During a Township Supervisors meeting on August 24, the solicitor mentioned near the end of the meeting that a revised Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was received from the developer of the project.

This previously unannounced MOU is subject to public review and comment prior to consideration for execution.

The TLDR of this revised version is that there are a couple of minimally-invasive changes from “may/should” to “must/shall”. Furthermore, a LERTA tax abatement commitment is removed. Finally, a binding decommissioning plan with pre-funding is required.

That said, revisions continue to exhibit toothless language. For example: the water usage addition, which is a highly contentious topic in the community, is functionally unenforceable due to the language “to the maximum extent feasible” which essentially hands the applicant full discretion to such limits.

To foster productive consideration and discussion within the community, below are the substantive changes identified between the original and revised MsOU.

1. A party was dropped

The original is a three-party agreement among Slate Belt Holdings, the Township, and the Upper Mount Bethel Township Municipal Authority. The revised version removes the Authority entirely – it’s now a two-party agreement between just Slate Belt and the Township (recitals, signature block, and all references updated accordingly).

2. Section 2.1 – Text Amendment (stronger obligation)

• Original: the amendment “may contain” environmental protections (noise, parking, utilities, etc.)
• Revised: it “shall contain” those protections – makes the environmental protections mandatory rather than optional.

3. Section 2.2 – Community Benefits Agreement (different beneficiary)

• Original: Slate Belt donates to “non-profit causes or entities designated by the Township”
• Revised: Slate Belt donates “to the Township for future infrastructure and/or community-based projects or entities designated by the Township” – broadens the donation to include direct Township infrastructure funding, not just third-party non-profits. The $50M trigger at 2 gigawatts is unchanged.

4. Section 2.4 – Outstanding Litigation (narrowed, and a term dropped)

• Original: names the Township, Authority, and River Pointe as litigants, and adds a sentence requiring the parties to also terminate a Facilities Agreement dated April 16, 2024 between the Township and River Pointe once the litigation is discontinued.
• Revised: drops the Authority as a litigant (consistent with its removal as a party) and deletes the Facilities Agreement termination requirement entirely.

5. Section 2.5 – LERTA tax abatement extension (deleted entirely)

The original had a section where the Township agreed to extend the existing 10-year LERTA tax abatement on the Property and to encourage other taxing bodies to do the same. This entire section is removed in the revised MOU – there’s no more LERTA commitment.

6. Marshfield Drive vacation (weakened and re-triggered)

• Original (§2.6): “Upon execution of the Community Benefits Agreement, the Township shall commence, and then complete,” the vacation procedures – a firm, unilateral Township obligation.
• Revised (§2.5): “After execution of this Agreement, the Parties shall confer on the status and resolution of the conditions to vacate” – a softer, joint “confer” obligation triggered earlier (at MOU signing rather than CBA signing), with no firm completion commitment.

7. Two new sections added in the revised version

• §2.6 Water Usage (new): Slate Belt commits each data center building will use, to the maximum extent feasible, either a closed-loop cooling system or recycled/non-potable water for cooling, and must disclose its cooling system/water source and coordination with the water provider in future applications.
• §2.7 Decommissioning Plan (new): each building’s land development approval must include an approved decommissioning plan and posted financial security for decommissioning.

8. Section 3.8 – Assignment language tightened

• Original: Slate Belt “may freely assign” the MOU to an affiliate, tenant, or purchaser (also contains a stray typo, “Parties Slate.”).
• Revised: Slate Belt “will assign” the MOU – changes from permissive/optional language to what reads as a stated intention/commitment (and fixes the typo).