Scrubgrass Creek Watershed Association

08/02/2026

The Scrubgrass Power Plant holds a NPDES permit for waste water discharges. An NPDES permit is a special license that allows a facility to release specific amounts of pollutants into public waters under the Clean Water Act. The facility also holds Title V Operating Permit No. 61-00181 (Major Source). A Title V Operating Permit is the principal air pollution permit required for major industrial facilities under Title V of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments.

The EPA's Echo reporting system reports violations of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. The link below should take users to the related ECHO report. If this link does not work the search using SCRUBGRASS GENERATING.

https://echo.epa.gov/detailed-facility-report?fid=110005981296

07/22/2026

Sterrett AMD treatment site temporary fix or "one can fix a problem with teflon tape, gorilla wrap and test tube stoppers".

SCWA's Sterrett AMD treatment site has two treatment ponds. The system uses gravity to move the polluted water through the entire treatment process. Two treatment ponds spread the work and also provide a backup solution when one pond is impaired. Last year the north pond's gate valve failed and will no longer close. Closing the valve allows the polluted water to accumulate in the limestone bed and have more treatment time. The valve will be replace in the near future using funds provided by the Northwest Pennsylvania Regional Planning & Development Commission. In the mean time Hedin Environmental suggested adding a vertical pipe extension to the north pond outflow. Raising the outflow point will raise the water in the treatment bed...."water seeks its own level in connected bodies". This is a low cost & low tech solution that the watershed can afford and execute. This week applied we wrapped the vertical pipe seams with two inch teflon tape. We then wrapped the seams with gorilla tape to reinforce the teflon. We also place test tube stoppers in the bed inflow pipe to change in the inbound water flow.

Keep your fingers crossed....we will check on the site later this week and check on the solution.

Our thanks to Hedin Environmental for the creative solution and Interstate Pipe and Supply Company (Grove City location) for their tape solution.

07/20/2026

The Scrubgrass Township regular meeting is July 21, 2026. The meeting will be held at the Clintonville Volunteer Fire Department - Social Hall (501 Emlenton Street, Clintonville) and begins at 6PM (please note the time change). The DATA CENTER ORDINANCE is the meeting's first action item. There is an DEP update as well.

Use this link to view and download the proposed ordinance.

https://scrubgrasstwp.com/ordinances/

07/17/2026

A very concerned resident sent us a Meat Eaters pod cast link earlier this week for episode 902: The Pros, Cons, and Complications of Data Centers.

Meat Eaters is widely regarded as one of the largest outdoor recreation podcasts in North America. Monthly listeners: roughly 500,000 to 1.5 million+ unique listeners, depending on the analytics service used. Some services estimate around 470,000–500,000 monthly listeners, while others estimate substantially higher reach.

The host interviewed Ann Vaughn. Ann Vaughan is a highly respected financial journalist who built her reputation covering Wall Street, energy, commodities, and corporate investigations before transitioning into investment research. She has become particularly well known in recent years for her analysis of AI infrastructure, power markets, and data centers. Her coverage frequently focuses on the practical challenges of AI expansion, including grid capacity, natural gas generation, financing, permitting, and the economics of hyperscale computing. This background makes her reporting especially useful for understanding large infrastructure projects beyond the technology itself.

I encourage all to take the time and listen to this in-depth analysis.

https://www.themeateater.com/listen/meateater/ep-902-the-pros-cons-and-complications-of-data-centers

Steven Rinella talks with journalist Ann Vaughan about the costs of datacenters on water, energy, and the land. Connect with Steve and The MeatEater Podcast Network Steve on Instagram and Twitter MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube

07/17/2026

The original Scrubgrass/Stronghold DEP consent order dated 20231109 documents the "UNLAWFUL CONDUCT" , the "ORDER" and "STIPULATED CIVIL PENALTIES". The penalties for non-compliance include a very small $400 daily civil penalty. There are no specific non-compliance enforcement actions.

07/09/2026

Scrubgrass Township Meeting Results.
The commissioners ratified the agreement with MPL Law Firm for data center ordinance development. The commissioners did not seek public comment/input prior to the vote. The commissioners felt time was of the essence and did not want to delay the process. MPL Law was recommended by the Penn State Extension.

MPL Lay's Andrew Miller discussed two township options. One option is to create township wide zoning. Township wide zoning cannot exclude or prohibit a data center but it can limit size, height, density, buffers, traffic, noise, light and some environmental protection. Zoning ordinances must be developed for the all potential uses across the entire township. This process can take 12 to 14 months.

The recommended option is a data center ordinance. The ordinance is allowed under the township's general police power. A Pennsylvania township's general police power is the legal authority to enact ordinances that protect the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare of the community. It is separate from zoning authority, although the two often overlap. The ordinance cannot stop a data center or control the center's size. The ordinance can regulate noise, lighting, fire safety, dust, road use other issues. The ordinance may not have provisions which are design to block a data center. The provisions must be authorized under PA statute, be reasonable and legally defensible.

