Residents, commission members press West Rock Hill supervisors to strengthen data-center ordinance

West Rock Hill supervisors opened a public hearing on proposed Ordinance 2-57 on July 15, hearing extensive public comment urging the township to add stronger safeguards for proposed data centers, including expanded noise standards, groundwater protections, emergency-response requirements and financial security for remediation and decommissioning.

Scott Bridal, a resident and member of the citizens advisory group that submitted a track-changes draft, asked the board to advertise the group’s proposed amendments and schedule a vote. "We ask that these new changes be made for public advertisement and scheduled for an official public hearing and vote," Bridal said, noting members relied on model ordinances such as PennFuture’s.

Members of the ad hoc commission pressed officials for technical protections. Ashley Adams, who sits on the local data-center commission, said the draft requires a closed-loop cooling system and additional groundwater safeguards, including pre-application mapping of wells and a presumption that operators caused nearby well impacts unless they can disprove it. "If your well is within a certain distance over a certain period of time and these wells begin to have adverse impacts...the data center operator is presumed to be the cause," Adams said, describing the provision as a way to prevent residents without deep pockets from having to prove causation.

Residents raised related concerns about fire safety and hazardous materials. Angela Goodwin warned of environmental harms she said have occurred elsewhere when recycled process water was released; board members and the solicitor discussed whether mandatory public-water service or equipment contributions to volunteer fire departments would be feasible. "These are things that are unique to West Rock Hill Township," Adams said, urging measures to protect livestock, air and water.

Technical points also emerged: Billy Hurley said closed-loop cooling can increase electricity consumption by 10–40% and produce sustained noise levels that may exceed ambient standards, and he warned that additives used in closed systems can contaminate storm drains if released.

Solicitor Dave Keatley said the citizens’ track-changes draft introduced a large number of substantive additions—sound limits and measurement methods, emergency-management and signage plans, restrictions on certain generators, battery and electronic-waste provisions, and decommissioning and financial-security requirements—but cautioned that some enforcement provisions might be constrained by state law. "I think state law might preempt any kind of modification to enforcement," Keatley said, noting enforcement issues could depend on the Municipalities Planning Code and the zoning hearing board process.

Manager Lepicotte notified the board that a zoning hearing-board application (#202602) from National Land Developers for a data center had been received; the solicitor clarified the filing was a special-exception sketch for the zoning hearing board rather than a full land-development application.

After public comment and internal discussion, a motion passed directing the solicitor to prepare a revised Ordinance 2-57 (referred to as Version 3) that would build on the existing draft and incorporate the citizens group’s suggestions to the extent legally possible, to be introduced next month. The motion passed by voice vote; no final adoption occurred on July 15.

Next steps: the solicitor will draft Version 3 of Ordinance 2-57 for board introduction and, if the board directs, the changes would be resubmitted to the township and county planning commissions and scheduled for another public hearing and vote.

(Reporting note: Quotes and attributions come from speakers who identified themselves on the record at the July 15 meeting.)