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I farm 84 acres in Gregg Township, Union County. I've never written to a newspaper before.
Josh Shapiro is now telling Pennsylvanians that he's the one putting up guardrails on data centers and Stacy Garrity is the one who changed her tune. Out here, we remember it differently.
The governor put data centers on his permit fast-track program. Now he's taken them off and says he's protecting our communities.
On the one thing we've been asking for -- a pause -- the record is clear. Stacy Garrity called for one months ago. The governor never has. His order this month stopped short of it.
Meanwhile, PPL wants a new 230,000-volt transmission line through Union and Lycoming counties to serve a data center in Allenwood. One proposed route crosses my farm.
Like many Pennsylvania farmers, we put our land into the state's Farmland Preservation Program believing it would be protected. Yet power companies can still use eminent domain to take preserved farmland. We've written and called the Shapiro administration, including agriculture officials, and gotten no response.
A few weeks ago, Stacy came to my farm. She sat with us, toured the property and already knew about the transmission line and easements.
That's the difference I've seen firsthand. One is talking about protecting communities from Harrisburg. The other was in my driveway listening to the people affected.
JANET SELLARD
Gregg Township
Submitted by Virtual Newsroom