As developers eye Southwestern Pennsylvania as a hub for data centers, residents want to know what role Allegheny County will take in managing the industry’s potential impacts.
During a recent public meeting on Allegheny County’s Climate Action Plan (CAP), community members cited concerns about data centers’ effects on air quality and property values, their heavy water and electricity use and carbon emissions, as well as potentially inflated estimates of the jobs they would create.
“The data centers are an issue,” said Tamisha Singletary, a member of the Taylor Park Orchard Tenders, a volunteer organization in Wilkinsburg. “The way the climate action plan is constructed is specifically geared towards resisting the negative impacts of data centers, right? So for it to not directly name that says something.”
At least 13 new data centers have been proposed across Western Pennsylvania, of which one is under construction, according to a citizen-run tracker.
That includes plans in Allegheny County’s Springdale and Stowe. Others are proposed for Washington, Westmoreland and Beaver counties.
Danielle Lewis, energy program specialist at the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), acknowledged that the state is “a little bit behind the ball” on data center regulation, but expects to have more information to share within the next few months.
The DEP did not respond to a request for further comment by the time of publication.
After a divided Springdale Borough greenlit a contentious data center project, advocates turned to the county to regulate the development.
The developers of the Springdale project, Allegheny DC, say they want to incorporate resident feedback and have since modified their plans to reduce noise and improve the site’s visual appeal through landscaping and steel construction designed to reflect the region’s heritage.
Data centers have their supporters, too. Stefani Pashman, CEO of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, told Public Source in January the surge of local construction has the potential to overturn decades of “anemic” growth in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
What can the county do?
Brittany Prischak, the county sustainability director, said the administration is working on a model zoning ordinance that includes a definition of data centers and sustainable construction recommendations.
The plan, envisioned as a set of recommendations for the county’s 130 municipalities, is expected to be finalized by the end of the year, but it comes with its own limitations.
Prischak stressed that the county’s proposal will not be legally enforceable, leaving municipalities with the option to adopt the ordinance or draft their own.
The county’s purview is limited, Prischak said. While the health department is able to track air pollutants and carbon emissions, it can issue fines only when pollutants exceed legal limits.
According to an official statement from the county health department, a confirmed violation allows the county to “take enforcement action including issuing penalties and requiring corrective measures to bring the facility into compliance and prevent future violations.”
Any matters pertaining to water, electricity or employment aren’t overseen by the county.
These issues and others raised by residents are managed at either the federal, state or municipal levels, Prischak said.
“One of the things that we’ve been trying to balance throughout this process is recognizing where the county has the authority versus where we don’t,” she said.
She said the county is looking into the possibility of requiring on-site sources of sustainable energy instead of diesel generators but she said it’s unclear whether the county could enforce that.
What’s in the ordinance?
“What we’re trying to do right now within the climate action plan is to propose that data centers are built sustainably, so that it’s a win-win for economic development growth, as well as climate pollution reduction,” Prischak said.
Prischak said none of the specific strategies to meet the sustainability goals are set in stone, but they may include setback restrictions from either residential areas or property lines and height restrictions.
Brigitte Meyer, staff attorney at PennFuture, said Pennsylvania municipalities can regulate some factors of data center development, but cannot use zoning to effectively ban them.
“Nobody is allowed to adopt an ordinance that either explicitly or sneakily tries to make it so it’s not possible to build a data center,” Meyer said.
Once a data center is built, she said local governments “have no control” over regulating power consumption, a factor managed at the state level.
According to Meyer, it is likely some municipalities will adopt the county’s proposed ordinance.
“The county provides suggested language, and they often do take that rather than having to start from scratch on their own,” Meyer said.
Advocates want state and local cooperation
Tiffany Taulton, of Hazelwood, said it is confusing to residents like her that the state and county have separate climate action plans, neither of which clearly addresses data centers.
“I think there is a real lack of knowledge of governance structures,” Taulton said.
Prischak said she was “not at all surprised” to hear concern over data centers while presenting on the county CAP. “It’s come up many times, which is why we’ve been trying to start to really dig in and figure out what that means for the county, because it is top of mind for many residents.”
Per the plan, Allegheny County is preparing for carbon neutrality by 2050, which means the amount of carbon dioxide emitted is equal to the amount removed.
While Prischak acknowledged it would prompt an increase in energy consumption, she said the possibility of data centers being built in Allegheny County would not move the goalpost.
“We should not have to change the plan if data centers become more prominent,” Prischak said. “What we want to do is plan for that, so we’re prepared for how to manage that.”
Read more on Springdale Borough data center development
Advocates call for county intervention as developer touts improvements to Springdale data center
Prischak said the county is using projections related to the Springdale data center to estimate the amount of renewable energy necessary to offset increased emissions.
Phoebe Reese, co-chair for the Climate Reality Chapter of Pittsburgh and Southwestern Pennsylvania, said the focus should be on municipalities passing strong land and zoning ordinances as soon as possible.
“They need to get their ordinances passed now,” Reese said. “Because by the time a data center is proposed, it’s too late.”
Reese said she is concerned about increased carbon emissions caused by data centers and sees them as “at odds” with the county’s climate goals.
Other community members said residents need more information and more influence before major industrial projects are proposed.
Citizens taking the lead
Singletary recommended that the county work more directly with grassroots organizations to educate and mobilize residents, something Prischak said it is already doing.
“Most citizens think that their representatives are responsible for moving forward the best interests of the people, but they’re not actually able to do that,” Singletary said. “There needs to be a lot more education about how citizens are required to participate in the process in order for it to move forward in the way people actually get what we want.”
Prischak said providing education about data centers and the regulatory capabilities at the county level is something that they haven’t developed because they are still trying to figure out what power they have.
“Data centers have come into our space so quickly that it’s been hard for communities to get their minds wrapped around exactly what is a data center, what can they control, what do they want and where that fits.”
Cilia Catello is an editorial intern at Pittsburgh’s Public Source. She can be reached at cilia@publicsource.org.
This story was fact-checked by Jamie Wiggan.
Data center impacts: who governs what?
- Land use, setbacks, height, noise and site conditions: Primarily the municipality through zoning code. Allegheny County is developing a zoning ordinance template for municipalities that wish to adopt it.
- Air permits and emissions: Issued and enforced by the Pennsylvania DEP or, in counties with their own health departments — namely Allegheny and Philadelphia — by the local health department under DEP oversight.
- Electricity generation, transmission and rates: The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission regulates utilities, while power is bought and sold through PJM, the regional grid operator whose capacity auctions can affect electricity costs.
- Water withdrawal and wastewater: Utility companies — including water and sewage authorities — regulate public water supplies, though municipalities can require water studies if residents with wells may be impacted by a data center or other development.
- Construction and permanent employment claims: Regulators don’t directly control job totals, but development agreements, subsidies or tax incentives could contain commitments from developers.
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