County formally requests denial of BRADS Landfill permit and NSP renewal
Schuylkill County Commissioners formally requested the Pennsylvania DEP deny permits for two non-data center facilities due to environmental concerns and regulatory failures. Separately, the commissioners are set to vote on a Local Economic Revitalization Tax Act (LERTA) resolution for Mahanoy Township, which includes explicit exclusions and penalties for data centers.
The Schuylkill County Board of Commissioners formally communicated their opposition to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regarding permit applications for the Blythe Recycling and Demolition Site (BRADS) Landfill and Natural Soil Products (NSP).
For BRADS Landfill, Commissioners Larry Padora, Barron L. "Boots" Hetherington, and Gary J. Hess urged a denial of a permit modification allowing leachate to be trucked instead of piped to the Schuylkill Valley Sewer Authority (SVSA), citing environmental hazards, regulatory failures, and cost disputes. Regarding NSP, the board requested denial of a municipal waste processing permit renewal, detailing a history of unpermitted expansions and numerous DEP violations. They also expressed concerns over a proposed increase in compost drying times, which they believe will worsen odors and pests.
In separate proceedings, Frank Zukas of the Schuylkill County Economic Development Corporation (SEDCO) presented a proposed Local Economic Revitalization Tax Act (LERTA) resolution for approximately 1,900 acres of industrially zoned land in Mahanoy Township. This LERTA, already approved by the Mahanoy Area School District and Mahanoy Township, aims to provide a 10-year real estate tax exemption for new industrial construction.
Notably, the draft resolution explicitly excludes data centers, battery energy storage systems, small modular reactors, power generators, and dedicated cooling facilities from these tax exemptions, also imposing penalties for repurposing industrial buildings into data centers. The commissioners are scheduled to vote on this LERTA resolution at their next meeting on August 26.