Hearings will resume this month in Archbald on Project Green Mountain as council considers seven data centers proposed across a quarry east of the Casey Highway.
After a three-month hiatus, representatives for Green Mountain 6 LLC will return to Valley View High School, 1 Columbus Drive, on Sept. 30 at 5 p.m., according to a public notice published Tuesday in The Times-Tribune.
It will be the fourth conditional use hearing on an L-shaped data center campus across nearly 271 acres of the Stavola Quarry. Of the six data center projects proposed in Archbald, Project Green Mountain is the only campus located on the side of the Casey Highway opposite from residential areas. Another developer, PNK Group, discussed plans to build two data centers east of the highway in the Valley View Business Park, though the New York City-based company has yet to formally apply.
Restricting data centers to land opposite the Casey Highway from residences is one of the core requests of residents who oppose Archbald’s data center standards.
Using a Pittsburgh law office as its address, Green Mountain 6 filed a conditional use application with Archbald on Jan. 26 to build seven 65-foot-tall data centers, each with a 138,000-square-foot footprint. Attorney Jeffrey Wilhelm of Reed Smith LLP represented Project Green Mountain in its application and at public hearings. The same law firm represents Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus, which sought the recusal of all Archbald council members over allegations of bias. Wilhelm was not among the Reed Smith attorneys who filed the motions.
The Times-Tribune previously linked Green Mountain 6 to the developer behind the proposed Project Gravity data center campus on Eynon Jermyn Road after a presentation on the project displayed “Western Hospitality.” Western Hospitality Partners’ Project Gravity shares similarities with Project Green Mountain, including both projects having seven, 138,000-square-foot data centers, though Gravity’s facilities would be 5 feet taller.
A file directory showing “Western Hospitality” is displayed during a public hearing on the Project Green Mountain data center campus at the Valley View High School in Archbald on Thursday, March 19, 2026. (FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY / STAFF PHOTO)
Project Green Mountain’s application initiated a lengthy conditional use hearing process that began March 19 and will culminate with a decision from borough council to approve or deny the campus.
The data centers would use a projected 525 megawatts of electricity, divided into 75 megawatts per building, while using up to 14,000 gallons of water daily from Pennsylvania American Water for domestic uses like sinks and toilets. Its cooling would be closed loop, meaning coolant recirculates through the system rather than being evaporated off, and it would use a mix of water and glycol — antifreeze — that would be hauled in by truck, according to previous testimony. The campus would rely on 196 diesel generators in the event of an outage, with the noise from those generators raised as a concern during the last hearing in June. Every generator could store up to 10,000 gallons of fuel, totaling 1.96 million gallons of diesel onsite — another concern raised by opponents.
During their initial appearance before council in March, Project Green Mountain representatives largely discussed the campus’s utility demands and potential economic incentives. Returning to Archbald on May 11, the developer focused on air emissions from the backup generators and the project’s traffic.
The hearing June 18 focused on the noise of data centers and their diesel generators. Though Project Green Mountain’s sound study found that the campus would remain below Archbald’s 55-decibel residential daytime limit, even with all 196 backup generators running, it faced significant scrutiny during cross examination.
Engineer Michael Bahtiarian of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Acentech presented the sound study on behalf of the developer.
Michael Bahtiarian of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Acentech, representing Project Green Mountain, answers a question during a conditional use hearing at the Valley View High School auditorium in Archbald on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY / STAFF PHOTO)
During the hearing, Councilwoman Lisa Osborne asked if the developer had finished any other data center campuses with a completed post-construction sound study to provide additional insight. Bahtiarian referenced nondisclosure agreements and said, “As far as I know, nothing we have done this process for has been constructed.”
However, Wilhelm stepped in to acknowledge Osborne’s question and assured council they will come back with an answer at another hearing.
The June hearing included questions from Stop Archbald Data Centers co-founder Tamara Misewicz-Healey, who questioned low-frequency sounds and their effects, which aren’t regulated under Archbald’s zoning or noise ordinances, as well as how the valley topography affects noise. Misewicz-Healey’s questions prompted Wilhelm to offer the borough that his client would accept as a condition that it has to use a specific decibel-limiting enclosure for its generators.
Stop Archbald Data Centers co-founder Tamara Misewicz-Healey cross-examines a data center representative during a conditional use hearing at the Valley View High School auditorium in Archbald on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY / STAFF PHOTO)
Archbald’s special counsel, Attorney Brett C. Flower, focused on the noise impacts from even a relatively small increase in decibels above ambient sound in Archbald’s quiet residential areas.
Attorney Brett C. Flower, Archbald’s special counsel, questions Project Green Mountain representatives during a conditional use hearing at the Valley View High School auditorium in Archbald on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY / STAFF PHOTO)
Attorney Justin Richards, who represents Stop Archbald Data Centers members, stressed during the June hearing that the campus’s noise projections were “at the very margin” with predicted sound levels equal to the maximum permitted sound levels at some residential properties, though Bahtiarian contended the figures were conservative. Richards also criticized the lack of specificity in the plans, citing language that “the specific location, quantity and type of equipment may change in future designs, and the model may require updating.”
Attorney Justin Richards, who represents Archbald residents opposing data centers, questions a data center representative during a conditional use hearing at the Valley View High School auditorium in Archbald on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY / STAFF PHOTO)
Archbald was initially set to hold its next hearing July 13 but rescheduled it to Aug. 6 at the request of the developer before canceling the August hearing a day before it was set to occur.
When Project Green Mountain concludes its testimony at a future hearing, the borough and data center opponents will have the opportunity to present their own experts, followed by public comment.
Once the conditional-use process concludes, council will have 45 days to vote on the project and issue a written decision.
Archbald officials listen to testimony during a conditional use hearing at the Valley View High School auditorium in Archbald on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY / STAFF PHOTO)