We Are Putting Our PA Green Amendment to Work!
Standing Against ICE Detention Centers Threatening Our Environment, Health & Safety
Hot News: Green Amendments For The Generations has filed a Petition to Intervene to protect our communities, environment and environmental rights from being ravaged by an ICE Detention Center. Read the Press Release here.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) has purchased a warehouse located at 50 Rausch Creek Rd, in Tremont Township, Schuylkill County PA. The facility is located in the Rausch Creek watershed, which is part of the Susquehanna River watershed.
ICE intends to use the warehouse as a detention center, with plans to incarcerate up to 7,500 people onsite. In addition to those incarcerated at the center, employees will be needed for facility operation and management.
On March 5, 2026, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued Administrative Orders to DHS, to the Township, and to the Schuylkill County Municipal Authority laying out the requirements of law, as well as additional prohibitions and limitations, regarding drinking water and sewage services for the site.
On March 17, 2026, ICE acknowledged receipt of the PADEP order and requested a series of modifications, extensions, and revisions to what is being required of them, all in a clear effort to allow ICE to advance its plans for the site. On April 8 it formally appealed the order.
On April 17, Green Amendments For The Generations filed a petition with the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board seeking to intervene in the case titled Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection. If the petition is granted, GAFTG will become party to the case as Intervenor, with the opportunity to fully participate in the legal proceedings to come.
Want to know more about the proposal and impacts? Read the info sheet here.
But in short, the proposed center would put huge strains on local water supplies and sewage systems, threatening drinking water quantity and quality AND water availability for emergency services. As a result, communities are standing up to say ‘NO’.
Sign on to Green Amendment For The Generations’ letter encouraging PADEP and Governor Shapiro to stand strong on the firm mandates issued to DHS and the Townships, which make clear that operations of the Detention Centers are prohibited without the required permitting from PADEP.
READ THE FULL LETTER AND SIGN ON AT: bit.ly/GAFTGNoICECenters
Tell the Gov Shapiro You Want an Open House on Data Centers.
Organizations and individuals from across Pennsylvania are invited to sign a letter to Governor Shapiro urging his participation in a statewide virtual town hall to share concerns about the fast proliferation of AI Data Centers across PA. The Better Path Coalition and No False Climate Solutions PA – coalitions that Green Amendments For The Generations is a part of – are organizing the event.
We believe that the people of Pennsylvania deserve a chance to make statements to, and ask questions of, Governor Shapiro on this critical topic. The Governor has advanced initiatives that would undermine local authority to protect communities from AI data centers. He should hear what people from across Pennsylvania think about that.
State legislators are also being invited to attend. So even if the Governor isn’t interested, there will be government leaders in attendance who are, and who can take your input and use it to inform their stance and leadership on this major threat to our communities and environment
Our original request to the Governor for available dates (so we could plan around his schedule) was rejected. We were told that the schedulers don’t provide such lists. So on Tuesday, February 17, we submitted a new request, this time listing every date in March and asking them to pick one.
We are circulating this letter in the hopes of showing Governor Shapiro how much people care about this issue, and to get him to reconsider and to join us. If he decides not to join, we have some other clever ways we will undertaking this town hall so your voices and concerns can still be heard.
Federal Endangerment Finding Re Climate Withdrawn — Green Amendments For The Generations Makes Clear that PA is NOT Off The Hook
February 12, 2026, the federal government eliminated its endangerment finding—a foundational step taken years ago to support nationwide reduction of GHGs, particularly as the result of vehicle emissions. Green Amendments For The Generations and our sister organization Delaware Riverkeeper Network write to the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to urge strong state action. Our letter makes clear that regardless of where the federal government ultimately lands in the battle to regulate climate-changing emissions, Pennsylvania government officials and agencies have — by virtue of the Pennsylvania Green Amendment constitutional mandate — their own independent duty to mitigate climate change.
The letter sent today makes clear that Pennsylvania’s Green Amendment – Article I, Section 27 of the state constitution — requires Pennsylvania Agencies to use their statutory and regulatory authority to abate and remedy climate change. This duty exists even if the Commonwealth is not the cause of environmental degradation, and even if the actions of the PA Agencies alone are unsuccessful in preserving the public natural resources from climate change.
You can read the letter here.
Talen Data Center, Montour County — NO
In Pennsylvania, Talen Energy Supply, LLC (Talen Energy) is asking the Montour County Commissioners to rezone over 800 acres of land from zoning as agricultural, public/semi public or rural residential uses to an industrial use designation. In response to strong community advocacy, Talen Energy confirmed that the change in zoning was needed to support a planned data center.
Very little information has been made available about the actual data center itself.
After a robust hearing in November, 2025, the Montour County Planning Commission recommended that the rezoning request be rejected by the County Commissioners who are the final arbiter of the petition.
The County Commissioners invited written comment and held a hearing on January 23, 2026. Despite it being a work week, work day hearing (friday starting at 9:30 am), the room was full and the testimony was powerful.
Green Amendments For The Generations submitted written comment urging rejection of the rezoning request and joined the community in offering testimony at the hearing.
On February 10th, the Montour County Commissioners unanimously voted NO to rezone approx. 1000 acres of farmland to industrial to allow for a data center and powerplant proposal by Talen Energy and Amazon. Community member after community member described this battle as David vs. Goliath, and they couldn’t be more right. Pennsylvania’s Green Amendment, Article 1 Section 27, was mentioned several times at the earlier commissioners hearing in January.