The supervisors votes to create a data center ordinance. The commissioners have already reviewed a draft ordinance. The draft will be modified to include some citizen suggestions. The supervisors will hold the ordinance vote on 7/21/26. The ordinance is effective upon ratification.

The township will post the revised ordinance and meeting notice on its new website. https://scrubgrasstwp.com/

The images are from last night's meeting.

07/07/2026

Tonight's Scrubgrass Township special meeting agenda includes the ratification (selection) of MPL Law Firm, LLP as the township's counsel for the data center.

MPL Law Firm, LLP is a regional Pennsylvania law firm headquartered in York, with an additional office in Bloomsburg. The firm has been operating for nearly 40 years and focuses on representing businesses, municipalities, energy developers, real estate owners, families, and individuals throughout Central and Northeastern Pennsylvania. Their clients include municipalities, planning commissions, zoning hearing boards as well as energy infrastructure projects and data centers. The link below connects to their "Data Center Law Firm". It is worth a visit before tonight's meeting.

https://mpl-law.com/practice-areas/energy-law/data-centers/

07/06/2026

Harper's magazine June issue contains a very good article about data centers and the impacted communities. "The Data-Center Divide" is an incisive article by Andrew Cockburn which explores the growing bipartisan backlash against massive AI data centers across the U.S. It details how local communities are pushing back against the ecological and economic burdens of hyperscale facilities championed by tech oligarchies. The article link is below.

https://harpers.org/archive/2026/06/the-data-center-divide-andrew-cockburn-artificial-intelligence/

Why politicians are squandering the anti-AI backlash

07/01/2026

SCRUBGRASS TOWNSHIP SPECIAL MEETING 7/8/26 @ 6PM - DATA CENTER DISCUSSION

Scrubgrass Township will be holding a special meeting at the Clintonville VFD -Social Hall, 501 Emlenton Street, Clintonville, Pennsylvania 16372 at 6:00 pm on July 8th to discuss the regulation of data centers. The agenda for the meeting will be posted on the Township website and at the Township office at least twenty-four(24) hours in advance of the meeting.

This meeting was requested by concerned Scrubgrass Township residents to discuss the following items.

1) Discussion of Conversations with Land Use Attorney:
We request an update from the supervisors and their solicitor on any discussions held with a land use attorney or attorneys, listing all attendees present at the meetings, including decisions made and the next steps to be followed.

2) Review of Township Budget:
We would like to examine the current township budget and identify opportunities within the budget that can be used for hiring a land use attorney or engineer to draft an ordinance with zoning.

3) Pending Outcomes:
Based on the results of items one and two, we request that the township supervisors make a motion or vote on a motion to allocate funds for the development of the zoning ordinance.

4) We are ready to assist by providing a request for proposals (RFP), a list of firms, and a draft ordinance in electronic format for use by the Township Supervisors.
We also want to emphasize that our community is ready to support the board in its’ efforts. We kindly ask the supervisors to provide us with a list of additional areas where township support is needed.

Please note the meeting location is the Clintonville VFD-Social Hall!!

Please attend as share.

06/25/2026

The Venango County Commissioners issued a letter supporting Scrubgrass Creek Watershed Watershed's proposed comprehensive watershed study. This week the Watershed applied for a grant awarded by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's Growing Greener Plus Program. This grant plus a local match will pay for the comprehensive study. The Venango County Commissioners support is critical to the application process.

The Growing Greener Plus Program remains the largest single investment of state funds in Pennsylvania's history to address Pennsylvania's critical environmental concerns of the 21st century. The program encourages partnerships between counties, municipalities, county conservation districts, watershed organizations, and other groups to restore and protect the environment.

The SCWA with technical assistance from the Venango County Conservation District, Trout Unlimited, and additional regional partners, proposes to conduct a comprehensive, watershed-wide biological assessment of Scrubgrass Creek and its tributaries and develop a Geographic Information System that will incorporate historic and current watershed conditions. This project will build upon the recent AMD assessment completed by the Venango County Planning Commission (funded by a DEP BAMR IIJA grant) and a recent limited fish survey by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, and produce an updated Scrubgrass Creek Watershed Restoration and Management Plan that will be communicated to the public, in part, through a GIS-produced StoryMap.

This comprehensive study will allow the public to follow the watershed's history from it's recorded fish toxic lows through the current partial recover stage. The public will see the ground water chemistry changes made possible from two passive acid mine drainage treatment sites. It is a pathway for funding new treatment sites.

The Scrubgrass Creek Watershed Associations gratefully thanks the on-going support of the Venango County Commissioners. We encourage you express your appreciation as well.