Data Centers and Your Community: A Resident's Guide

When a data center is proposed near your home, the most important decisions often happen in a borough council meeting on a weeknight, under rules most people have never read. This guide explains how the approval process works in Pennsylvania, which deadlines matter and what residents can ask before a project is approved. It is general information, not legal advice about any specific project.

Who decides what

• Your municipality decides where data centers can go and under what conditions, through its zoning ordinance and land development review under Pennsylvania's Municipalities Planning Code (MPC).

• The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issues air permits for backup generators and permits for stormwater and earth disturbance.

• The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (or the Delaware River Basin Commission, depending on location) reviews large water withdrawals and consumptive water use.

• Your electric utility and the regional grid operator, PJM, decide how and when new power is connected.

• The state. Under Governor Shapiro's August 18, 2026 executive order, data center developers must secure local approval before the state considers their applications, and projects are no longer eligible for fast-track permitting.

How a project gets approved locally

How much say the public has depends largely on how the zoning ordinance classifies data centers:

• Permitted by right. If the project meets the ordinance's standards, it must be approved. There is no public hearing on whether it belongs there.

• Conditional use. The governing body (council or supervisors) holds a public hearing. The developer must prove the project meets specific conditions, and residents can participate.

• Special exception. Similar to a conditional use, but heard by the zoning hearing board.

• Land development plan. Even after zoning approval, detailed site plans go through planning commission review and governing body approval.

The rules in effect on the day an application is filed often control the outcome, even if the ordinance changes later. That is why it matters when an ordinance is amended, and which applications were already pending.

Deadlines that matter

• Hearing and decision deadlines. The MPC sets deadlines for municipalities to hold hearings and issue written decisions, generally 45 days after the last hearing for a conditional use. If a municipality misses them, a developer may claim the application was "deemed approved," meaning approved because of the calendar rather than the merits.

• Appeals. A land use decision generally must be appealed to the county Court of Common Pleas within 30 days.

• Party status. In many hearings, residents must ask to be recognized as a party to cross-examine witnesses and preserve the right to appeal. Ask at the first hearing how the municipality handles it.

Questions to ask on the record

• Who is the end user, and what is the facility's peak electric demand?

• Where will the water come from, how much will be used per day, and is there a water feasibility study?

• What kind of cooling will it use: evaporative, closed-loop or air-cooled?

• How many backup generators, how often will they be tested, at what hours, and what are the emissions?

• What are the noise limits at the property line, day and night, and are generators exempt?

• How far will buildings be from homes, schools, parks and wells?

• Who pays for new substations, transmission lines and grid upgrades?

• What are the construction truck routes and hours, and how long will construction last?

• How much forest will be cleared, and how will stormwater be managed?

• Will there be a community benefits agreement, and what does it cover?

• What happens, and who pays, if the facility is abandoned?

How to take part

• Read your municipality's zoning ordinance and meeting agendas, usually posted on its website.

• Use Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law to request applications, studies and correspondence.

• Attend hearings, ask for party status if you want to participate fully, and ask your questions on the record.

• Submit written comments to state permitting agencies during their comment periods.

• Organize with neighbors. Shared experts and coordinated testimony carry more weight.

• Talk with a lawyer early if you are considering a challenge. Deadlines are short and procedural mistakes are hard to undo.

Learn more

• Smart Cities Dive: Pennsylvania's new data center rules give local governments leverage

• Susquehanna River Basin Commission: Data centers, what about water?

• WVIA: Residents fear impacts on water as data centers are proposed across NEPA

More: Community Work · Valley View and the Archbald Data Center Cases · How Data Centers Draw on a Community's Resources

Questions about a project in your community? Municipal officials, school boards and community groups are welcome to contact our office. Our municipal law attorneys work with these rules every day.

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