LETTER: Not singing praises of Project Hummingbird
On the evening of Dec. 17, I had the opportunity to hear from Inter Electric Power officials regarding a new AI data center planned for the former Robena Coal Mine property in Greene County. The occasion was the county planning commission’s hearing to determine whether to approve Phase I of Project Hummingbird.
While this phase largely focused on the “restoration” of coal mine refuse piles, the planning commission members welcomed public comments before their vote. These were wide ranging, from worries about what this new neighbor would do to their community and environment, to the paucity of emergency services in the area, to desperate cries that something was needed to stem the sharp decline in the county’s population.
Dave Spigelmyer, IEP spokesman, didn’t give me much hope in any of these areas. He stated that there is no data center buyer for the site. But that was OK because they could go ahead and bring in the natural gas generators anyway. And if the power wasn’t needed on-site, it could be sold to the grid. After all, it was from “good Greene County natural gas,” and we need the electricity. He went on to lament the closing of the area’s coal-fired power plants and blamed that for our grid shortages. So data center or not, this project was a win.
Really? I wonder what the people of New Freeport would say after losing their potable water due to fracking? What about pipeline spills and other violations racked up in Washington and Greene counties? Is it really a win to have our bucolic hillsides become treeless industrial compounds?
As for nostalgia for the coal industry, I can only look through mercury-tinted glasses. The latest PA Integrated Water Quality Report downgrades the entire Ten Mile Creek watershed due to mercury contamination, which according to the USGS is likely caused by legacy coal-fired power plant emissions. Just another drip in the bucket, and hardly a motivating factor for folks to stay or move into the area.
Project Hummingbird is not about community building. Mr. Spigelmyer made it clear that they are not interested in entertaining a community benefits agreement. What is top-most is the bottom line for them and all their corporate players.
Kathleen Martincic
Fredericktown