{"id":308686,"date":"2026-10-17T11:32:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T11:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/308686\/"},"modified":"2026-10-17T11:32:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T11:32:09","slug":"sen-katie-muth-nepa-data-center-resistance-is-giving-me-courage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/308686\/","title":{"rendered":"Sen. Katie Muth: NEPA data center resistance is ‘giving me courage’"},"content":{"rendered":"

THROOP \u2014 Addressing a crowd of nearly 200 impassioned local data center opponents on Thursday, state Sen. Katie Muth credited Northeast Pennsylvania\u2019s growing resistance movement with giving her courage.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve set the stage and the standard for the whole commonwealth on how to fight the fight, become unified, use facts and science and truth to lead the way,\u201d said Muth, D-44, who has become a central figure in Pennsylvania\u2019s data center opposition movement with her support for a three-year statewide moratorium on the industry. \u201cYou\u2019re here locally. You\u2019re fighting tooth and nail for what you deserve, which is a safe and healthy place to live, grow up, retire \u2014 all phases of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although her district is in Southeast Pennsylvania, representing parts of Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties, Muth traveled to the Mid Valley Secondary Center in Throop on Thursday for a \u201ccountywide community conversation\u201d on data centers, rallying a crowd of at least 175 residents from across Northeast Pennsylvania who are fighting the developments in their communities.\n<\/p>\n

\"Residents<\/p>\n

Residents opposed to data centers are seated in the auditorium of the Mid Valley Secondary Center in Throop to participate in a countywide conversation about data centers Thursday, October 15, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A resident holds up a sign that reads \u201cBOYCOTT AI\u201d during the data center town hall in the auditorium of the Mid Valley Secondary Center in Throop Thursday, October 15, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"Residents<\/p>\n

Residents listen to the data center discussion in the auditorium of the Mid Valley Secondary Center in Throop Thursday, October 15, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

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Residents opposed to data centers are seated in the auditorium of the Mid Valley Secondary Center in Throop to participate in a countywide conversation about data centers Thursday, October 15, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere is a negotiation happening, and we aren\u2019t at the table,\u201d Muth said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s OK \u2014 we already built our own table, and we\u2019re fighting back.\u201d<\/p>\n

She credited the local opposition movement for inspiring her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for giving me courage,\u201d Muth said, telling the crowd she follows what they\u2019re doing. \u201cOn the days where I think this is a lost cause, I remind myself that you are all up here fighting the fight, so I better keep fighting the fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throop native Heather Luklanchuk, a mother of three and a former teacher in the Mid Valley School District, organized the community conversation with NEPA Stands Up and other grassroots organizers, aiming to use the hour-and-a-half event to assemble, encourage and inform residents challenging data centers.<\/p>\n

\"Co-organizerCo-organizer of the countywide data center town hall Heather Luklanchuk speaks during the event at the Mid Valley Secondary Center in Throop Thursday, October 15, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t need to be an expert to show up. You don\u2019t need to be an expert to speak at meetings. All you need is concern for your fellow neighbors and a motivation to want better, because you all deserve better,\u201d Luklanchuk said. \u201cYour town council members, the planning commission, they\u2019re there to protect you and to represent you, not to pave the way for developers with no guardrails.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese developers don\u2019t want to see us come out in droves,\u201d Luklanchuk continued. \u201cThey prefer to quietly sneak in the back door like a teenager past curfew and completely change your life as you know it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Residents from Archbald, Dickson City, Jessup, Olyphant, Throop, Scott Twp., Old Forge and Ransom Twp. attended from Lackawanna County, with others traveling from Wayne and Luzerne counties. At the end of the meeting, residents broke down into groups based on municipality to discuss the state of industrial developments in their towns.<\/p>\n

\"Archbald<\/p>\n

Archbald residents have a group discussion during the data center town hall in the auditorium of Mid Valley Secondary Center in Throop Thursday, October 15, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"Archbald<\/p>\n

Archbald residents have a group discussion during the data center town hall in the auditorium of Mid Valley Secondary Center in Throop Thursday, October 15, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

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Archbald residents have a group discussion during the data center town hall in the auditorium of Mid Valley Secondary Center in Throop Thursday, October 15, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

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\n\u2018It\u2019s criminal\u2019<\/p>\n

Northeast Pennsylvania has experienced a proliferation of data center and related power plant proposals since early 2025. Lackawanna County alone is navigating about 90 proposed data centers across more than a dozen projects, in addition to at least six proposed natural gas power plants, totaling 3.25 gigawatts, or 3,250 megawatts, of new generation.\n<\/p>\n

Nothing else in Pennsylvania compares to the total number of proposals in Lackawanna County, Muth said after the meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s criminal. It is absolute like criminal level of greed,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s the county that\u2019s the biggest. It is insane.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joining Muth on Thursday, Democratic Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan, one of the county\u2019s most vocal data center opponents, spoke about the cumulative impacts of proposed data centers and power plants and provided an update on a countywide cumulative health impact study currently underway, which he anticipates will be ready in the first week of January. Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, who is running against Republican Rob Bresnahan for the U.S. 8th Congressional District next month, also addressed PPL Electric Utility\u2019s plans<\/a> to upgrade transmission lines from a substation in Luzerne County to the Summit substation in Scranton\u2019s West Mountain. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission will now hold a hearing on those lines Nov. 20 at Lackawanna College, Cognetti said.<\/p>\n

