Pennsylvania DEP issues orders to stop proposed ICE detention centers

Officials said the orders direct that water and sewage cannot be supplied to the warehouses, and that the buildings cannot be occupied, until DHS demonstrates compliance with federal and state environmental regulations. 

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has issued orders demanding that the Department of Homeland Security must be in compliance with state and federal environmental regulations before it can occupy proposed ICE detention centers.

DEP officials issued five administrative orders March 5, two to the Department of Homeland Security, one to Schuylkill County Municipal Authority, one to Tremont Township, and one to Upper Bern Township. Officials said the orders direct that water and sewage cannot be supplied to the warehouses, and that the buildings cannot be occupied, until DHS demonstrates compliance with federal and state environmental regulations. 

“Based on what the Department has learned about DHS’s plans to convert two commercial warehouses into detention centers for 9,000 people, there are serious concerns about the environmental impacts of these actions,” DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley said in the release. “The conversion of warehouses to detention facilities risks harming the communities in and around Tremont and Upper Bern townships, overwhelming their sewage facilities and exceeding the available drinking water supply.”

In Berks County, federal officials bought a 518,000‑square‑foot building on Mountain Road in Upper Bern Township for $87 million − about 15 minutes from the Lebanon County border. Another warehouse on Rausch Creek Road in Tremont Township was purchased for $120 million.

Schuylkill and Berks county officials said they learned about the warehouse sales after the deeds were recorded. Both deed transfers — for 50 Rausch Creek Road near Tremont and 3501 Mountain Road near Hamburg — were filed Monday, Feb. 2.

“Doubling the populations of these areas could drain drinking water sources and lead to polluted waterways from overwhelmed sewage facilities leaking raw waste into our streets and rivers. Just like anyone else, DHS needs to demonstrate its facilities comply with environmental standards,” Shirley said.

In a press conference Feb. 26, Gov. Josh Shapiro said these two facilities will have negative impacts on these communities. County leaders had concerns about who would be running the warehouse, and that infrastructure such as water is needed to house the large population in these facilities.

“In Tremont, if this is built, they will literally run out of water within 24 hours,” Shapiro said, adding residents nearby won’t have running water for cooking or flushing a toilet. The Tremont water system services 700 households, with Shapiro saying the community would need to triple its water capacity.

Shapiro has stated his administration plans to do everything to keep them from opening, including using regulatory steps through agencies such as the Department of Health and Department of Environmental Protection to deal with these facilities.

“I want to be very clear: I don’t want either of these sites here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” he said. “While the federal government has enormous power to place these across the country, I want you to know we are not powerless here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and I intend to use every tool at my disposal to stop these facilities from coming here.”

DHS Orders

In the two orders DEP sent to the Department of Homeland Security, state officials directed the federal agency not to use the Upper Bern or Schuylkill County Municipal Authority sewer systems for any proposed detention facilities “until it has been proven that DHS can safely do so.” The orders further specify that holding tanks and septic systems are not allowed without required permits.

“Neither DHS nor any person shall occupy any building at the Property without first obtaining a permit and a certification from the Township indicating that the Property and the plans and specifications for the sewage service at the Property are in compliance with the Sewage Facilities Act and Clean Streams Law,” state officials wrote in the order.

Additionally, DEP directed Homeland Security to not to use the authority’s infrastructure for drinking water, or use the private well at the Upper Bern Township warehouse for the proposed facilities “without legally required DEP approval.”

Republican and Democrat leaders have condemned the purchase of the warehouses and their potential use as ICE detention facilities. Many of those local and state leaders stated they are not getting answers from the Trump administration about critical concerns in these communities.

The Berks facility’s is roughly 15 minutes from the Lebanon County line, with residents expressing to leaders, including the Lebanon County Commissioners, concerns about problems of inviting ICE into the community.

Many local residents expressed concerns about having a facility in their backyard. Beyond objections to recent ICE activity, locals also raised the potential infrastructure costs related to water and sewer and the potential hit to the property tax rolls of having such large facilities being owned by the federal government.

“You go add 9,000 people to two warehouses in this region, the federal government is going to pull away personnel from existing healthcare facilities and community, or they are not going to have the healthcare that is needed to be able to care for those who are in those facilities,” Shapiro said at his press conference.

Permits or approvals from DEP are needed for the construction and operation of all changes to drinking water and sewage treatment systems, according to state officials.scscgateLocal DEP orders

The DEP orders to Tremont and Upper Bern Townships prohibit occupancy of the warehouses until further sewage planning and permitting is obtained, according to the release. The order also prohibits both townships from accepting sewage from holding tanks or portable toilets without further authorization.

“DHS’s use of the Tremont Water System to provide water for its planned use of the warehouse at the Property to incarcerate 7,500 people will cause SCMA to violate the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act, the Pennsylvania Safe Drinking Water Act and Department regulations,” DEP said in their order.

The order to Schuylkill County Municipal Authority prohibits providing drinking water to a detention center from the authority’s Tremont water system. State officials similarly ordered the authority could not provide sewage service or accept sewage from portable toilets at the detention center without further permitting and approval from Tremont Township and DEP. 

“In 2025, the annual average flow for the Tremont Wastewater Treatment Plant was approximately 394,000 gallons per day and additional hydraulic capacity has already been allotted to developments that have received planning approval and are under construction,” DEP said in their order. “DHS’s intended use of the warehouse at the Property to incarcerate 7,500 people would likely produce 450,000 to 1,000,000 gallons per day of sewage.”

DEP added that use of the Upper Bern warehouse at the property to incarcerate 1,500 people would likely produce 112,500 to 225,000 gallons of sewage per day.

Officials said the orders to both the townships and the authority protects against excessive strain on a water infrastructure system, which is already being supported through emergency measures.

The Lebanon Daily News reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment on the orders, but did not receive a response before publication.