Allentown planners just approved an 80-megawatt data center at 2401 W. Emaus Avenue, even after neighbors spoke out against it. The Quantm Group project will bring more than 30 diesel backup generators and tens of thousands of gallons of fuel to a site directly across the street from a children’s daycare.

Neighbors have good reason to worry. During public comment, one resident recalled a 1988 fuel leak at the very same spot that left oil slicks stretching for miles down Trout Creek and Jordan Creek. Another asked what life nearby would sound and feel like if dozens of generators ran nonstop during a summer blackout.

Then there is the loophole. Allentown recently adopted new rules for data centers, but this project was reviewed under the old zoning code because its application was filed last year. According to a city planner, the only other building in Allentown that draws this much power is the waste treatment plant. Yet the city’s newest protections do not apply.

Because the approval did not need a City Council vote, residents have had little say. Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk, Allentown City Council, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) can still step in. They should require an independent review of the diesel storage and spill plans, set strict limits on generator noise and emissions near the daycare, and hold this project to the same standards as any new data center.

The children across the street and the creeks downstream deserve real safeguards. Sign the petition to demand that Allentown leaders put those protections in place before this data center switches on.