ROYERSFORD, PA — PECO Energy Company’s proposed 67-megawatt power line serving a planned hyperscale data center in Montgomery County faces environmental review over its crossing of the Schuylkill River, with Pennsylvania regulators scheduling a Nov. 18 public meeting to examine potential impacts on wetlands and floodplains in Chester and Montgomery counties.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will hold the virtual meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, to review PECO’s application for a Chapter 105 water obstruction and encroachment permit.
State Sen. Katie Muth, D-Chester/Montgomery/Berks, is encouraging residents to participate in the meeting and provide input on the proposed infrastructure project.
According to DEP documents, the project involves an approximately one-mile electrical distribution line extending from the Lock Substation in East Coventry Township, Chester County, through Lower Pottsgrove Township and into Limerick Township, Montgomery County.
The transmission line would cross the Schuylkill River and connect electrical infrastructure to a proposed data center.
PECO’s permit application identifies two purposes for the project: improving local electrical system capacity and reliability and establishing a power connection to the planned facility.
The proposed route would establish a new utility right-of-way from the Lock Substation to an area near an identified wetland before following an existing right-of-way toward the data center.
The environmental review focuses on the project’s proposed effects on waterways, wetlands and floodplains regulated under Pennsylvania’s Chapter 105 permitting requirements.
DEP’s project fact sheet identifies 833 square feet of permanent direct wetland impacts associated with grading and construction access to a utility structure.
The project would also involve 10,112 square feet of temporary direct floodway impacts from construction and access activities.
Additional permanent indirect impacts include 19,852 square feet of floodway associated with overhead electrical wires on the western side of the river and 160 square feet on the eastern side.
The river crossing itself would extend approximately 380 feet, representing 760 square feet of permanent indirect stream impacts from electrical lines passing overhead.
DEP states that the proposed crossing would not directly disturb the Schuylkill River because the power lines would be installed above the waterway.
The agency identifies the wetland impacts as resulting from grading and access to a freestanding utility pole, known as a monopole.
Chapter 105 governs activities involving obstructions or encroachments that affect the course, current or cross section of waterways, floodways and other regulated waterbodies.
The application is being reviewed under that framework rather than the additional guidelines established by Gov. Josh Shapiro’s August 2026 executive order addressing data center development.
According to DEP, the executive order applies only to applications received after Aug. 18, 2026. PECO submitted its application in February, placing it outside the order’s applicability.
A separate environmental authorization has already been issued for the project.
On July 10, the Chester and Montgomery County conservation districts issued a Chapter 102 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System general permit, identified as PAC461072, covering stormwater discharges associated with construction activities involving more than one acre of earth disturbance.
That authorization addresses stormwater associated with installation of the electrical line, while the pending Chapter 105 application concerns regulated waterway, wetland and floodplain impacts.
The Nov. 18 meeting will begin with presentations from DEP, conservation district representatives and PECO, followed by a question-and-answer session.
Residents can register to attend virtually at bit.ly/3X7L2OA or participate by telephone at 267-332-8737 using conference ID 767 543 560#.
The public comment period on PECO’s Chapter 105 application will remain open through Wednesday, Nov. 25.
Written comments can be submitted to DEP at RA-EP-WW-SERO-105@pa.gov.
DEP will consider comments directly related to the permit application, including the proposed waterway, wetland and floodplain impacts.
The application and proposed permit are available through DEP’s Southeast Regional Office. Residents can request the documents by emailing RA-EPSEINFORMFILERE@pa.gov.
The pending review will determine whether PECO’s proposed river crossing meets Pennsylvania’s environmental permitting requirements as the utility advances infrastructure intended to serve the planned data center and improve local electrical capacity.
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