Forum against Old Forge borehole project on land also eyed for data center
A grassroots civic group, the Lower Lackawanna Valley Citizens Alliance, is holding a public forum to oppose a mine water reclamation project and a proposed hyperscale data center. Both projects are planned for the same 1,300-acre tract of land in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. The group aims to inform the community about potential environmental and health impacts.
The Lower Lackawanna Valley Citizens Alliance is hosting a public forum in Old Forge, Pennsylvania, this Sunday to campaign against two major projects planned for a 1,300-acre tract of land. The group's primary concern is a proposed mine water reclamation and hydroelectric power generation facility, which is also on land eyed for a massive data center.
The mine water reclamation project, spearheaded by Renewable Energy Aggregators Inc., involves diverting and purifying polluted borehole water from the Old Forge mine. This clean water would then be returned to the Lackawanna River, with the process also generating nearly 200 megawatts of hydroelectric power. However, this power is not intended for the general grid but for an "onsite, undisclosed location," according to the civic group. The project spans Old Forge, Ransom Township in Lackawanna County, and Duryea in Luzerne County, with a permit application currently pending before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Separately, Mudiita Land Venture LLC, a Carbon County-based firm, is planning to develop a "hyperscale" data center campus on 528.6 acres within this same area, specifically in Ransom Township near the Old Forge border. Mudiita Land Venture acquired the land for $2.4 million.
The Citizens Alliance is urging residents from Old Forge, Ransom Township, Duryea, Taylor, Moosic, and surrounding communities to attend the forum. The event is designed to educate the public on the proposed projects' scope, location, and potential environmental and health impacts, with the ultimate goal of stopping the developments.