Scranton Materials LLC (Ransom Twp)
Ransom Township, Lackawanna County
A data center project in Ransom Township, Lackawanna County, and it is no longer proceeding in its original form.
The project by the numbers
Denied by Ransom Township, Lackawanna County
- Current stage
- Supervisors denied the zoning overlay, and the developer's appeal is before the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas.
- Decision body
- Ransom Township
- Top issues
- Residents and officials have focused on what remains in the ground from the site's industrial past, water use, continuous mechanical noise, and emissions from backup generation.
6-building campus on a stone quarry, bordering Scranton. After the supervisors' denial, Scranton Materials appealed to the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas in March 2026 through attorney Michael Mey, seeking site-specific relief and arguing the ordinance fails to provide for data centers as a use.
How it has unfolded
- 2026-02-01Township rejects plans for the data center campus, with an appeal considered likely Scranton Times-Tribune
Coverage of this project
- 2026-01-18 The Times-TribuneWildcat Ridge data center in Archbald to use huge amounts of power, waterLackawanna County siting and resource-demand context
Sources
Know your rights
In Pennsylvania, a data center on industrial land usually needs a special exception or conditional use, decided by a local Zoning Hearing Board after a public, quasi-judicial hearing. Neighbors can request party status, cross-examine witnesses, and build an evidentiary record. Municipalities can also write data-center ordinances with enforceable standards.
Know your rights →Take action
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 ask your municipality for a moratorium and a real ordinance.
How communities push back →