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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Blair County commissioners said Thursday that they have no easy answer for anyone asking if they support or oppose data centers.
"There are all different types of data centers," commissioners Chairman Dave Kessling said Thursday after commissioners adjourned their weekly meeting.
Fellow commissioners Laura Burke and Amy Webster also acknowledged their interest and concern.
"It's much more complex than saying you're for or against them ... because they're not all the same," Burke said.
When Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order on Aug. 18 setting stricter environmental and transparency standards for new data center developments, the state acknowledged its awareness of at least 100 proposed data centers, including many that haven't taken meaningful steps toward development.
Inside and outside Pennsylvania, data centers are generating controversies for municipalities, residents and developers who are clashing over how developments could potentially affect local resources and land use.
In Pennsylvania, county commissioners have little control over where data centers will be built because that portion of the approval process rests with municipal governing bodies and their planning and zoning commissions, if they have them.
Kessling said that doesn't mean local residents wouldn't approach commissioners with their objections to a data center.
"They'd be asking: 'Why did you let that be built here?' " Kessling said.
If and when a data center is proposed inside Blair County, the affected municipality leaders would typically rely on subdivision and land development ordinances and zoning rules, if they have them, to evaluate the proposed project.
Statewide governing bodies, including the Pennsylvania Association of Townships and the Pennsylvania Association of Boroughs, currently have information about data centers posted on their websites.
Kessling, Burke and Webster also praised the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania for keeping tabs on what's happening throughout the state.
"For us, there's so much information out there," Kessling said.
"We're trying to learn more," Burke said. "It's on top of everyone's minds."
Webster mentioned that the Blair County Planning Commission may be a resource for information and guidance.
The planning commission, which regularly evaluates proposed land developments as requested by municipalities, met Thursday morning in Altoona where the topic of data centers surfaced.
Planning Director Jessica Sheets predicted an ongoing interest and more questions in communities trying to determine the effects of Shapiro's executive order on a proposed data center.
Sheets also reported that she invited a state Department of Community and Economic Development representative to speak before the commission's Government Advisory Committee on Sept. 21. That committee consists of local municipal leaders.
Planning commission member David Reese of Duncansville spoke in favor of learning what can be done.
"With our consumption of data, they're going to have to exist," Reese said in reference to data centers. "The key is to get in front of that and where they should exist and how resources are utilized for that."
While zoning rules and subdivision and land development ordinance may offer some control over data centers, not every municipality in Blair County has such rules. Sheets told the planning commission that six municipalities in Blair County have no subdivision and land development ordinances and additional municipalities may have versions dating back to the 1980s.
"It's not going to go away," Reese said. "We as consumers need to figure out how to manage it responsibly."
Local state Reps. Andrea Verobish, R-Blair, and Scott Barger, R-Blair/Huntingdon, have also announced their plans to host an informational meeting about data centers on Sept. 24. The event is scheduled for 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Blair County Convention Center.
Information on their websites indicates that they intend to share a presentation about the state's preparation for the projected influx of data centers, with a specific focus on the centers' power needs. The local lawmakers are supposed to take questions afterward.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.