Residents First! Stop the Data Centers!

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 is a Cold-Water Fishery and may impact the Bowmanstown water supply. It is assumed that the necessary water will be drawn from on-site wells. Nearby housing includes housing on Fireline Rd., housing in Bowmanstown in the area of the Meadow Crest Development, and the West End of Palmerton (Princeton, etc). Depending on how much water will be withdrawn, the development could impact the water supply for Bowmanstown. The developers are the owners of the Lower Towamensing Sand Quarry which is in the process of closing. They recently purchased the country club property. The developers are following the same playbook as was used in Penn Forest. On Tuesday, September 1st at 4:30PM, a Substantive Validity Challenge to the Lower Towamensing Zoning Ordinance was filed. The developers also provided a plot plan for the data center which indicates that their planning is advanced but it's not clear whether they have filed a formal application. The Towamensing Supervisors met at 7PM that same day but were unaware of the filing. Lower Towamensing was in the process of amending their current ordinances and adopting a data center ordinance but had completed neither. The Lower Towamensing Board of Supervisors will meet for a special meeting on Wednesday, the 9th at 7PM at their offices at 595 Hahns Dairy Road, Palmerton.

As a follow-up to the Penn Forest Township struggle against data center development, our heartfelt thanks to Linda Christman for sharing her remarks from the Penn Forest Township Zoning Hearing Board meeting last week. Her comments clearly illustrate the tremendous achievement of Penn Forest Township's Overlay District and Data Center Ordinance in protecting Penn Forest from the threat of multiple data centers. Her remarks are quoted here: "Save Carbon County is adamantly opposed to any data center in Penn Forest. And we believe that the current overlay zoning gives us the very best chance of defeating any data center proposal. The Ordinance has very strict requirements and is a conditional use which gives another opportunity for a no-vote by the Board of Supervisors. I do not think that it is understood that in choosing the Mele Bros property for the overlay zoning actually protected Penn Forest from the possibility of having two data centers in Penn Forest. The Mele Bros have filed a challenge to the Penn Forest Zoning and if that challenge, which has not been withdrawn, is upheld the Mele Bros will be able to build a data center on their property with few restrictions including without the protections on water withdrawals. If the overlay zoning had been placed in an alternate location, both sites would have been eligible for data center construction which means the Township of Penn Forest would be faced with the possibility of two data centers—not one. In locating the overlay zoning on the Mele Bros property, the Board of Supervisors have protected the township from that possibility. Again, Penn Forest is not the place for any data center and certainly not two. Save Carbon County will do everything we can to prevent any data center in Penn Forest. Save Carbon County is adamantly opposed to any data center in Penn Forest. And we believe that the current overlay zoning gives us the very best chance of defeating any data center proposal. The Ordinance has very strict requirements and is a conditional use which gives another opportunity for a no-vote by the Board of Supervisors."