Nearly half of the municipal governments hosting Pennsylvania’s most prominent data center projects signed non-disclosure agreements with developers, according to public records requests submitted by The Center Square. The secrecy agreements span multiple counties, fueling concerns that the public’s access to information is being compromised.
Fast-Track Program Secrecy in Pennsylvania Municipalities
Public records requests submitted to nine municipalities hosting data center proposals tied to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s fast-track state permitting program in early June revealed that local officials or staff signed non-disclosure agreements in four of those locations, according to reporting by The Center Square. A fifth fast-track municipality, Kline Township in Schuylkill County, stopped responding to records requests entirely after initially stating that a legal review was required.
The fast-track initiative was introduced in late 2024 to expedite state approvals for critical projects at business speed. By June, nine of the 17 projects on the state list were data centers. However, Gov. Shapiro abruptly shifted his stance on Aug. 18, publicly criticizing portions of the data center industry as speculative and signing an executive order that removed data centers from the fast-track program while establishing new standards for developers.
Specific Municipal NDA Disclosures and Corporate Involvements
Public records document specific non-disclosure agreements executed across several Pennsylvania counties:
- Salem Township (Luzerne County): Supervisor Ernest Ashbridge III signed an NDA involving Amazon in 2024, followed by another NDA involving Quality Technology Services (QTS) in 2025, according to Right-to-Know responses. Ashbridge is no longer on the Salem Township supervisors’ board.
- Falls Township (Bucks County): The supervisors’ chairman signed an NDA in 2024 that omitted the project sponsor’s name, though the other signing party was an attorney who has represented Amazon. Attempts to contact the Falls Township official were unsuccessful.
- Shippingport (Beaver County): Borough Secretary Kayla Wilkinson signed an Oracle America Inc. NDA in October, though the document provided by the borough lacked Oracle’s signature. Wilkinson stated on Friday that Oracle America is no longer involved in the Shippingport project.
Amazon web pages continued listing the data center projects in Falls, Kline, and Salem townships as accepted into the Pennsylvania Fast Track program, even though the state’s fast-track webpage no longer displayed any trace of the Amazon projects.
Transparency Concerns and Non-Fast-Track Contrasts
Transparency advocates have sharply criticized the widespread use of municipal secrecy pacts. David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida, told The Center Square that these agreements undermine democratic participation. “These things cut the public out of the conversation and I think that is a serious problem,” Cuillier said, adding that such non-disclosure agreements are entirely contrary to democratic principles. Cuillier noted that while corporations act in their own best financial interest by pursuing secrecy, the arrangements fail to serve the public interest.
In contrast to the fast-track projects, public records requests submitted to 30 Pennsylvania municipalities with non-fast-track data center proposals revealed that nearly all had not signed non-disclosure agreements or similar secrecy documents, with rare exceptions such as Lower Mount Bethel Township.
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