Pennsylvania Towns Push Back on Data…Pennsylvania Towns Push Back on Data CentersCoverage from The Philadelphia Inquirer, PennCapital-Star, and others
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Pennsylvania municipalities are imposing moratoria, adding requirements, and rejecting proposed data centers as local officials and residents scrutinize water use, noise, pollution, power impacts, and land-use plans.
Upper Merion Township denied five applications from Brian O'Neill's MLP Ventures for a roughly 4.6-million-square-foot campus near King of Prussia after months of opposition and litigation over the review process. Decisions in Upper Burrell and Brookville show that other towns are pausing new projects while they write local rules, leaving developers to navigate stricter reviews and possible appeals.
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History
09/08/2026
The current version largely confirms the previously established pattern of Pennsylvania municipalities scrutinizing or pausing data center development; it adds no material new event or outcome.
08/24/2026
Upper Merion’s process moved from review and delay to outright rejection of five major data center applications. The story now also includes court involvement and a potential appeal, making local permitting conflict more consequential.
Upper Merion Township supervisors unanimously rejected Brian O'Neill's five proposed AI data-center sites Thursday in the Swedeland section of Upper Merion, Pennsylvania, after months of resident opposition and legal disputes.
Brookville borough council approved a 180-day pause on data center development in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, citing water supply and environmental concerns.
Brian O'Neill sued Upper Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, after the township rejected his proposed 4.6 million-square-foot data center campus amid organized resident opposition.
The Upper Merion Township Board of Supervisors rejected five proposed data center developments Thursday in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, after residents opposed potential noise, water, energy, and land-use impacts.
Upper Merion Township supervisors rejected Brian O'Neill's five proposed data centers on Thursday in Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania, after residents and officials raised environmental, health, infrastructure, and planning concerns.
8/14/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Brian O'Neill sued Upper Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, temporarily disrupting decisions on five proposed data centers before a judge vacated the order.
Brian O'Neill and MLP Ventures filed eight Montgomery County, Pennsylvania AI data center proposals before an ordinance added 1,000-foot buffers, noise controls, and water restrictions.
6/18/2026 • Community & Local Opposition • General
Upper Merion Township supervisors denied project-review extensions Thursday in Upper Merion, Pennsylvania, leaving Brian O'Neill's proposed data centers subject to review under existing applications.
8/13/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
NBC10 Philadelphia / Shaira Arias and Emily Rose Grassi61
Upper Merion Township supervisors are expected to decide Thursday on MLP Ventures' proposed 4.6-million-square-foot data center complex in Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania.
A Montgomery County judge on Wednesday blocked Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania, from advancing Brian O'Neill's proposed data center applications pending a court hearing.
Upper Burrell, Pennsylvania approved a 180-day moratorium on new data center development while drafting a township-wide ordinance after resident concerns about a TECfusions AI project.
Upper Burrell, Pennsylvania residents questioned TECFusions Keystone Connect construction and the township 180-day data center moratorium after concerns about noise and projected air emissions.
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