Brookville Borough Council passes 180-day moratorium on data center development
Brookville Borough Council in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, has enacted a 180-day moratorium on data center development. This pause allows the council to establish regulations, prompted by concerns over potential water usage by two proposed data centers and broader resident anxieties regarding environmental and energy impacts.
The Brookville Borough Council in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, has unanimously passed a 180-day moratorium on new data center development. This nearly six-month pause, which will last until December, is intended to give council members time to develop and finalize regulations for data centers.
The decision comes amid increasing concern from residents across Pennsylvania regarding the rapid expansion of data centers and their potential impact on local water supplies, pollution, and energy prices. Randy Bartley, second vice-president of Brookville's borough council, stated that the council was unofficially informed of two data centers considering the Brookville area. He expressed worry that these facilities could consume up to 2.4 million gallons of water daily, stressing the borough's water system and prioritizing the town's citizens.
Bartley clarified that the council is not inherently opposed to data centers, acknowledging their necessity, but emphasizes the importance of ensuring any development is executed correctly. He noted that since Jefferson County lacks a land use ordinance, it falls to local municipalities like Brookville to establish their own ordinances and zoning regulations for data center development. Concurrently, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has introduced