\"ScrantonScranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti speaks during the data center town hall in the auditorium of the Mid Valley Secondary Center in Throop Thursday, October 15, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n

State Sen. Rosemary Brown, R-40, Middle Smithfield Twp., who co-sponsored Muth\u2019s moratorium, also attended Thursday. Brown faces Archbald Democrat Brian Wrightson for the 40th District seat next month.\n<\/p>\n

Although Muth\u2019s moratorium, Senate Bill 1359<\/a>, has remained in the Local Government Committee since June, she announced plans Thursday to try to push through a data center moratorium next week as an amendment to other legislation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the absence of passing (a moratorium), people are making a decision whether they realize it or not,\u201d Muth said. \u201cLet people know where you stand, right? Vote it down if you don\u2019t agree with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Absolute insanity\u2019<\/p>\n

Residents are worried about their homes, their electric bills, their air and their water, Gaughan said, displaying a map of proposed data center and power plants across Lackawanna County.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to wonder then, when you look at a map \u2026 why we, as a county and as a region, would ever want to become the engine of the machine that could potentially contribute to our own demise?\u201d he said. \u201cIt makes absolutely zero sense to me, and no one \u2014 not a developer, not any of their attorneys or their experts \u2014 has been able to honestly explain how any of this is a good idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lackawanna<\/p>\n

Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan speaks during the data center town hall in the auditorium of the Mid Valley Secondary Center in Throop Thursday, October 15, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER0\n<\/p>\n

\"Lackawanna<\/p>\n

Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan speaks during the data center town hall in the auditorium of the Mid Valley Secondary Center in Throop Thursday, October 15, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER0\n<\/p>\n

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Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan speaks during the data center town hall in the auditorium of the Mid Valley Secondary Center in Throop Thursday, October 15, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER0\n<\/p>\n

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Developers propose projects near neighborhoods, schools, parks and homes, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is absolute insanity,\u201d Gaughan said. \u201cThey want us to examine one data center and one power plant at a time, one transmission line someplace else, and never ask what happens when you put them all together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month, county commissioners awarded<\/a> Massachusetts-based EmPower Analytics Group a $165,000 contract to quantify the potential cumulative impacts of data centers, power plants and related infrastructure proposed in Lackawanna County on air quality and public health. EmPower conducted a similar study analyzing the potential impacts of the proposed 14-building Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus in Archbald and its 588 backup diesel generators.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe, as a county, because of all of you, are going to be the leader in the state of Pennsylvania and in the United States of America with the first of its kind, as far as I know, comprehensive public health impact analysis on all of the development, not just one proposal,\u201d Gaughan said.<\/p>\n

\u2018Advocacy isn\u2019t just a hobby\u2019<\/p>\n

Following Gaughan, Moosic resident Derek Sutcliffe, a member of Stop Archbald Data Centers, further rallied the crowd.<\/p>\n

Frequently attending data center and power plant meetings throughout Northeast Pennsylvania to work with opposition groups, Sutcliffe emphasized the importance of advocacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cNortheast PA has a long and great history,\u201d he said. \u201cWe know what it means to build a community, and we know exactly what it takes to protect one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MoosicMoosic resident and member of the Stop Archbald Data Centers group Derek Sutcliffe speaks during the data center town hall in the auditorium of the Mid Valley Secondary Center in Throop Thursday, October 15, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n

The region isn\u2019t opposed to progress, but it is opposed to \u201cunchecked irresponsible development that threatens our quality of life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdvocacy isn\u2019t just a hobby. Right now, it\u2019s our primary line of defense,\u201d Sutcliffe said. \u201cReal change starts in municipal halls, community parks and local living rooms. It starts when everyday people decide that their voices matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

A physical presence at meetings is a visual reminder to local leaders that the community is watching their every vote, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must be the most informed people in the room. When we attend municipal meetings, we must speak with hard facts about energy infrastructure, water tables and environmental noise,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen we know the data better than the developers do, they can\u2019t dismiss us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sutcliffe stressed that environmental impacts don\u2019t end at municipal boundaries.<\/p>\n

This is a defining moment for Northeast Pennsylvania, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decisions made over the next few years will shape the landscape, the economy and the environment of this valley for generations to come. When our children look back at this moment, let them say that we didn\u2019t sit idly by while our resources were signed away. Let them say that neighbors and leaders stood shoulder to shoulder to protect this place that we call home,\u201d Sutcliffe said. \u201cThis valley belongs to us all.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THROOP \u2014 Addressing a crowd of nearly 200 impassioned local data center opponents on Thursday, state Sen. Katie…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":308687,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[2117,2116,1099,2119,201,182,139,16790,2120,28,4373,3103,178,180,179,3104,181],"class_list":["post-308686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-archbald","tag-data-centers","tag-dickson-city","tag-jessup","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-old-forge","tag-olyphant","tag-pennsylvania","tag-ransom-township","tag-scott-township","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-throop","tag-top-stories-stt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=308686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/308687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}