An amendment that would have made it possible for a data center project to be built in Ransom Township, Pennsylvania, was rejected yesterday by local officials who said that the application was incomplete and lacking information.

The amendment was requested by developer Scranton Materials, who proposed adding a zoning overlay to the township’s Zoning Ordinance that would enable the construction of a six-building data center at a 251 acre quarry at 819 Newton Road.

Zoning overlays add regulations to a specific zoning area and are often used when a developer is applying to construct a specialized facility, such as a data center.

In this case, this amendment would have created a ‘Data Center Overlay Zoning District’ with requirements about various aspects of a given campus, including noise, utility usage, and size.

Citizens in attendance welcomed the decision of the township’s supervisors, who voted two to one against the proposal.

Opposition to the facility has been pronounced ever since its announcement. Many citizens have expressed their concerns, including worries about water usage, electricity usage, the environmental impact, corruption, procedural errors, and more, on local Facebook groups.

It is unclear whether the developer will make another application.

Ransom Township is located in north eastern Pennsylvania. This is far from the state’s data center clusters, which are found around Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.