Save Carbon County joined local residents who attended the Towamensing Township Planning Commission meeting on Thursday regarding the curative amendment filed on September 1st for a proposed data center at the site of Blue Shamrock Golf Course and DTA Alliance LLC, 415 Golf Road. The property owners filed the curative amendment to challenge the township’s zoning ordinance, alleging the ordinance is defective because it fails to provide for data center use anywhere in the muni

ALERT: Another Data Center is slated for Carbon County! This one is to be located in Lower Towamensing adjacent to Bowmanstown and the West End of Palmerton on the former country club property on Fireline Road. This site is currently zoned “R” for recreation/resort uses. The data center will include solar panels but will be principally powered by on-site gas or diesel generators. The building footprint will be over 4.5 million square feet! It will impact Fireline Creek which

With deep appreciation and gratitude to the Lehigh River Stocking Association's Vince Spaits, here's an update on the David versus the Data Center Goliath story. We are rapidly running out of fingers to plug the leaking dike with the sheer number and rapid pace of development in northeastern Pennsylvania that threaten our ecosystems, environment, and quality of life. Over the decades, Lehigh River Stocking Association (LRSA) members and leadership invested countless hours int

Thank you to Steve Chuckra for sharing his Speaker Notes from the PA-DEP National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit hearing on Thursday - in addition to being quoted in the TimesNews Lehighton, his Speaker Notes provide a lot of useful information and are well worth the time to read: "The proposed Keel Infrastructure data center site, near Nesquehoning Creek, is jammed between two Exceptional Value trout streams: Broad Run and Dennison Run. According to PennFuture

The massive data center complex proposed in Nesquehoning is alarming in it's size and scale. As we can see from the developers plan in the image below, four massive buildings are sandwiched between Dennison Run (an Exceptional Value trout stream) on the left, and Broad Run (an Exceptional Value trout stream) on the right. The buildings are arrayed in a straight line because they back up against the Nesquehoning coal mountain that drains into the Exceptional Value wetlands tha

Save the date - Thursday, August 20th starting at 5pm Keel Infrastructure (owners of Panther Creek Power, also doing business as Carbon Node East, LLC) are hosting a public question-and-answer (Q&A) session at the Panther Valley High School. The Q&A session is viewed as a public relations opportunity for Keel Infrastructure, so please come prepared with your questions. As you may already be aware, Keel Infrastructure wants to build a massive data center complex - 4 massive bu

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network webinar on sewage sludge was eye-opening! Did you know that Pennsylvania imports MORE sewage sludge (aka biosolids) than it produces? Ewww - we must do better! We must demand that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA-DEP) do its job and BAN the land application of all biosolids (aka sewage sludge) known to contain PFAS/PFOS. The most common sources of biosolids that contain PFAS/PFOS are known and most often come from ou

At the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA-DEP) public hearing on June 23, over 75 residents, community leaders, Township officials, scientists, conservation organizations, and Northeastern PA Girl Scout leadership showed up to protest the proposed Mora Solar project. Based in Durham, North Carolina, Mora Solar, LLC, wants to build an industrial-scale, 60-MW solar farm on 390 acres of pristine forest in Kidder Township, including High-Quality wild brown tr

Keel Infrastructure has received significant positive press for all the good work they are doing in Panther Valley - from donating to local gyms and public parks to hiring 2 veterans who are also brothers, Keel is the local media darling of the moment. Recently, the TimesNews posted a notice of a public hearing at the Panther Valley High School on Thursday, August 20th, at 5pm regarding the Carbon Node East (operated by Keel Infrastructure) application for a National Pollutio

Good news - the Delaware Riverkeeper Network is hosting a FREE webinar with information about how we can get involved with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA-DEP) proposed revisions to their Sewage Sludge Permit regulations. Sewage sludge, processed into “biosolids”, has been applied on farm fields for decades in Pennsylvania. There is mounting evidence that "biosolids" applied on land contaminate groundwater, surface water, soil, air, and crops/farm

