Salem Township, Luzerne County
Blackstone-owned QTS paid 96 landowners more than $500 million for about 1,700 acres in Salem Township and won final master plan approval from township supervisors in July 2026. Its state permits are still under review.
By March 2026, Salem Township supervisors had already approved an initial QTS master plan with 18 buildings, according to QTS's attorney. QTS's first stormwater permit application (PAD400114) reached DEP on Dec. 8, 2025, and a second (PAD400116) on Feb. 17, 2026. On March 18, 2026, 4-3 Consulting announced that 96 landowners had been paid more than $500 million for about 1,700 acres, QTS said it was 'advancing plans' for a campus, and 4-3 founder Jack Sordoni said the township would receive a $9 million community benefit agreement. On March 26 the planning commission tabled an updated master plan with 12 buildings and about 100 more acres while it waited for county comments. The Pennsylvania Bulletin published notice of the two stormwater applications on April 18 and May 2. QTS filed a waterway encroachment application on May 22, and on May 28 the planning commission recommended conditional approval of the master plan, the lot consolidation and the road vacations. In June a volunteer cat rescue working on the bought-out properties was told to leave, and QTS said it was not pursuing extermination. The Center Square reported on June 23 that the township had signed nondisclosure agreements with two data center companies. On July 15 the supervisors approved the road vacations, the 180-lot consolidation and the final master plan. QTS applied for an air quality plan approval on July 29. On Aug. 18 Gov. Shapiro signed an executive order removing data centers, including both Salem Township campuses, from the state's permit fast-track program.
A North Market Street resident whose home sits about 50 yards outside the purchase line told the planning commission, 'Our property value is going to tank,' and said he didn't want to keep living there with data centers on three sides.
Times LeaderIn the part of the township QTS bought, The Center Square found a long series of empty homes with windows boarded shut, and a longtime resident nearby said it's hard to plan to stay because 'everybody around us is selling.'
The Center SquareSupervisors vacated parts of North Market Street and Moskaluk Road and all of Kiliti Road for the campus; North Market Street stays open until a new road from Salem Boulevard is built. In March, Supervisor John Fogg said trucks and construction vehicles wouldn't fit on the proposed routes, and residents raised concerns about added traffic on Stone Church Road.
Times LeaderQTS says its closed-loop cooling won't consume water once running and that each building would use about 50,000 gallons a month from Pennsylvania American Water for everyday needs, but it says it can't yet predict how much water the one-time fill of the cooling system will take.
QTS Data CentersDEP notices list 150.38 acres and 94 acres of earth disturbance for the first two phases, with stormwater going to Walker Run and an unnamed tributary of the Susquehanna River.
Pennsylvania BulletinQTS says diesel generators would provide emergency backup and be tested monthly. DEP's tracker shows a pending minor-facility air quality plan approval (40-00162A) submitted July 29, 2026, plus several storage tank permits not yet submitted.
Pennsylvania DEPQTS estimates hundreds of construction jobs and nearly 100 permanent jobs, with data center technicians averaging about $80,000 a year.
QTS Data CentersLeaders: Ginny Marcille-Kerslake, senior organizer
Tactics: Model ordinances, testimony at county and municipal meetings, supporting residents in local fights
Commented on the scale of the three Salem Township campuses after the August 2026 Sunshine Act ruling.
In 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 →