Local officials in Berks look to limit data center development

Multiple municipalities across Berks County, Pennsylvania, are in the process of drafting and advancing local ordinances to regulate data center development, addressing a new phenomenon for which the county and state lack established guidelines. Residents, particularly in Caernarvon Township, have voiced significant concerns about the potential impacts of data centers, including excessive electricity and water consumption, noise pollution, and environmental harm. Planning commission members, like chairman Jeff Vickers, acknowledge these issues while also recognizing the integral role data centers play in modern digital life. Cumru Township has become the first in Berks County to advance a data center ordinance, with a final approval vote slated for April. South Heidelberg and Robeson Townships are also working on their own rules. These proposed regulations often include specific limits on noise, water and energy use, height restrictions, and requirements for environmental impact studies, buffer zones, and facility decommissioning. At the state level, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed H.B. 1834, which would require data centers to cover full costs of grid upgrades and use renewable resources. State Senator Katie Muth has proposed a three-year moratorium, while Representative Greg Rothman aims to establish Pennsylvania as a data center hub with a "regulatory sandbox." Meanwhile, in Robeson Township, developers Grande Construction Group and Motus Development are exploring data center plans on a 350-acre plot, prompting a Change.org petition from residents concerned about the destruction of forest areas.