Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility Probst ties I-80 wetland loss to rising data center demands, introduces local protection bill

Probst ties I-80 wetland loss to rising data center demands, introduces local protection bill

Rep. Tarah Probst    March 30, 2026 | 10:06 AM

HARRISBURG, March 30 – State Rep. Tarah Probst has introduced legislation that would require wetland mitigation to remain local, warning that current practices are stripping Monroe County and other regions of critical environmental protection at a time when demand on water and energy resources is rapidly increasing, including from proposed data center development.

The announcement comes amid ongoing concerns over the I-80 Expansion Project, which is expected to impact wetlands across her district and beyond. To offset that damage, PennDOT has proposed using a mitigation bank in Damascus Township, Wayne County, which is more than 60 miles away and outside the local Upper Brodhead Watershed.

“We are taking water protections away from one community and handing them to another,” said Probst, D-Monroe/Pike. “You can call it mitigation, but to the people who live here, it feels like theft.”

Probst said the issue is becoming more urgent as Pennsylvania positions itself for growth in AI-driven infrastructure, including data centers, which require significant amounts of electricity and water to operate.

“These facilities can consume the energy of entire cities and place real strain on local water systems,” Probst said. “At the same time, we’re allowing wetlands, the natural systems that protect our water, to disappear locally. That makes no sense.”

Wetlands play a critical role in filtering pollution, reducing flooding, and maintaining water quality. Federal law allows offsets to occur far from the affected community. Although areas of her district and Damascus Township fall within the broader Delaware River Basin, that watershed is made up of smaller, local systems, including Upper Brodhead Watershed, which do not directly connect. As a result, replacing wetlands 60 miles away does not restore the water quality protections, flood control, or ecological benefits lost locally in her district.

Probst’s proposed legislation would require that wetland mitigation occur within the same local watershed, ensuring that restoration efforts directly benefit the communities where impacts happen.

“Mitigating in the same watershed on paper doesn’t protect people in real life,” Probst said. “When communities lose wetlands, they lose those protections, too. It’s time to fix that.” 

House Bill 2296 was referred to the House Environmental and Natural Resource Protection Committee.