BROWNDALE, PA — In a meeting of the Clinton Township Planning Commission held Wednesday, June 3, the commission declared the data center application submitted by Linde Corporation to be incomplete. The corporation will need to address the deficiencies in its application before re-submitting it to the planning commission. 

Linde Corporation submitted to the commission plans for a development including 20 data center buildings, two power plants and associated infrastructure. It initially submitted the plans April 30; the planning commission could not hear them at its May meeting, as it needed 10 days of review before the meeting, causing the plans to be heard at the June meeting. 

The planning commission declared the plans incomplete at the end of its June 3 meeting, citing four sections of the Clinton Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (SALDO): 402.6 H, 402.3 G, 402.5 A and 402.7. 

Section 402.6 H covers sewage disposal, and requires “completed sewage facilities planning module(s) for land development and other required sewage planning documents as required by the PA Sewage Facilities Act and PA DEP [Department of Environmental Protection].” 

The application documents included a “will-serve” letter from the Lackawanna River Basin Sewer Authority. However, an attorney brought by members of the public, Tom Wyatt, called into question whether the will-serve letter fulfilled the requirements of the section. 

Wyatt said the project needed a sewage plan under Act 537, the PA Sewage Facilities Act. Additionally, he said that federal law will require an Industrial Pretreatment Program (IPP) permit for the facility. 

The will-serve letter is “a very good step,” said Wyatt. “But that is a far cry from the process that will be undertaken by these engineers and by the PA DEP [Department of Environmental Protection] to make sure that the incredible amount of waste that’s going to be sent out of this facility can be handled.”

Section 402.3 G requires “a viewshed analysis showing the location and extent of views into the property from public roads and from public parks, public forests and state game lands.”

The plans included imaging of the view into the property at certain areas where it meeds public roads. However, according to members of the public, the materials included failed to fully capture the impact the project will have on the viewshed of the surrounding area. 

Section 402.5 A requires the plan to include an overview of “historic resources, trails and significant natural features” on the property. 

Section 402.7 is a catch-all section titled “additional information.” It reads, “the township shall require any other necessary information based on the specific characteristics of the proposed project.”

The planning commission set an emergency meeting for Monday, June 8 to discuss what other items will be required under this section.  After that meeting, the planning commission will send out an official letter of deficiencies, itemizing what needs to be included with a re-submission. 

The packed crowd at the planning commission meeting cheered and applauded following the announcement of the denial. 

Linde Corporation President Scott Linde told the River Reporter following the meeting, “We appreciate the opportunity to inform others of the project’s planning and potential to provide a net positive outcome.”