Westmoreland County residents are trying to slow the region’s data center rush before billion-dollar projects become permanent fixtures in their backyards. Community groups are now pairing public education sessions with calls for local governments to write tougher rules before more construction moves forward.
“They’re confused, they’re concerned,” Rose Piern of Voices of Westmoreland County told WPXI. The organization is working with Protect PT to help residents understand how data centers could affect their communities and how they can participate in municipal decisions.
The immediate flashpoint is Upper Burrell Township, where officials approved a 180-day moratorium on new data center applications while drafting local regulations. At a June information session at Penn State New Kensington, residents pressed for details about the proposed TECfusions campus at the former Alcoa research site, including its potential energy demand, pollution controls, water use and long-term footprint, according to 90.5 WESA.
What Upper Burrell’s Moratorium Does And Doesn’t Stop
The moratorium is not a total shutdown of activity at the former Alcoa campus. Upper Burrell Supervisor Ross Walker III told WPXI that construction and updates can continue inside Building J, which previously operated as a data center and is now owned by TechFusion, but other buildings cannot be used for data center operations until the township adopts an ordinance.
That distinction has become a major source of resident frustration. WTAE reported that work in the existing building is considered grandfathered, while future expansion would be subject to new rules being developed by the township. A draft discussed by officials included industrial-zone limits and a 1,000-foot buffer from residential properties, though residents said they still lacked basic information about generators, turbines, noise and water demand.
Protect PT says TECfusions’ Upper Burrell proposal could eventually require as much as 3 gigawatts of electricity, with part of the power potentially supplied by natural gas wells on the property. Those figures come from the advocacy group’s project materials and have helped fuel concerns about air pollution, water resources, utility costs and whether local infrastructure can handle the development.
Residents Want Answers Before The November Deadline
Upper Burrell’s moratorium expires in November, putting pressure on supervisors to finish an ordinance while residents are still seeking more specifics about the project. The township’s next supervisors meeting is scheduled for next Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the township building, according to WPXI.
The debate is spreading beyond Upper Burrell. In Rostraver Township, residents launched a petition after hearing speculation about possible data center sites, although township officials told CBS Pittsburgh that no formal data center proposal had been submitted there.
For now, the local fight is less about a single construction permit than about who gets to set the ground rules. Protect PT and Voices of Westmoreland County hold information sessions at Penn State New Kensington on the last Wednesday of each month, giving residents a regular forum to ask questions before the next wave of plans arrives.
