Mar 27
Spruce Street, Archbald, Pennsylvania.
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Spruce Street, Archbald, Pennsylvania.
Spruce Street, Archbald, Pennsylvania.
Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan in Pennsylvania, May 2026: "Even the Washington Post put Archbald and Lackawanna County on the national map, describing what is happening there in plain terms. A town of 7,000 people facing data center development on a scale equivalent to 51 Walmart super centers. That is not economic development. That is not innovation. That is a conquest of an entire area."
Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan in Pennsylvania, May 2026: "For generations, this region built wealth for other people while carrying the scars ourselves. We should know better than anyone here in Lackawanna County what happens when outside interests see your home as a resource instead of a community. And that's why this matters. And it's not just Archbald, although Archbald is literally ground zero. It's Jermyn, it's the entire MidValley, it's Scranton, the Abingtons, North Pocono."
Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan in Pennsylvania, May 2026: "They have cleared the forests, many of the wooded areas up in the MidValley and Up Valley, and they're telling us at public hearings that that's opportunity. They're going to raise smokestacks for these data centers, and they're going to call it investment. They're going to build thousands of diesel fields beside neighborhoods and call it innovation. And when people object, as many of them have, when mothers and fathers stand up to defend Archbald, North Pocono, all over Lackawanna County, they're treated like obstacles and I have seen that firsthand at these hearings that I've been at. Most recently at a hearing in Archbald where they want to put a power plant right near a residential area. The disrespect that has been shown to the people of our county by the developers and their attorneys is unbelievable. I sat through these meetings where the developers and attorneys won't even look at the people who are testifying to how this is going to affect their neighborhood and their families."
People are now reporting lots of dead animals around this area in Archbald Pennsylvania that got clearcut back in March in advance of a data center that hasn't even been approved yet. Porcupines, foxes, even a bear.
"once the trees are gone, they're gone"
https://wat3rm370n.tumblr.com/post/812554994636177408/this-could-cause-flooding-in-the-neighborhoods
Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan in Pennsylvania, February 2026: “The opposition to the data centers is overwhelming. I’ve been hearing from literally hundreds and hundreds of my constituents throughout the county over the last several weeks, and I have serious concerns. When you look at the specific proposal that’s being bandied about tonight, the water consumption, the electricity consumption, it’s very, very concerning. And then when you look at what is happening around the country, specifically Georgia, there are really, really big problems with data centers.”
Everyday Americans do NOT want these hyperscale data centers.
Chris Kelly Opinion: Archbald is the canary in the data center ‘coal mine’ By Chris Kelly | The Times-Tribune PUBLISHED: May 3, 2026 at 12:00 AM EDT
The Times-Tribune. To the extent that any movement can credibly be called “nonpartisan,” the opposition to invasive data center development is “deep purple.” Everyday Democrats, Republicans and independents are fiercely united against a hostile corporate takeover of the state. Meanwhile, support for the invasion seems just as uniform among elected officials of both major parties. From the Trump White House to MAGA Republican Sen. Dave McCormick, alleged Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, Shapiro and state officials in both parties, the welcome mat for developers was quietly laid out long before the public was even vaguely aware of data centers.
This is true. I’ve mentioned before the maga trucker convoy guy, and there’s some right-winger who shows up at Scranton City council meetings and says out there right-wing things, and then also speaks out against data centers. The Stop Archbald Data Centers fb group has a wide swathe of the political spectrum participating.
Trump, Shapiro, McCormick applaud decision keeping two Pa. coal plants running By John Cole | The Center Square Apr 22, 2026