October 2026 Issue

Khalil said DRBC had not seen any approvals or applications for centers, “But we are trying to prepare. We’re just trying to keep track.” She called it difficult to project how much water might be used for data centers within the basin given that national projections don’t correlate to the area, and water supply utilities likely have non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with data center developers. Nonetheless, “It’s logical to see projected growth of data centers also results in projected demand in power.” And then there’s noise. Bridget has put years into professionally over- seeing horse care and comfort, including for collegiate teams, and under- stands the importance of giving horses a peaceful, restful environment during their time off. She’s concerned that what her horses might face is very different. “The data center proposed in LMBT (Lower Mount Bethel Township),” she said, “was quoted to potentially produce as much heat as 800,000 space heaters and the fans they intend to cool this one with will produce a constant hum.” In comparison, a March 2026 report from the Environmental and En- ergy Study Institute, spurred by the impact of a data center in a Chandler, Arizona neighborhood in 2014, generated three takeaways: 1. Noise pollution regulations, including local and state zoning ordinances, are out of date, and legal authority exists to make changes and updates. 2. Data centers continuously emit sounds, including humming of cooling systems, rumbling of diesel generators, and whirring of fans that can be heard for hundreds of feet around them. 3. Because there is a lack of reliable data from sound meters, and most local ordinances were written to address noisy parties not megawatt centers, most noise complaints go unaddressed, leading to community frustration and lower property values. Data center neighbors have experienced nausea, headaches, vertigo, sleep disturbances, ear pain, and hypertension. Kyle Hart with the Nation- al Parks Conservation Association told EESI that people living near data centers “hear the noise day and night as a ringing in their ears.” The EESI March report predicted data centers becoming noisier as developers stack more information technology (IT) equipment and servers into smaller spaces, and the compounding effect of thousands or tens of thousands of servers in one warehouse can increase noise levels up to 96 decibels and within 50-feet of homes. While this report did not mention animals or horses, according to Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, a horse’s hearing comfort range – comparable to a normal human speaking voice – is 60-80 decibels. Ac- cording to mammal hearing specialist, Dr. Rickeye Heffner at the Uni- versity of Toledo (OH), repeat exposure hearing damage begins at 85 decibels, physical damage occurs at 150 decibels, and eardrum rupture occurs at 190 decibels. (Note: Find The Environmental Impacts of Data Centers (EESI Article Series) on the impacts of data centers including their energy needs, water usage, noise pollution and contribution to higher energy bills at eesi.org/ data-center-impacts.) My House “We have about 30 horses on the property. Ten are over the age of 20 and I worry deeply for their health,” Bridget said. “Horses are challenging enough to keep healthy and happy under normal environmental circumstances.” Her elder charges include Cosentino, or Cosi, a 21 year-old Oldenburg gelding whose golden years, she believes, deserve the peace and quiet of a farm nestled in mountains and cornfields. Since first talking to Bridget, she has been attending weekly town meet- ings and getting involved with her Pennsylvania neighbors to catch these metaphorical ponies and demand a closer inspection. “Belvidere has been able to pass a data center ordinance which essentially bans the one proposed here (woot woot). This means there are only the two in Upper and Lower Mount Bethel still proposed near by. Per Pennsylvania law, they can’t outright ban them. However, the governor has put out an executive order making it more challenging for them, and there are currently seven anti-data center bills that have passed the Pennsylvania House of Represen- tatives and await passage in the Senate. “Developers are breathing down the necks of local supervisors and zon- ing boards trying to get these deals negotiated before anything reaches the Senate. Thankfully, there is a huge community pushback. Over 300 people have attended the last two meetings and we have started working with the Delaware Riverkeeper Network to stop the data centers,” she concluded. “What effects could these sudden environmental changes have on our horses? None of us really know. The fact is, we don’t know most of these an- swers and the answers we do know spell disaster for any agricultural or rural lifestyle.” “Why do we insist on building these across communities that largely do not want them?” Bridget Folts and her 21 year-old Oldenburg gelding Cosentino “Cosi”