Prove It! How Data Centers Kill Trout Streams

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 into habitat improvement, stream stewardship, conservation initiatives, and financial resources to enhance our local fisheries and protect aquatic ecosystems. These investments can only pay dividends if our cold-water tributaries and headwaters remain healthy and are not wiped out by poorly planned development. Within the building envelope of the potentially impacted area (see the diagram below), several watersheds are of concern, most notably Dennison Run, Broad Run, and Nesquehoning Creek. All are part of the greater Lehigh River watershed. The Exceptional Value designation that Dennison and Broad Run have earned makes them the best of the best. It also makes them exceptionally rare and worthy of protection from degradation. The Pennsylvania Brook Trout, our state fish, live here. They are the only real native trout. They are beautiful and almost tropical-looking and they also are extremely sensitive to declining water quality. They can be wiped out in an instant. Soon something very special happens in these small streams that we have the ability to maintain against all odds. During October and November, the Brook Trout spawn and lay eggs, becoming the future generations of trout. This all sounds great; however, there is a big hurdle is still to come. The eggs are fine while inside the female; they are laid in a nest called a redd and fertilized by a dominant male. This is when the spawn can run off the rails. The eggs are soft and take 2 days to harden. During these two days, the eggs are exposed and absorb everything the water has to offer, including pesticides, microplastics, chemicals, salts, 6PPD tire coating (which is lethal to trout), and petroleum. If the water quality is poor, we lose an entire generation, and if this happens in consecutive years, we lose the Brook Trout population in its entirety. This matters because examples like this are less apparent and not easily witnessed or even thought of when planning projects such as this data center and the associated parking lot built to accommodate hundreds of cars with tires that have 6PPD coating. Rain washes microscopic tire wear particles into storm drains, streams and wetlands, converting safe 6PPD into toxic 6PPD-quinone. When the population of Brook Trout is wiped out in this manner, there are no dead fish on the banks, no green water, no piles of silt to look at, just the loss of an entire generation of eggs. This is certainly a possible future for this watershed. We are not in opposition to progress and data centers are certainly part of the next phase of progress our society faces. We are, however, in opposition to poorly planned, rapid development that is inappropriately sited within our environment. Everything has a proper place and a pristine wetland environment bordered by two exceptional value streams does not qualify as proper placement for a massive data center with an associated parking lot. To save our native Pennsylvania Brook trout, all decision-making authorities must apply the highest level of scrutiny to this project prior to issuing approvals or moving forward in any way.