Brown pushes for data center moratorium
Senator Rosemary Brown is advocating for stronger state-level protections and a statewide moratorium on hyperscale data center development in Pennsylvania, citing community concerns about environmental impacts, infrastructure strain, and resource demands. She has introduced a "Residents First" legislative package to address these issues. Her proposal would require utility confirmations, limit development to industrial zones, and mandate independent water impact studies.
Sen. Rosemary Brown (R-40) is actively campaigning for enhanced state safeguards against large-scale data center developments across Pennsylvania. Brown emphasizes the need to prioritize residents and local communities as the industry expands, noting significant concerns raised by citizens in northeastern Pennsylvania regarding the rapid pace of proposed projects and insufficient protections.
Brown, who previously introduced a "Residents First" legislative package, supports a statewide moratorium on hyperscale data center development. She highlights community apprehensions about energy demand, escalating utility costs, environmental impacts, increased traffic, noise pollution, and the capacity of local infrastructure and water resources to sustain these developments.
Her proposed legislation mandates that data center developers provide "will-serve" letters from utilities confirming their capacity to handle projects at full build-out before submitting formal applications. It also seeks to restrict large-scale data center development to designated industrial zones and require independent, third-party water impact studies prior to any formal application, with provisions for long-term follow-up analyses. Additionally, the package directs the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to research emerging data storage technologies and assess their long-term viability and potential to reduce environmental impacts.
Brown acknowledges the governor's recent "GRID certification" proposal for voluntary data center standards but insists that stronger, enforceable protections are necessary. She argues that her support for a moratorium is not intended to impede economic growth but to ensure Pennsylvania implements comprehensive safeguards before further projects proceed, emphasizing the importance of transparency, accountability, and community involvement in decisions with lasting impacts.