Jessup, Olyphant and Throop boroughs, Lackawanna County
DEP is reviewing permits for what it calls the Triboro Industrial Park Data Center on about 548 acres owned by Ercor Triboro LLC at the Jessup and Olyphant border. Olyphant says the land is approved only for warehouses after data center plans were pulled in May 2026, but PPL's transmission plans point to a large new power customer there.
WVIA reports Ercor Triboro LLC bought the roughly 548-acre property for $17.5 million in June 2025, and Olyphant had approved warehouse lots there. In March 2026, PPL published plans for transmission lines to a new customer near Moosic Lake Road and scheduled an open house in Throop for March 31. In April 2026, DEP issued a blasting permit for the 'Triboro Warehouse,' Olyphant council's April 14 vote on its data center ordinance drew a Tri-Boro lawsuit, and the borough received a nine-building data center zoning application. On April 21, PPL told an open house its new lines would serve data centers, and WVIA reported its map shows a customer on the Ercor land. By May 9, DEP had issued the construction stormwater permit to Ercor Triboro LLC, and on May 8 it issued a second blasting permit for 'Triboro Revision 2 Commercial Development.' The Triboro Commerce Park land development plan was pulled before the May 18 planning commission meeting. On June 9, Olyphant settled the Tri-Boro lawsuit, and the solicitor said the ordinance stands. Stop Olyphant Data Centers rallied on Aug. 2. A water obstruction and encroachment application was submitted to DEP on Aug. 25, and by Sept. 8 the borough had filed preliminary objections in a separate Ercor lawsuit. On Oct. 13, the borough said the development is approved only for warehouses.
PPL plans two parallel double-circuit 230 kV lines running about three miles from a new Winton Switchyard to a new customer near Moosic Lake Road. PPL says the customer pays for lines into its facility, while regional improvements go into the rate base that all customers pay.
WVIA NewsEddy Creek runs through the property and dips into abandoned coal mines, carrying acid mine drainage into the Lackawanna River, WVIA reported; a DEP water obstruction and encroachment permit for the project is pending.
WVIA NewsLand clearing on the property was under way by April 2026, and the borough said timbering is allowed; residents cited the tree clearing at the Aug. 2 rally.
Olyphant BoroughThe state Health Department has been assessing cancer rates around the closed Cinram plant in Olyphant, and residents at borough meetings have cited it, the Marjol site and the Keystone Sanitary Landfill as burdens the area already carries.
WVIA NewsLeaders: Eva Rappenglueck, co-organizer
Tactics: Rally at Fern Hill Park on Aug. 2, 2026; sharing information with residents; speaking at Olyphant council and planning meetings.
Organized against the proposed TriBoro data centers. We didn't find a website, Facebook page, petition or donation link.
Leaders: Aline Browning, founder and president
Tactics: Gave Olyphant council a four-page list of recommended changes to its data center ordinance and urged adoption on Oct. 13, 2026; holds town halls on cancer concerns around the former Cinram plant in Olyphant.
The group's main focus has been chemical exposure concerns around the former Olyphant plant; it has also pressed council on data center rules. No website or social media link was found.
Dispute over whether council's April 14, 2026 vote adopted the CM-2 data center zoning amendment. After the settlement, the solicitor said the amendment was adopted and the curative amendment no longer applies.
Tri-Boro Commerce Park v. Olyphant Borough · Settled; council approved a stipulation of settlement June 9, 2026Planning commission minutes from June 29, 2026 describe a new Tri-Boro lawsuit over the borough's noise ordinance. Council minutes in August and September call it the Ercor lawsuit and say Ercor isn't contesting the data center zoning amendment, though the solicitor said the ordinance can't be amended while the suit is pending.
Ercor (Tri-Boro) v. Olyphant Borough · Pending; the borough filed preliminary objections (reported Sept. 8, 2026)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 →