Mifflin Township, Columbia County
Outrigger Industrial Acquisitions applied for a data center permit on Aten Road under rules Mifflin Township wrote in spring 2026. A public notice reports supervisors approved it on August 10, 2026, with a written decision dated September 4, and a broker listing now offers the site to buyers.
On January 5, 2026 residents asked Mifflin Township supervisors about a rumored data center, and chairman Ricky Brown said the solicitor was drafting rules and nothing had been submitted. On February 9, 2026 solicitor James Brando presented a technological infrastructure ordinance, which supervisors sent to the Planning Commission. On March 3, 2026 the Planning Commission recommended against it. On April 13, 2026 supervisors took hours of public comment, questioned the developers and amended the draft with a 65-foot height cap, 1,000-foot setbacks and decommissioning rules, and the developers offered a $100,000 security. On May 11, 2026 supervisors adopted the ordinance after talks with attorneys for Outrigger, a citizens group and the landowning family. The Planning Commission held a conditional use hearing on Outrigger's application on July 7, 2026, and supervisors held theirs on August 10, 2026.
The ordinance limits data centers to 70 decibels from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and 55 dBA at other times at the property line, and requires sound studies before construction and within 90 days of opening.
Mifflin Township, Columbia CountyBuildings are capped at 65 feet (70 feet with a waiver) and must sit 1,000 feet from homes, schools and parks, cut to 350 feet where the setback crosses Interstate 80.
Mifflin Township, Columbia CountyApplicants must show approvals from Aqua and the Berwick Area Joint Sewer Authority that they can connect, and DEP expects sewage planning and a sewer extension permit for this project.
Mifflin Township, Columbia CountyResidents at the January 2026 meeting raised power consumption and the chance of brownouts; no power source or load has been disclosed.
Mifflin Township, Columbia CountyApplication to build a data center under the township's new technological infrastructure ordinance; the Planning Commission recommended that supervisors accept the proposed conditions.
Outrigger Industrial Acquisitions, LLC (applicant) for land owned by a private landowner · Hearing held August 10, 2026; no decision in posted township records as of October 22, 2026In 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 →