ARCHBALD — Nearly 600 diesel generators capable of producing more electricity than Lackawanna County’s largest power plant could emit tens of thousands of pounds of air pollutants and cause millions of dollars in estimated local health damages annually if the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus moves forward, according to a public health assessment presented Monday.
After five months, five hearings and more than a dozen hours of testimony, the Stop Archbald Data Centers movement took the stage Monday at the Valley View High School auditorium. Their attorney, Justin Richards, laid out the case for why borough council should deny Brooklyn-based Cornell Realty Management LLC’s application to build 14 data centers above Business Route 6 and extending up Wildcat Road, or Route 247. Richards presented one witness: Michael Cork, Ph.D., an environmental health scientist and biostatistician with a doctorate from Harvard University whose research focuses on the health impacts of artificial intelligence-driven electricity demand and hyperscale data center expansion.
Attorney Justin Richards, right, and expert witness Micheal Cork, left, discuss the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, July 6, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ/STAFF PHOTO)
Addressing borough council and an auditorium packed with 600-plus residents, community members and elected officials, Cork, of EmPower Analytics Group, provided an overview of his 40-page “screening-level air quality and public health assessment,” which modeled potential pollution and health impacts from Wildcat Ridge, despite a lack of specifics from the developer.
A public hearing on the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, July 6, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ/STAFF PHOTO)
The normally raucous crowd remained largely restrained throughout his remarks. That quickly changed when Wildcat Ridge Attorney Megan S. Haines of Pittsburgh-based Reed Smith LLP cross-examined Cork, including inquiring how much he was paid.
Attorney Megan S. Haines, representing the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus, stands at a podium as an attendee in the background holds a sign that reads “STOP ARCHBALD DATA CENTERS” during a public hearing at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, July 6, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ/STAFF PHOTO)
Repeated outbursts from the crowd prompted borough Solicitor Jay O’Connor to intervene multiple times to silence the audience and maintain order, cautioning residents about the legal implications if they can’t finish the hearing. One man was asked to leave following multiple interruptions.
An attendee yells as he is removed for interrupting a public hearing on the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, July 6, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ/STAFF PHOTO)
Cork’s testimony focused on the impact of 588 backup diesel generators. The data center campus raises real public health, safety and welfare concerns due to the “exceptionally large scale” of its diesel backup generation system, though key aspects of that system remain undefined, he said.
Using a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency benefits-risk assessment tool looking at countywide air pollution effects, Cork estimated that Wildcat Ridge’s generators could produce health damages ranging from $3 million to $124 million annually, depending on the technology in the generators and how long the generators are actually running.
“I think this range illustrates the unresolved questions surrounding final equipment selection, emission controls and operating practices,” he said.
His report concluded that a diesel backup generation system of the size of Wildcat Ridge’s warrants careful public health review. However, the current record does not adequately characterize its potential public health implications, according to the assessment.
Spanning just over 574 mountainside acres, Wildcat Ridge’s 80-foot-tall, two-story data centers would tower over Archbald’s Eynon and Sturges sections while requiring 1.6 gigawatts, or 1,600 megawatts, of electricity and just over 3.3 million gallons of water per day during the hottest summer weather.
Although Wildcat Ridge would receive its electricity from the grid, it would rely on a fleet of backup diesel generators to power its 1,600-megawatt campus during a power outage. By comparison, the Lackawanna Energy Center natural gas power plant in neighboring Jessup produces 1,485 megawatts,.
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Representatives for the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus listen to testimony during a public hearing at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, July 6, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ/STAFF PHOTO)
Attorney Megan S. Haines, representing the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus, stands at a podium as project representatives listen during a public hearing at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, July 6, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ/STAFF PHOTO)
Council Member Larry Marchetti covers his face with his hand during a public hearing on the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, July 6, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ/STAFF PHOTO)
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Representatives for the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus listen to testimony during a public hearing at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, July 6, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ/STAFF PHOTO)