Controversial data center in rural Washington County community at center of public hearing

A proposed data center at the back of an industrial park in Hanover Township, Washington County, was at the center of a public hearing on Wednesday night. 

The standing-room-only hearing at the Hanover Volunteer Fire Department was over the conditional use permit for a data center project at Starpointe Business Park. 

During the hearing, two lawyers representing concerned citizens objected to the completeness of the application and the board of supervisors' jurisdiction to hear the application for a proposed gas power plant to provide electricity to the site. The board has to determine if those objections are correct. 

"They raised that issue and said there is no jurisdiction. When they stated that, my position was I think we need to take a step back, look at it and go from there," Dennis Makel, the township's solicitor, told KDKA-TV on Wednesday. 

The industrial park is home to 126 acres of a former strip mine, but developers have plans for a massive data center campus. If approved, it would be among the largest in the state. 

Alex Paris, who owns the site, has a sales agreement with Texas-based Prime Data Centers to build and operate the eight-building data center campus, which meets the zoning requirements and complies with a recently passed data center ordinance. It just needs final approval from township leaders.   

Paris told KDKA-TV last month that the project will create thousands of construction jobs, plus hundreds of permanent jobs. He added that it will generate between $10 million and $15 million in yearly local tax revenue. 

But there has been pushback from residents, citing noise, pollution and other quality of life issues. They have also claimed that the project has moved forward mostly behind closed doors. 

The board of supervisors will meet next on Aug. 31.