why aren’t municipalities here following the lead of maine and ohio over data centers?

This isn’t going to be a long post. These are my thoughts based on a conversation I had with a friend in another part of Southeastern PA, who isn’t being targeted by data centers, but happen to be at a meeting talking about other things where data centers came up.

So in Maine and Ohio with regard to data centers, officials are starting to ask companies to have like a security bond – not escrow – with the purpose to cover potential issues – pollution that affects humans and livestock – cover issues with energy/utilities, decommissioning buildings etc.

As of May 2026, both Maine and Ohio have moved to implement rigorous financial and environmental “guardrails” for large-scale data centers.

Legislators in these states are shifting away from simple escrow accounts toward security bonds and comprehensive accountability frameworks to address potential negative impacts on residents, livestock, local infrastructure, etc.

We’re talking about (in Maine) accountability councils/ committees, resource protection (which includes things about noise pollution, discharge of warm contaminated water into waterways which WILL affect livestock and humans and wildlife and potentially domestic pets, water shortages), utility safeguards (energy costs and straining energy grids).

In Ohio (maybe Wisconsin too?) also the things mentioned above about security and infrastructure bonds. These bonds cover all sorts of things like if a data center becomes decommissioned and land use things around these data centers. Also measures about pollution and the reason these things are coming out in these states is to protect residents from having to clean up after data center developers essentially.

Now this is why you’re seeing in some of these states that these developers are walking away because they’re realizing it’s going to be too expensive for them to do what they want isn’t it?

Also in pending (?) legislation in Kentucky (HB 593), Colorado (SB 26-102), and elsewhere aims to ensure that data centers pay for their own energy. As in all of their own energy it seems?

As of April 2026, in addition, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, and Virginia are considering or have filed statewide moratoriums or strict regulations. Now realize in Pennsylvania that there has been similar legislation, but none of it has teeth does it? It’s all still aimed to cater to the data center industry isn’t it? And why is that? Two words: Josh Shapiro.

I think data centers will very well be Josh Shapiro‘s political Waterloo. He will undoubtedly get reelected as governor because Marg Simpson, err Stacey Garrity just isn’t going to beat him. but I have to wonder if this will keep our governor from his loftier political aspirations in the end?

So why aren’t we doing it here now? I know it was bought up at one of the East Whiteland meetings by the Supervisors Chair Scott Lambert that he wanted some kind of financial measures in place to cover some of these things and the data center developers lawyers basically were like no are you crazy but was he crazy? Because this is what’s being proposed in other states isn’t it?

Some of my biggest concerns and some of these municipalities, including East Whiteland is elected officials don’t realize that they can say no, but do they have the courage to do so? You will get responses like along the lines of they have to do what counsel instructions them, but do they really? These elected officials were elected to represent the people. Therefore, all of these other people, lawyers and township staff included work for them and the residents, don’t they?

It’s finding the courage to say no.

Sorry, not sorry but my humble opinion (which I am allowed to have) is we don’t need these in our communities. Developers want them in our communities and all they are is the new apartment building, the new condo complex, the new kind of warehouse. It’s about their profit and nothing to do with us. F ‘em.

Learn elected officials, please learn.

https://www.billtrack50.com/billdetail/1979309

https://www.bdlaw.com/publications/maine-could-ban-new-data-centers-and-what-it-means-for-everyone-else/

https://ohiohouse.gov/news/republican/ohio-house-passes-bill-establishing-the-ohio-data-center-study-commission-142643

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/maine-could-ban-new-data-centers-and-2375560/

https://mainemorningstar.com/2026/04/06/maine-house-advances-data-center-moratorium/

https://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0113&item=3&snum=130

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/maine-legislature-approves-first-us-moratorium-big-data-centers-2026-04-14/

https://www.nrcm.org/blog/four-ways-maine-can-address-energy-impact-data-centers/

https://earthjustice.org/press/2026/legislation-introduced-to-ensure-common-sense-guardrails-on-data-centers-in-colorado

https://www.lpm.org/news/2026-02-12/gop-bill-seeks-guardrails-for-new-data-centers-to-pay-their-own-way-in-kentucky

https://www.wrdw.com/video/2026/02/06/south-carolina-senate-proposes-guardrails-data-centers/