Harrisburg, PA — Today, hundreds of Pennsylvanians from across the Commonwealth rallied at the State Capitol Rotunda to urge lawmakers to support Senator Katie Muth’s three-year data center moratorium (SB1359), filed last month. The bipartisan legislation would enact a three-year moratorium on data centers in Pennsylvania. The rally, organized by Food & Water Watch, featured speakers on the frontlines of data center proposals and remarks from Senator Muth.

Pennsylvania has emerged as a pivotal data center battleground where dozens of projects have been proposed to fierce community opposition. While Josh Governor Shapiro has worked to fast track and incentivise data center development, communities are increasingly stopping and delaying projects at the local level.  Recent polling found 68 percent of Pennsylvania voters would oppose an AI data center being built in their community.

A recording of the event can be found here.

Ginny Marcille-Kerslake, Senior Eastern Pennsylvania Organizer with Food & Water Watch and emcee of the rally, issued the follow statement: 

“Pennsylvania is not for sale. Not our agricultural land, not our fresh water, not our energy, not our communities where families live. Today’s show of force should send a very clear message to Governor Shapiro: Pennsylvania says no to AI hyperscale data centers.

“We need Senator Muth’s data center moratorium passed. Pennsylvania must hit pause on this exploitative industrial development and prevent greedy Big Tech giants from determining the direction of our state and ultimately, our futures. AI is not inevitable, nor are the detrimental impacts they bring. The people are saying no, and our lawmakers must join our call.” 

A Food & Water Watch report lays out the wide range of harms and hazards associated with the sudden explosion of the data center industry in the United States, including: 

• Annual water usage equivalent to 18.5 million households by 2028; annual electricity usage equivalent to 55 million households by 2028.
• Dangerous new demand for fossil fuels, posing heightened risks of air and water pollution for impacted communities and a grave threat to our global climate.
• A host of other societal threats, from national economic catastrophe, to loss of critical farmland, to unrelenting noise pollution, to threats to children and democracy.