South Whitehall residents paint dire picture of proposed data center near Parkland High
Residents of South Whitehall Township voiced strong opposition to the proposed Project Atlas data center, raising significant environmental concerns about noise, emissions, water usage, and fire risks. Speakers also highlighted potential issues with the project's environmental impact study and urged the planning commission to delay its decision, citing ongoing state-level legislative discussions and an executive order impacting data center development.
Residents of South Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, gathered at Parkland High School auditorium to express overwhelming opposition to the proposed Project Atlas data center. The developer, Atlanta-based Edged US, is proposing three data center buildings totaling 1.48 million square feet, an administration building, and a warehouse, which residents fear will bring significant noise, emissions, and fire hazards to the area near Parkland High School.
Speakers, including members of local environmental and parks advisory boards, criticized the developer's environmental impact analysis as "incomplete and totally inadequate." Concerns were raised about the storage of nearly 2.5 million gallons of petroleum products without adequate containment, potential issues with an on-site septic system due to the area's geology, and unaddressed air pollutants from 2,000 emergency diesel generators. The noise from cooling fans and generators, along with the risk of toxic chemical fires from lithium batteries, were also major points of contention.
Resident Gary McCartney urged the township to delay any decision on Project Atlas, citing recent state-level actions. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro recently issued an executive order requiring data center companies to meet stringent construction and operation standards to receive permits. Concurrently, the state Legislature is considering bipartisan bills that would impose lengthy moratoriums on data center approvals to allow for further impact studies.
The township's advisory committees will reflect these comments in future considerations, with the next discussion scheduled for a special meeting of the planning commission on September 23rd at Parkland High School. The comments from residents were met with sustained applause, indicating strong community sentiment against the project.