The lawsuit against Panther Creek Power (was Stronghold Digital then Bitfarms and is now Keel Infrastructure) and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA-DEP) is ongoing. The wheels of justice turn slowly—very slowly. Our lawsuit was filed by Freiwald Law back in March of 2024. We contend that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including the PA-DEP, has failed to provide the environmental protections guaranteed by our Constitution. We are also seeking damag

Thanks to Save Carbon County members, our friends in Love Kidder Township, and the Aquashicola-Pohopoco Watershed Conservancy (APWC) for speaking out against Mora Solar's proposed construction of a massive solar farm between Mosey Wood Road and State Route 940. The project will clear-cut 390 acres of forest and destroy Lehigh River tributaries in the Fourth Run and Black Creek. To be clear, Save Carbon County supports clean, renewable energy but not at the cost of pristine wi

This blog is born out of the pressing need to stand in solidarity with the residents of Palmerton who have been impacted by the noise, noxious odors, and knowledge that trucks full of landfill are dumping toxic waste near Mauch Chunk Road along the bank of the Lehigh River. The trucks are allowed under Residual Waste Permit WMGR096 for Northface Industrial Complex / Phase III Environmental, LLC. Their toxic cargo comes from New York and New Jersey, where companies pay to unlo

With many thanks to our Save Carbon County allies, below is an update on three bills currently at the Pennsylvania State Senate. Two bills recently passed the House here in Pennsylvania and are now in the PA Senate waiting for review. The third bill started in the Senate with bi-partisan support. Please contact your PA State Senator to ask for support for these bills. In Carbon County, our PA State Senator is Dave Argall. H.B. 1834 a.k.a The Data Center Act. Three agencies ar

Please join us in celebrating a vital part of what makes Carbon County special - our amazing trout! Carbon County is chock-full of Exceptional Value and High-Quality streams, protected for designated aquatic life and a number of drinking water supply and recreational uses. From the headwaters at Black Creek/Moseywood Camp in Kidder Township to important tributaries such as Long Run, Mauch Chunk, Mill, and Pohopoco Creeks, the Lehigh River watershed is one of the few remaining

Last week, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN) hosted a webinar on "Biosolids and Sewage Sludge: The impacts of its application on farms in Pennsylvania.” Now, why would the DRN care about Sewage Sludge? Because Sewage Sludge is chock-full of PFAS and PFOS, the toxic forever chemicals that are poisoning our water supplies - the largest local source of drinking water is the Delaware River. Still, if the Sewage Sludge is land-applied, what does that matter? Because: 1) Run-o

Solar power offers alternative energy that is becoming more popular. Installing solar panels where they can add the most value like on rooftops and in parking lots make good sense. Clear cutting 390 acres of pristine forest to install a solar farm does not make any sense. Once a forest is gone, it's gone forever. A forest isn't just trees, it's the incredible ecosystem that thrives in the forest and we must speak out before it's too late. The Mora Solar project proposes to cl

A Penn Forest Township Zoning Hearing Board meeting regarding Data Center Zoning is scheduled for Wednesday, June 3rd at 6:30 PM at the Penn Forest Fire Department #1. Background: there are now three challenges to Penn Forest Township Data Center Zoning. One was filed by the Mele Bros., who own the property designated as a possible data center site. They filed a Substantive Validity Challenge prior to the adoption of the new Data Center Overlay Ordinance because the zoning at

More farmers are losing their livelihoods when their livestock dies or is destroyed and land condemned due to toxic levels of PFAS/PFOS from sewage sludge. The latest heartbreak is in Texas, where a farmer is unable to pass the family farm down to the next generation (more information is here). Closer to home, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA-DEP) will hold a hearing on May 11th regarding the North Centre Township PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ hazardous

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA-DEP) is coming to Lehighton this Wednesday, May 6th from 3-5PM! The Department of Environmental Protection has scheduled in-person Climate Conversation Workshops across the state to help shape Pennsylvania's next Climate Action Plan. Each session includes an open listening discussion where community members can share concerns and ideas about climate change, followed by a short presentation on Pennsylvania’s Climate A