Kline Township, Schuylkill County
Amazon Data Services bought a former warehouse site off Lofty Road near McAdoo for $178.6 million and has asked Kline Township to approve a nine-building data center campus of about 2.1 million square feet, while residents push for a moratorium and more openness.
Brewster Land Co. first proposed warehouses on the Devil's Mountain site around 2021. The state accepted Amazon's data center project into Fast Track on May 22, 2025, and deeds reported in July 2025 showed Amazon Data Services had bought the land for about $178.6 million. An overflow crowd led the township to cancel Amazon's December 2025 introduction, which was held instead on January 17, 2026 at the McAdoo-Kelayres school. Amazon briefed county commissioners on June 17, 2026, and the planning commission opened hearings on June 30, 2026 under heavy security, with public comment limited to residents and property owners. Supervisors extended the plan deadline to September 30, 2026, the state removed data centers from Fast Track on August 18, and the planning commission recommended conditions on September 28, 2026.
Update, October 26, 2026. On September 30, 2026 the Kline Township supervisors voted unanimously to approve Amazon's data center campus plans with the planning commission's nine-page list of conditions covering noise, emergency response, electrical infrastructure, water and wastewater, environmental protections, construction, long-term operations, financial security and outside agency approvals. Supervisor Gary Perna Jr. said the conditions reflect the work of the planning commission, zoning and the engineers. FOX56 reported Amazon still has to complete the township's zoning and pre-construction processes and the state's pre-construction process before construction can begin.
Nine data center buildings plus administration, water and security buildings across more than 300 acres in a former coal region where residents point to polluted streams and hundred-foot waste coal piles as the region’s inheritance from the last extractive boom.
Inside Climate News / PA Capital-StarA campus of this scale adds load in Kline Township, Schuylkill County already absorbing several large data center projects.
Inside Climate News / PA Capital-StarAmazon asked that its diesel backup generators be exempted from the township noise ordinance, saying they'd run only in emergencies and for testing, though its representatives gave varying answers on how often they'd be tested. The nearest resident begged planners not to let the campus exceed the decibel limits.
Shenandoah SentinelPart of the former McAdoo chemical waste dump, a Superfund site, lies down the road, and federal officials found a cluster of rare blood cancers in surrounding counties in 2007. Some Haddock homes are within about a mile of the site.
Inside Climate News / PA Capital-StarResidents describe a process moving quickly with limited public notice, which they say has prevented meaningful participation.
Inside Climate News / PA Capital-StarThe Kline Township Municipal Authority would supply up to 15,000 gallons a day for workers and up to 100,000 gallons a day for cooling. Amazon says it uses water for cooling less than 2 percent of the year but couldn't estimate annual use, and the authority said a new water main through Haddock and other off-site upgrades would be needed at Amazon's expense.
Shenandoah SentinelAmazon says Lofty Road will be realigned and get a traffic signal, consistent with the earlier Brewster warehouse plan, and local reporting says the work near Route 309 would be at Amazon's cost.
Amazon Innovation Campuses in PennsylvaniaAWS says the campus would create as many as 500 permanent jobs paying an average of $80,000 to $100,000, with about 90 percent needing only an associate degree or certificate.
Coal Region CanaryPPL representatives said Amazon agreed to buy power for ten years and can be curtailed to protect local service, and forecast that customers' rates would go down, but they wouldn't readily share the agreement with planners.
Shenandoah SentinelCiting a credible threat, police screened attendees with metal detectors at the June 30, 2026 hearing, public comment was limited to residents and property owners, and officers forcibly removed a former state House majority leader who tried to speak.
Shenandoah SentinelLeaders: Former NFL player Nate Eachus, who has called for a statewide moratorium
Tactics: Public comment at township meetings, calls for a local and statewide moratorium, joint appearances with Hazle Township neighbors and Food & Water Watch
Kline Township residents watched neighboring Hazle Township win a 180-day pause in June 2026 and are pressing for the same. Their central complaint is speed and secrecy rather than any single technical impact.
Preliminary and final major modification land development plan for the Project Brewster Data Center Campus off Lofty Road, with nine data center buildings and support buildings.
Amazon Data Services, Inc.; Kline Township · Planning commission recommended conditions 3-0 on September 28, 2026; supervisors' vote scheduled September 30, 2026, result not confirmedIn Pennsylvania, the local zoning ordinance sets the route. A conditional use is decided by the elected governing body (supervisors, commissioners or council). A special exception or variance, and an appeal of a zoning officer’s decision, go to the Zoning Hearing Board. Each is a public hearing on a record: affected neighbors can ask for party status, cross-examine witnesses, and appeal. Municipalities can also adopt data center ordinances with enforceable standards.
Know your rights →Organized community opposition is the single most effective check on these projects in Pennsylvania. Show up to hearings, submit comment when it is taken, support legal and expert-witness costs, and press your municipality for a real ordinance. Pennsylvania municipalities cannot simply freeze applications, but a curative amendment under the Planning Code gives them a defined window to fix a defective ordinance.
How communities push back →