make it personal
Officials already have technical reports. What they don't have is your lived experience — and personal doesn't have to mean dramatic.
Build Your Own Message — A Simple Structure
Use this structure in your own words. Explain the facts and concerns that matter to you, and follow the receiving agency’s instructions.