Speak Out Against the Panther Creek Data Center!

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 buildings sandwiched between Dennison Run and Broad Run in Nesquehoning. The development of 300,00 square feet on almost 89 acres of land will damage if not destroy Broad Run (an Exceptional Value trout fishery), Dennison Run (an Exceptional Value trout fishery), Nesquehoning Creek (a cold water tributary of the Lehigh River that offers trout thermal refuge in the hot summer months), and the area's Exceptional Value Wetlands. How this ecologically sensitive site was ever Zoned for Industrial development is beyond understanding. The Notice for the NPDES Stormwater Permit in the July 18 PA Bulletin (PA Bulletin, page 4273) invites public comments, saying this permit covers 88.62 acres-- “The scope of work associated with this project includes grading and leveling the site and constructing a new state-of-the-art data center campus, utilizing latest technology design to support High Performance Computing (HPC) for Artificial Intelligence (AI) workloads. The facility will be built to meet Tier 3 data center standards, ensuring high availability, physical security, and resilience against environmental and operational risks. All work will comply with applicable building codes and data center design best practices. The development includes pad preparation for two new substations and four data center Buildings of approximately 300,000 SF. The site includes stormwater management control basins, a security fence and checkpoint, associated roadways, and utility services.” The NPDES Stormwater permit application documentation and conceptual plans are available for review at the Carbon County Conservation District Office, 5664 Interchange Road, Lehighton, PA 18235 at 610-377-4894.

Please submit written comments by Friday, August 14 to:

DEP Northeast Regional Office, Waterways & Wetlands Program

2 Public Square

Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701

or email your comments by Friday, August 14 to Pamela Kania, P.E., Program Manager at: RA-EPWW-NERO@pa.gov.

Reference: Applicant Carbon Node East Development, LLC

Application Number PAD130057

Immediately after the Q&A session hosted by Keel Infrastructure, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA-DEP) is hosting a public hearing regarding the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the development of Carbon Node East, LLC. It is important that residents show up in force with credible testimony on this issue. Both the public meeting and the hearing will be held at Panther Valley High School, 912 Coal Region Way, Lansford. The meeting to answer questions will be held from 5 to 6:45PM. At 7PM, the hearing will begin, and we will be allowed to provide testimony. Testimony is limited to issues affecting the NPDES permit such as impervious surfaces, stream and wetland protection, and control of runoff from the site. Are you a good researcher? We need YOUR help. More information is available at https://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2026/07/dep-to-hold-meetinghearing-aug-20-on.html.