EAST VINCENT TOWNSHIP, PA — Enormous community opposition to the proposed Pennhurst data center development rocked a public hearing in East Vincent this week, as the regulatory battle over construction continues.
Residents, veterans groups, local clergy, elected officials, and the township's own planning commission and environmental advisory council all pleaded with township supervisors to reject the plan, which they said would have a devastating ripple effect on the community, local infrastructure, quality of life, and the environment.
As the four and a half hour meeting wore on Tuesday night, the center of concern and controversy shifted to the legal mechanisms employed by the developers to restrict the scope of criticism and feedback to the project.
The three supervisors rejected dozens of applications by residents for "party status," a legal designation which allows individuals to participate more thoroughly in the township's hearing and review process. Those with party status have far more power to have their concerns heard and to stall or even prevent development altogether.
Matthew McHugh, the attorney of the developers, argued repeatedly that no one who lives outside of the 500-foot notice area around the proposal should be granted that status, unless they proved "direct and substantial interest." Residents said that was ridiculous, and that the impacts of Pennhurst would impact the entire region.
“This is not about politics," State Sen. Katie Muth said during the hearing, after her own party status was rejected. "This is about whether I am a person directly affected by this application and I am.”
Muth also sharply criticized the supervisors for rejecting party status without specific reasons, and behind closed doors.
"If decisions like these can’t withstand public scrutiny, they shouldn’t be made in the first place," she said.
Speakers at the hearing spoke on pollution, health impacts from exhaust, and water quality issues. One local farmer, Susan Pangali, said she was concerned about the well being of her animals.
"My 70 acre farm is directly across the river from this site and I have a lot of livestock there who live outdoors," she said. "They can’t get away from the noise, the pollution, the light."
Data centers run 24/7 and noise issues have been well-documented at other sites. Resident, Matthew Ramsey, expressed concerns about the “noises and vibrations that might interrupt sleep.” Local Kirk Schryver concurred that "we (already) hear noise from the Limerick Power Generation Station constantly,” and later added, “It is already keeping us up at night vibrating our bedroom windows and walls.”
Former firefighter and Larry Shank, who said he was a former employee at a data center, said that local emergency crews are not equipped for this sort of proposal. Data centers come with a high fire risk due to the amount of heat they generate.
"I don’t feel that our township and the surrounding fire departments are prepared to handle something like that," Shank said.
Clergy members also spoke. The Rev. Taylor J. Walker, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, said she was responsible for “the well-being of our 230 preschoolers.” The Rev. Le Roy said seeking party status was “my moral imperative to be here.”
The proposal calls for the development of some 123 acres at 1201 Commonwealth Drive, the grounds of the infamous state hospital. It includes three data center buildings, a guard building, a power generation station, a battery storage area, and a customer substation area, and other construction. It's one of numerous controversial data center projects proposed in the Limerick area.
Township solicitor Joseph Clement said that the conditional use application can be approved if the applicant qualifies under the township's ordinance criteria, and there are no “unintended or unanticipated adverse effects on public health, safety, and welfare.”
Many speakers directed their ire at the township's three supervisors, whom they believed had run campaigns on the premise of keeping the East Vincent Township area rural.
Supervisors did not vote on the application Tuesday. The hearing will continue on May 18 at 6:30 p.m. Officials said that next hearing will be limited to party status determinations, addressing zoning criteria, and design standards of the project.
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