Multiple municipalities taking steps to regulate data centers
While recent meetings in South Strabane Township have drawn intense public interest as officials have considered an ordinance on data centers, multiple other municipalities have also been working on the issue.
In Union Township, elected officials passed an ordinance regulating data centers last October.
“Nobody showed up to our hearing,” said Michalle Dupree, the chair of the Union Township board of supervisors. “I think because it was so new, not a so-called buzz word.”
Just last week, supervisors in Buffalo Township also adopted a data center ordinance. On March 30, there will be a public hearing on a similar ordinance in Hanover Township.
A common thread among these municipalities is that they are all represented by Makel and Associates in Washington.
“If you don’t have something in place, then you can’t enforce it. If you don’t have something in place, then that causes you a problem. You can’t do anything after the fact,” said attorney Dennis Makel.
Data centers are generally large complexes of warehouses containing servers and computing equipment that power just about every activity on the internet. However, the proliferation of artificial intelligence has spurred even more rapid development of the facilities.
South Strabane Township became a lightning rod for discussion on the topic due to a 1,400-acre tract of land off of Zediker Station Road owned by CNX Resources. Last fall, real estate firm JLL began pitching the site as ideal for the development of an AI data center.
Currently, the property is still for sale and no projects have been proposed.
“South Strabane, you have to understand, is a very unique situation,” Makel said. “That corridor is being developed quickly … You have people that have beautiful homes that live in a certain area that don’t want impact on them.”
Supervisors and planning commission meetings in South Strabane have drawn large crowds, and residents have raised myriad concerns. Those concerns include the potential noise, light pollution, and the large amounts of electricity and water typically used by data centers.
Most recently, elected officials in North Franklin Township have taken steps to begin regulating data centers.
North Franklin’s board of supervisors last week voted to advertise a public hearing on an ordinance regulating the development cryptocurrency mining and data center facilities. The hearing will take place at 4:30 p.m. April 14.
Sweat Law Offices, which represents North Franklin, is drafting the ordinance. Supervisor Bob Sabot has said that there are currently no plans for a data center to be built in the municipality, but they want to be proactive about setting restrictions.
When it comes to drafting these ordinances, Makel says the final language depends on the community.
“It all depends on the community, and what they want to have. Buffalo is a rural community. Hanover, it has a lot of farms and all that. They all have their different dynamics in terms of areas,” Makel said.
Dupree described Union Township as having two decommissioned power plants and multiple gas wells. It also borders the Monongahela River.
“We are primed for it. You need water. You need energy,” Dupree said.
Being among the first to enact a data center ordinance, Dupree says it took more than a year for the document to come together, and was drafted by Makel and Associates attorney Grant Allison.
“There wasn’t a lot of examples out there. Not a lot of case law. It took us quite a while,” Dupree said. “Hopefully all of Grant’s hard work is going to pay off for some other communities.”
Union Township’s ordinance requires a setback of 1,000 feet from any residential building, and letters from the electrical and water providers stating they have the capacity to support the data center. Owners would also be expected to provide fire departments with annual training for procedures specific to the data center, and buildings are limited to 80,000 square feet.
South Strabane’s ordinance contains similar provisions, but also expands on what Union Township has already done.
If their ordinance is approved, South Strabane would require a water feasibility study. There are also provisions that set specific decibel limits for noise, and state the township can inspect the data center after providing 24-hour notice.
The Buffalo Township ordinance also contains language concerning noise limits and township inspections. South Strabane, Buffalo and Hanover townships also all specify what should be done in the event a data center is decommissioned, which is language the Union Township ordinance lacks.
According to Dupree, because of the work that has been done since their ordinance passed, Union Township supervisors will be holding a public hearing at their April 27 meeting to consider updating the law.
“There was more that we didn’t address, that we didn’t even know to address,” Dupree said.
South Strabane Township’s planning commission will be meeting on March 19 to vote on whether or not to recommend the supervisors adopt their data center ordinance. Hanover Township supervisors will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. March 30 at 11 Municipal Drive.
For other communities considering similar action, Dupree suggests doing plenty of research.
“Read about them, learn about them and take a look at what may impact their residents,” Dupree said.