WASHINGTON, Pa. — “Our land, our power, our land, our water,” is chanted by Washington County residents and environmental activists on March 12 as the Washington County Commissioners made their way into the building to hold an invite-only meeting with data center developers.
The Center for Coalfield Justice, a southwestern-Pennsylvania-based environmental group, organized the protest in downtown Washington, Pennsylvania, to speak out against the development of data centers in the county.
Talks of data centers coming to the county have been ongoing since last year, including a proposed facility in the rural community of West Finley, but protesters say community members are being left out of the conversation.
“Residents deserve the right to be determinate of our own future,” said Sarah Sweeney, community organizer for CCJ. “When elected officials make backroom deals to bring data centers into our backyards, they leave us in the dust. They make us suffer the consequences, and they avoid accountability.”
West Finley data center
There are two data centers proposed in Washington County: a 400-acre center in South Strabane Township and a 147-acre data center in West Finley.
For Heather Martin, the data center proposed in West Finley is close to home — literally. Martin has lived in West Finely all her life, a community centered on farming and agriculture, she says.
That’s why Martin and her parents came to the protest; they are concerned that data centers will threaten valuable resources in their rural community, like water.
“We have well water out in West Finley Township, and all of our community, whether it’s the residents or farms, all rely on the aquifer out there,” she said. “These data centers come in, they use millions of gallons of water annually. We’re in a drought in Pennsylvania. We can’t afford for them to come in and take all of the water.”
According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, large-scale data centers can consume up to 5 million gallons a day, equivalent to the water use of a town with 10,000 to 50,000 people.
In addition to water, Martin is concerned that the 24/7 noise from data centers could impact livestock.
“It’s disturbing to bees. It’s disturbing to humans. It disrupts sleep and can cause anxiety and depression,” said Martin, citing various studies she has found. “Imagine what that does to our cows, our dairy production out in West Finley.”
There are 23 dairy farms in Washington County, according to the Center for Dairy Excellence.
The West Finley data center was proposed last year by Next Generation Land Company for 150,000 square feet on 147 acres.
In November 2025, the West Finley Township Planning Commission began updating its zoning ordinances for the prospect of data centers, including restrictions on industrial zoning.
Martin says if it weren’t for how close-knit her community is, most people would not have known about the data center before it was too late: something that is happening in communities across the tri-state region of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
“Part of our message is getting out in front and saying, we’re not going away. We’re here to defend all of Washington County, not just our community,” she said.
“And Washington County isn’t the only one impacted by this: it’s all of southwestern Pennsylvania, and it’s a huge bipartisan push from our president to our governor to our local commissioners.”
The Washington County Commissioners did not comment as of the deadline for this story.
(Liz Partsch can be reached at epartsch@farmanddairy.com or 330-337-3419.)
