(File Photo of the Beaver County Courthouse)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Beaver, PA) A controversial topic was discussed at yesterday’s Beaver County Commissioners’ work session at the County Courthouse.
The biggest one was the development of plans from Las Vegas, Nevada headquartered company Switch to build a 600,000 square-foot data center complex that will have three buildings and would span an area roughly equivalent to 300 football fields on the 400-acre former Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum.
Beaver County Solicitor Garen Fedeles provided an update that Switch has submitted an application to the county planning commission for their review.
The recommendations from Switch are now being forwarded to Big Beaver to go over the process for this proposed data center through the company’s approval.
According to Fedeles, “there is nothing that this board (Board of Commissioners) has any oversight on that particular development aside from what the planning commission did yesterday.
Governor Josh Shapiro recently signed an executive order that he confirms will give more control and oversight to municipalities when it comes to development of data centers, and it requires that companies need to pay for their own energy, minimize air pollution, noise and water usage, as well as hire local workers and give back to the communities in benefit agreements which are negotiated.
Fedeles also mentioned that the biggest question in terms of this planned data center is the usage of water and electricity, which neighbors in Big Beaver are concerned about.
Fedeles noted that those developments are not “something that under the municipal planning code that the county planning agency looks at whenever they’re doing their review” for the local municipality.
Commissioner Tony Amadio and Commisisoner Jack Manning also visited the Pennsylvania Drug and Alcohol Secretary’s visit to Beaver County at the completion of her two year tour, where she honored Dr. Neil Capetta, a long-time drug advocate in the county.
Commissioner Amadio also got a tour update and swore in three trustees, two old ones and one new one, at the Aviation Center at the Community College of Beaver County.
Commissioner Manning also gave an update on the aviation sciences building at the county airport. When that facility is completed, almost 28,000 square feet of new classroom offices will be in place for the airport and for CCBC.