Representative Brown,

I am writing as a resident of your district to express my disappointment and concern over the priorities being reflected in recent legislation, including HB154 which is aimed at protecting contractors.

I understand the importance of supporting legitimate businesses.  However, I question why there appears to be such urgency to protect contractors during unprecedented times of industrialization of rural Pennsylvania.  There is already little consumer, community or property value protection from contractors or developers. Our (meaning the rest of your constituents) way of life, homes and resources are facing an immediate crisis.

Our community has watched a troubling pattern unfold. Local landowners have repeatedly profited from the natural resources and rural character of our township while leaving residents to bear the long-term consequences. We have seen extensive extraction of natural resources through mining and manufacturing with inadequate restoration, damaged waterways, loss of native habitat, and landscapes altered for generations. Now many of the same properties are being positioned for another wave of industrial development—massive gas power generation facilities and data centers that could permanently transform the character of our township.

Another local landowner has already participated in significant industrial projects in our community, including power generation infrastructure and major utility development including fiber optics, and is now involved in efforts to convert hundreds of additional acres for a large-scale data center project.  The premeditation is evident.  The sequence of these developments raises a fundamental question of fairness: Should utility customers and toll-paying citizens bear the cost of infrastructure improvements that ultimately enable private, highly profitable industrial projects? The same private entities that benefited from land transactions and infrastructure contracts now stand to benefit from additional industrial development, leaving the community to bear the financial and environmental cost and burden without a voice in the development.  Our utility bills are inconceivably high.  This is a direct result of infrastructure upgrades which will now be used to power a privately owned data center at our expense.  The public view of these projects is simple: Few landowners, private contractors, outside developers make all of the profit through land sales and contract work which is funded at the consumers expense (transmission lines and maintenance/gas lines/water lines/road tolls/gas taxes) to later be utilized for their planned private sale/investment.  We as a community are financially, emotionally and environmentally suffering from these projects.  The sanctity of our homes is being threatened.  Our private enjoyment, peaceful retreats, natural recreation, and property value is being threatened.   Where is our protection?

Who speaks for those residents?  It’s supposed to be you.

Where is the legislation protecting homeowners whose property values and quality of life may be impacted by industrial development? Where are the protections for communities facing projects that consume enormous amounts of land, water, and energy?  Recent proposals such as House Bills 2150, 2151, and 2588 have no meaningful guidance or protections for rural communities across Pennsylvania. Broad state legislation without specific, enforceable technical standards simply shifts the burden of understanding and regulating these industries onto local governments that do not have the expertise or funding to do so.  Communities should not be expected to subsidize industrial growth that fundamentally shifts their life from rural landscape to industrial corridors that cities no longer want to house. 

Pennsylvania can support honest businesses and contractors, but we need you to also protect citizens and communities that do not have teams of lawyers, lobbyists, or the financial influence to shape legislation. 

I urge you to spend the same energy advocating for stronger protections for homeowners, environmental remediation, responsible land use planning, and the rights of rural communities to maintain their health, safety, and way of life.  There is a place for hyperscale industrial development but it’s not rural communities and it’s not adjacent to residential homes if the nuisance can’t be effectively mitigated.  The development in these communities should be proportionate to the area. We have chosen to live in a rural environment, not an industrial park.   Within five miles of each other, there are a total of three developers optioning land for four large scale industrial projects.  This is an assault, not responsible development. 

Our township(s) should not become a sacrificial zone where a handful of landowners become wealthy while everyone else is left with the noise, pollution, industrialization, and irreversible changes to the place we call home.

I ask that you consider who benefits from these policies—and who pays the price.

This is a community that has strongly supported your candidacy. Maybe with only advocacy and votes but we deserve the same representation even if we don’t have the financial influence.  We deserve the representation we voted for.

This petition was thoughtfully written by concerned Mahoning Township resident Linda Van Eman. Other likeminded citizens are encouraged to sign to let Representative Brown know their opinion and desired actions.