Coal Center makes data center vote unanimous
Six communities have approved a yearlong pause amid concerns regarding the former Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel mill property.
One by one, six Mon Valley municipalities have voted to give themselves more time before any proposed data center development can move forward.
On Thursday, Coal Center became the last.
Coal Center council is shown on Aug. 13, 2026. Photo by Bobbi Schoch via Facebook
Coal Center Borough Council unanimously approved the resolution Thursday, becoming the sixth and final municipality to do so and immediately triggering a pause on future data center development across the communities participating in the joint zoning ordinance.
The vote completed a process that began last week when Stockdale became the first municipality to approve the measure, followed by Roscoe. Dunlevy approved it unanimously Tuesday, and Allenport and Elco councils each followed suit Wednesday.
With Coal Center’s vote, all six municipalities have unanimously approved the resolution.
The coordinated effort stems from growing concern surrounding the approximately 400-acre former Wheeling- Pittsburgh Steel mill property, now part of Mon River Industrial Park, which stretches across Allenport, Dunlevy and Stockdale.
EQT Ventures LLC holds an exclusive option to purchase the property and has launched a website marketing the site for artificial intelligence infrastructure, although no land development or zoning application has been submitted.
With Thursday’s final vote, the pause took effect, giving the six municipalities time to pursue a municipal curative amendment to their joint zoning ordinance.
The process will allow officials to review and potentially strengthen regulations addressing issues such as noise, water consumption, electrical demand, lighting, stormwater management and other impacts associated with large-scale data centers. The resolution does not permanently prohibit data centers within the six municipalities.
Instead, the yearlong pause gives officials time to work with legal, planning and environmental professionals to determine how such developments should be regulated before an application is filed.
Stockdale Councilwoman Sherri Martin, who has been actively involved in the effort and has encouraged residents throughout the six communities to educate themselves and participate in the process, called Thursday’s final approval a victory.
“It’s truly a win. It’s exactly what had to happen to begin with,” Martin said. “Without this passing, we were going to be very behind the ball. This puts us in place, as communities, to successfully draft a curative amendment that addresses the concerns of residents.”
Martin said the pause delays any potential development process and gives municipalities the time they need to put protections in place.
“This stalls that process and gives us time,” she said.
For Martin, the growing level of public involvement has been one of the most noticeable developments as the resolution moved from municipality to municipality.
“It gets bigger and bigger,” she said. Thursday night offered an opportunity to recognize what residents and officials accomplished, but Martin said the work is far from finished.
“We’re celebrating tonight and going back to work tomorrow,” she said.
Attention will now turn to the curative amendment process, along with upcoming local school board and zoning meetings.
“Data center and energy companies may offer significant financial incentives or economic benefits to school districts and communities where projects are proposed,” Martin said. “It is important that our local school boards hear directly from residents about their concerns regarding potential data center development and its impact on our land, resources and quality of life.”
Martin said residents who have attended municipal meetings should remain involved as the six communities begin the next phase. “Together, residents have made their voices heard throughout this process,” she said. “Now the focus turns to what happens during the 12-month pause and how the communities address data centers through zoning.”
Stockdale Councilwoman Bobbi Schock also celebrated the final vote in a post following Thursday’s Coal Center meeting, thanking officials and residents throughout the region for their involvement.
“Coal Center passed the resolution! That is all six!” Schock wrote. “Thank you so much to the Coal Center council for their hospitality.”
She also thanked officials in each municipality for supporting the measure.
“Thank you to all of the borough councils for taking this matter as seriously as our residents do and passing the resolution to give us a 12-month pause,” Schock wrote.
Schock credited residents with continuing to attend meetings throughout the process, including people from communities outside the six municipalities.
“Thank you residents of the six boroughs (and even residents from California, Charleroi and Long Branch) who continued to show up for their communities!” she wrote.
DATA CENTERS •A4
“It is important that our local school boards hear directly from residents about their concerns regarding potential data center development and its impact on our land, resources and quality of life.”
SHERRI MARTIN
STOCKDALE COUNCILWOMAN
