{"id":316673,"date":"2026-10-29T06:02:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T06:02:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/316673\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T06:02:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T06:02:21","slug":"data-center-opposition-loud-and-colorful-at-springdale-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/316673\/","title":{"rendered":"Data center opposition loud and colorful at Springdale hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Jamie Wiggan and Lucas Dufalla, Pittsburgh’s Public Source
October 28, 2026<\/p>\n

A U-Haul decked with a makeshift sign declaring \u201cSPRINGDALE DATA CENTER IS NOT A DONE DEAL\u201d sat across from the borough building Wednesday as protesters in fluorescent green T-shirts began to assemble.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Speakers took turns denouncing the data center plans in prepared speeches, then a spirit of improv took over. One attendee who said she had driven to the Allegheny Valley town from Pittsburgh performed a song she\u2019d written for the occasion on a three-quarter-sized acoustic guitar. Then the crowd broke into a chorus of \u201cwe don\u2019t need your damn pollution\u201d to the tune of Pink Floyd.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The carnival-like protest came ahead of a county-led hearing on Dynamo DC\u2019s plans to transform a former coal-fired power plant site into a mega data center campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With borough approval already secured in December, opponents from Springdale and beyond\u00a0 see Allegheny County\u2019s land development review as their last chance to halt the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMake your voice be heard, our lives depend on it,\u201d said Cathy Mager of Springdale from the parking lot podium.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"FivePeople hold signs in Springdale Borough ahead of a rally held by Save Allegheny Valley Environment (SAVE) before a meeting held by Allegheny County Economic Development regarding a proposal for a data center campus nearby, on Oct. 28. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg\/Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source)<\/p>\n

\"ADianne Peterson, center, of O\u2019Hara Township, arrives in Springdale Borough for a rally held by Save Allegheny Valley Environment (SAVE) on Oct. 28. \u201dIt\u2019s more than this, the data center,” said Peterson of her concern about the implications beyond Springdale. “It has other ramifications.\u201d (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg\/Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source)<\/p>\n

\"ARobin Lesko, manager of Western Pennsylvania Food and Water Watch, reacts during a rally outside the Springdale Borough Building ahead of the Allegheny County-convened meeting on a proposed data center. (Photo by Danny Arensberg\/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)<\/p>\n

Inside, a couple hundred people filled the borough gymnasium for a four-hour hearing punctuated by whoops and jeers. Concerns about noise and pollution from 124 proposed diesel generations dominated public comments, while building trades representatives promoting construction jobs drew boos.<\/p>\n

The Oct. 28 meeting was the second of two public hearings led by Allegheny County Economic Development, following a virtual session<\/a> on Oct. 14.<\/p>\n

Dynamo DC\u2019s initial plan submitted to the department in September generated 97 comments from the county. Those range from pointing out a lack of detail over the intended diesel generation to questions about tree canopies and ADA compliance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An engineer representing the developer said during the meeting they have responded to all of them in a letter addressed to the county.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of the comments you saw outlined tonight are addressed in the letter,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u2018Typically a boring process\u2019<\/p>\n

Allegheny County\u2019s Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (SALDO) process<\/a>, required in this case because Springdale lacks its own land development ordinance, allows residents across the county to attend hearings and register comments through Nov. 30.<\/p>\n

Allegheny County\u2019s Springdale data center timeline<\/p>\n

June 22: Allegheny DC Propco LLC submitted its application<\/a> for preliminary land development approval and related documents<\/a>.
\nSept. 16: The county responded with 97 comments<\/a>.
\nOct. 14: The county held a virtual public meeting<\/a>, including an updated presentation by the developer and public comment.
\nOct. 28: The county held an in-person public meeting at the Springdale Borough Municipal Building.
\nNov. 30: Deadline for written public comments, which can be submitted here<\/a>
\nJanuary 26, 2027: Deadline for decision by county on the application<\/p>\n

The plan and the public\u2019s comments will be reviewed by the Planning Division of Allegheny County Economic Development and its engineering and legal consultants. They\u2019ll evaluate it all against the county\u2019s development standards, ACED Director Lauren Connelly wrote in an email. \u201cThe use itself has been approved by the Springdale Borough,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Speaking Oct. 28, Anna Skipper Jewart, a lawyer with Babst Calland representing the developer, emphasized SALDO\u2019s limitations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is typically a boring process,\u201d Jewart said. \u201cThis is a technical review.\u201d<\/p>\n

Generators a central concern<\/p>\n

Most of the more than 40 speakers expressed concerns about the project\u2019s potential impacts, including the noise and pollution that its 124 proposed diesel generators could produce.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t need a study to tell me that living close to 124 diesel generators that will be tested once a month will not be good for my health,\u201d said Carole Reinert, a Springdale resident who spoke at the hearing.<\/p>\n

Other speakers cited safety concerns, a decline in property values, the center\u2019s water usage and the 97 discrepancies the county cited in the application.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not against progress, but progress should never come at the expense of people\u2019s health, homes and peace of mind,\u201d said resident Sharon Spirk. \u201cData centers can be moved, but we cannot move 120 years of memory, hope and dreams from the people of Springdale.\u201d<\/p>\n

