Atlas Data Center Update/Community FAQ

Parkland School District Response and Approach

Updated:  July 23, 2026, after reviews of the 2nd Plan submitted to South Whitehall Township. 

The District is currently waiting for the 3rd Submission to be reviewed and will update the community once the review process is complete.

General Project Overview

What is Project Atlas, and why is the Parkland School District (PSD) involved?

Project Atlas is a proposed hyperscale data center development (currently led by Edged) planned next to the Parkland High School campus. Because this massive industrial facility is situated right along our educational corridor, PSD is actively engaged to ensure the development does not compromise the safety, health, and operational stability of our students, staff, and local infrastructure.

What is the District's official stance on the initial proposal submitted to the township and presented to them on July 9, 2026?

While the district acknowledges the township's zoning challenges and appreciates recent modifications made by the developer, our stance remains that the 2nd Plan submitted by Edged of the proposed development is of high concern, incomplete, and lacks proper safety mitigation strategies common in the field. In its current form, the plan is unacceptable to PSD. Planning approval must be strictly contingent upon the developer making binding legal commitments to protect Parkland High School. Superintendent Dr. Mark J. Madson officially submitted these ongoing concerns to South Whitehall Township (organization who is responsible for approving the project), Edged, PPL Electric (utility company), and Lehigh County Authority (Public, Non-Profit Water and Wastewater utility).

What is the District's official stance on the latest proposal submitted on July 9, 2026? 

The District is currently in the process of reviewing the latest development proposal.

What has the District done so far? 

PSD has been working on a thorough review of the proposed development to examine the potential of the environmental impacts on the health and safety of our students and staff.  PSD has engaged experts from Lehigh University for input and is sharing concerns and questions with South Whitehall Township and Edged.  Additionally, PSD presented an overview of the project along with district concerns during our public School Board Workshop on May 12, 2026.  

Tracked Concerns: What Has Changed?

Following feedback provided to South Whitehall Township from PSD's initial review in May 2026 and subsequent analysis by the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission (LVPC), the developer submitted a revised plan. Here is where the project stands after the second submission by the developer:

What project concerns have been addressed or improved?

• Overall Scope: The developer significantly downsized the project density from six data center buildings totaling 5.1 million square feet to three buildings totaling roughly 1.47 million square feet.
• Hazardous Materials & Emissions: At PSD's request, the applicant upgraded the proposed 356 backup generators from Tier 2 to Tier 4 units, which meet the strictest EPA emissions standards.
• Water Consumption: The revised plan utilizes a closed-loop cooling system that consumes zero community water, preventing severe municipal water pressure drops that could compromise the high school's fire sprinkler systems.
• Wastewater Management: Instead of discharging highly concentrated chemical "blowdown" water into the school's biological wastewater treatment plant (which risked systemic failure), the closed-loop system minimizes discharge and relies on an on-site septic field for sanitary lines.

What concerns are partially addressed and still pending evaluation?

• Noise & Vibration: The new plan increases the northern setback to 1,000 feet, adds vegetation, and includes 16-foot noise walls around equipment. However, the developer has yet to prove to the Township how continuous low-frequency hums and vibrations (DbC frequencies) will be mitigated and monitored/enforced.
• Equipment Testing Risks: The cumulative impact of testing hundreds of generators still requires scrutiny. The Township must enforce a strict testing schedule (restricting times of day) and demand formal fuel spill-prevention protocols.
• Soil & Karst Topography: The applicant provided a geotechnical report to mitigate sinkholes and foundation instability caused by the local limestone geology, but the adequacy of this report is still awaiting official Township evaluation.
• Thermal Heat Island Effect: Massive cooling systems generate significant heat exhaust. The developer has agreed to run Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling to measure heat output, but these models must still be delivered and evaluated to protect adjacent student athletic fields.
• Road Access & Traffic: While a new township road and signalized intersections are proposed, the developer needs to formally coordinate industrial delivery routing with the school's busing schedules. Additionally, the district remains highly concerned that aligning the access road with the existing stoplight could divert heavy traffic onto the school's private campus roads to reach Orefield Road. This increases safety risks and places an unfair financial hardship on the District for monitoring and roadway maintenance.
• Emergency Management (EMS): Data centers feature massive lithium-ion battery rooms vulnerable to "thermal runaway" chemical fires, which local volunteer fire departments are rarely equipped to handle. The developer has promised coordination with local responders, but specific fire-suppression tactics have not yet been detailed.

Which critical concerns remain completely unaddressed?

• Electricity & Grid Strain: A hyperscale data center consumes the electricity equivalent of up to 300,000 homes. The current plan does not adequately address how this massive drain on the local power grid will be mitigated. Grid instability, abrupt power surges, or brownouts pose a massive liability for the school, as power loss immediately disables critical life-safety infrastructure, including security cameras, electronic door locks, fire alarms, and emergency lighting.
• End-User Accountability: The identity of the actual tenant remains entirely hidden behind a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). Without knowing who is operating the facility, the school board and emergency management agencies are unable to accurately update campus lockdown, shelter-in-place, or evacuation protocols.
• Electrical Infrastructure Location: High-voltage substations carry inherent explosion and toxic smoke risks. The current plan still places a massive substation directly across the street from the high school, with no signs of relocation.

Non-Negotiable Demands

Acoustic stability, clean air, and physical safety are non-negotiable requirements for effective learning. To protect our community, PSD demands that the following six safety conditions be established requirements for project approval.

• Independent Infrasound Verification: Mandatory third-party monitoring of low-frequency noise at school property lines, tied to a predefined "stop-work" trigger if thresholds are breached.
• Independent Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Review: Submission of all thermal exhaust models to PSD for independent analysis to guarantee no heat-stress impact on student athletic facilities.
• Binding Construction Management Plan: A formal agreement strictly prohibiting heavy industrial vehicle movement and construction shift changes during school drop-off (7:00 AM – 9:00 AM) and dismissal (2:00 PM – 4:00 PM).
• Operational Testing Restrictions: A complete ban on backup generator testing during active instructional hours and scheduled outdoor athletic competitions.
• Shared Use Path Protection: Installation of physical barriers and enhanced safety signaling where industrial access roads cross the 10-foot public path utilized by student pedestrians.
• Electrical Infrastructure Placement: The proposed high voltage sub-station is currently too close to the high school building and needs to be moved.

District Promise

While digital infrastructure plays a clear role in economic development, the physical wellness of our student body and the educational integrity of our campus are absolute, non-negotiable priorities. We will keep the public updated as our expert team continues its analysis of the latest proposal.