Archbald Borough

State legislators from Northeast Pennsylvania represent communities with the most amount of proposed data center developments in the state. Some of those elected officials are now supporting or drafting laws that could pause the industry or put standards in place for local municipalities to follow.

State Sen. Rosemary Brown, and state Reps. Kyle Mullins and Kyle Donahue have either supported or sponsored legislation to regulate the data center industry in Pennsylvania.

Gaughan asked county solicitor Paul James Walker to research whether the county can adopt an air quality ordinance that is more protective than current state and federal minimum standards.

Bill Gaughan sent an official letter to Gov. Josh Shapiro to ask for a pause on data center development in the state, saying Pennsylvania lacks a comprehensive regulatory framework to address the scale and speed of the industry's development.

Council met Thursday to vote on a zoning ordinance for data center placement in the borough. The board unanimously agreed to allow for data centers in the borough's manufacturing district. That move comes as a developer has been looking to build a data center in a residential/open space district off Business Route 6.

'Data Centers: Deal or Dilemma' is a three-day WVIA News series focused on data center developments in Northeast Pennsylvania and how they could affect area communities.

'Data Centers: Deal or Dilemma' is a three-day WVIA News series focused on data center developments in Northeast Pennsylvania and how they could affect area communities. Today's story looks at the local response to the developments.

Archbald Borough Council held a conditional use hearing Wednesday to hear from testimony from a data center developer seeking to build a large campus in the municipality.

Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan addressed data centers during a commissioners meeting Wednesday; commissioners Chris Chermak and Thom Welby also weighed in.

Archbald 25 Developer LLC and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection held a public meeting this week in Archbald to talk about Project Gravity, a data center campus which is proposed for 186-acres of mine-spoiled land in the borough.