Springdale Borough by the numbers: <\/p>\n

– 3,319 residents
– 52.3 years median age (vs. 40.6 in Allegheny County)
– 97% white (vs. 76% countywide)
– $65,893 median household income (vs. $78,548 countywide)
– 4% in poverty (vs. 11.5% countywide)
– 69% of housing units owner-occupied (vs. 65% countywide)
– 53% voted for Donald Trump in 2024 (vs. 39% countywide)<\/p>\n

Source: American Community Survey data analyzed by Census Reporter<\/a> and Allegheny County Elections Division<\/p>\n

Jewart said the majority of the generators would only operate in emergency situations, though they will be tested on a monthly basis.\u00a0 Under the terms of Springdale\u2019s approval<\/a>, Jewart said, generators can only be tested during normal business hours, and they can\u2019t be tested all at once.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The goal of the testing is to \u201climit both the emissions as well as the sound that’s coming from it at any given time,\u201d said Jewart.<\/p>\n

\"AAnna Skipper Jewart, a Babst Calland attorney who serves as land use counsel for Allegheny DC Propco, speaks to the media during an intermission from the public meeting for Allegheny County’s Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance process addressing a proposed data center campus in Springdale Borough, on Oct. 28, 2026, at the borough building. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg\/Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source)<\/p>\n

Sandy Ransom, a 72-year Springdale resident, lives around six blocks from the site. Before the hearing, she said she\u2019s mainly concerned with the generators, which she said will produce noise and carcinogens.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpringdale has been a dying community for a long time, and there are a lot of people in town that are really trying to build it up \u2026 I would hate to see the town ruined by a data center,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s also skeptical of the developer\u2019s promises of jobs and tax revenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are saying we\u2019re going to get big money,\u201d she said. \u201cBut if it affects our health, is it worth it?\u201d<\/p>\n

A few at the meeting spoke out in favor.<\/p>\n

Several building trade union representatives touted the promise of construction jobs and the wages that would be spent in Springdale. Almost all of their testimonies were largely drowned out by jeers from the audience.<\/p>\n

\"AUnion members and officials applaud a speaker in favor of union jobs in data center construction during Allegheny County’s hearing addressing a proposed data center campus in Springdale Borough, on Oct. 28, at the Springdale Borough Building. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg\/Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis data race needs to be won here in America. It starts in Southwestern Pennsylvania,\u201d said Tom Platt, secretary\/treasurer of the Pittsburgh Regional Building Trades Council. \u201cProjects like this do bring money into the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will gladly put this in my backyard. I\u2019ll tell you that,\u201d said Platt.<\/p>\n

After borough approval, regional opposition<\/p>\n

The evening’s attendance reflected pent-up concern about data centers across the region. The proposed site use was approved in December<\/a> by the borough council, whose restriction against speakers living outside the square-mile borough irked many residents<\/a> of nearby communities who felt they would share in those impacts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alexis Fitzgerald, of Pittsburgh, said she grew up visiting family in Springdale, though she\u2019s never lived there. Now, as an environmental educator, she said she is concerned about the possible ecological costs from noise and pollution.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe water pollution impacts the entire food chain,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"APat English, left, confronts Tom Platt, secretary\/treasurer of the Pittsburgh Regional Building Trades Council, during an Allegheny County-convened meeting about a proposed data center at the Springdale Borough Building on Oct. 28. (Photo by Danny Arensberg\/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)<\/p>\n

Other data center proposals are popping up in and around Allegheny County, with accompanying public backlash. In Elizabeth Township, about 20 miles away, an Eastern Pennsylvania developer\u2019s early-stage plans for a 20-building data center campus along the Youghiogheny River drew boos and jeers from residents at a town hall<\/a> earlier this month. That roughly 3-million-square-foot proposal is more than quadruple the size of the one in Springdale.<\/p>\n

In Springdale, opposition, fronted by Save Allegheny Valley Environment (SAVE), has steadily risen since the plans were aired last fall.<\/p>\n

A week before the SALDO hearing, SAVE members gathered at the Springdale restaurant From Italy, where participants circulated between letter-folding, hand-addressing and stamping tables. They prepared 4,700 letters for registered voters in Springdale Borough, the same-named township, Harmar and Cheswick. One SAVE member\u2019s grandchildren decorated the back with Steelers iconography, flamingos and messages like \u201cwe love our air.\u201d<\/p>\n

A white board read: \u201cGO TIME.\u201d<\/p>\n

Organizers discussed a door-knocking plan targeting 3,000 homes, ranging up the Alle-Kiski Valley to Upper Burrell<\/a>, where there is an ongoing public process regarding a data center, and Frazer, where the sale of the Pittsburgh Mills Mall has spurred speculation. Alliances with the Climate Reality Project and Food and Water Watch could extend the reach into other parts of the Pittsburgh area in time to spur letters to the county prior to the Nov. 30 deadline for written input.<\/p>\n

Should the application be denied, the developer is permitted to resubmit and start the process over. Jewart said the company would likely reapply if the application was denied.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The facility will also have to obtain an operating permit from the county Health Department, a process which also provides for public comment.<\/p>\n

Stephanie Strasburg contributed reporting.<\/p>\n

Jamie Wiggan is deputy editor at Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source and can be reached at jamie@publicsource.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lucas Dufalla is the Southern Communities reporter at Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source and can be reached at lucas@publicsource.org.<\/p>\n

This article<\/a> first appeared on Pittsburgh’s Public Source<\/a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.\u00a0\"""\"<\/p>\n

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