Erie County should be one of the most competitive industrial regions in the Northeast. It has the land, the workforce, and the logistical advantages to attract major employers. Yet companies are walking away, downsizing plans, or refusing to build here at all. The reason, repeated by developers and business leaders across the region, is increasingly clear: government overreach, particularly from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is shutting projects down before they ever begin.
Local officials have raised these concerns repeatedly. Governor Shapiro’s office was notified and did nothing, leaving communities to absorb the economic consequences. Three recent projects- Maplevale Farms, the Fairlife dairy plant, and the Super Sheetz travel center-show how costly that inaction has become.
Maplevale Farms
Maplevale Farms originally planned to build its new facility in Greenfield Township, Pennsylvania. The company was prepared to invest locally and anchor long term economic activity in Erie County. Instead, the project became mired in regulatory delays, infrastructure uncertainty, and DEP related hurdles. New York offered a clear permitting path and competitive incentives; Maplevale chose Findley Lake, New York. The economic loss is substantial. The facility supports 236 jobs and generates roughly $9.4 million in payroll each year, with more than $8.7 million flowing directly into local households. Over a decade, the project represents $94 million in payroll and more than $160 million in total economic impact—now benefiting New York instead of Pennsylvania.
Fairlife
Fairlife, owned by Coca Cola, considered a Pennsylvania site in Juniata County before ultimately building a massive dairy processing plant in Webster, New York-just 90 minutes from much of the state’s dairy country. Site selectors and economic development officials say Pennsylvania’s permitting process, particularly through the DEP, was viewed as slow, unpredictable, and burdensome compared with New York’s coordinated, incentive driven approach. Had Fairlife located in Pennsylvania, the plant would have supported 250 jobs and produced $10 million in annual payroll, with more than $9.2 million in local take home pay each year. Over ten years, that project would have generated $100 million in payroll and nearly $157 million in economic activity. Instead, that economic engine now sits across the state line.
Sheetz Travel Center
The proposed Super Sheetz travel center in North East Township was another missed opportunity. The site was ideal, the community supported it, and the economic benefits were immediate and obvious. But the project became trapped in DEP reviews, environmental hurdles, and shifting requirements until Sheetz walked away. The travel center would have created 65 jobs and generated $2.7 million in annual payroll, producing roughly $16 million in total economic impact over time. Local officials escalated the issue to Harrisburg; Shapiro’s office was informed, yet no intervention followed.
Across these projects, businesses describe the same obstacles: unpredictable DEP timelines, EPA driven mandates that add cost without clarity, and requirements that shift mid process. Companies do not object to environmental protection; they object to uncertainty-the inability to plan, budget, or build because the rules change without warning. That unpredictability turns viable projects into untenable risks and pushes investment to states that offer clearer timelines and coordinated support.
The combined economic loss from just these three projects exceeds $330 million over ten years. That figure excludes secondary effects: lost construction work, lost supplier contracts, diminished tax revenue, and the reputational damage that discourages future investment. When employers see projects stall or move across state lines, they draw a simple conclusion: this region is too risky to build in.
Erie County has the workforce, the land, and the strategic location to thrive. What it lacks is a regulatory environment that welcomes investment instead of driving it away. Until DEP, EPA, and state leadership adopt a culture of partnership rather than obstruction-and until the governor’s office responds when communities raise clear economic concerns-the county will continue to lose projects that should be building here.
The question now is whether Pennsylvania will fix a system that is costing communities hundreds of millions of dollars, or whether more employers will follow Maplevale, Fairlife, and Sheetz across the border.
Note: Economic impact figures are based on developer and local estimates
provided in project analysis.
Related:
PA Legislators and DEP Tour North East to Learn How Their Decisions Affect Local Development
Nancy Anderson says
This article should be sent to Fox News. Maybe they could do some investigative reporting on the leadership in PA.
Mark Steg says
I think it’s important to differentiate between criticizing environmental oversight as opposed to criticizing an inefficient process. My gut feeling is that NY has pretty strict environmental regulations. What they may have that differs them from PA, is that thier rules are more easily navigable. We need to make sure that when we criticize process, we’re not condemning environmental protection too. Urban sprawl is not progress : It’s a pernicious process that undermines community quality of life. I’ll even go a little “green ” here and say that given that state of the Lakes, and the dangers they face, there should not be ANY non-essential “development ‘ on the shores of any of the Great Lakes.
Karen Hooker says
really don’t see where any of these proposed projects would have impacted the ‘green’ that concerned a previous commenter. I will say upfront that I live in Montana, where we guard our precious natural resources very carefully and have turned away potential businesses that didn’t suit our values. However, our previous government officials were known to bog down in red tape some very important projects that would have benefited our communities greatly. We still have a ‘good old boys’ club that decides too often what they want, not what the people of Montana want. It’s getting better, and I hate to make this political, but the more red our state becomes, the more common sense seems to prevail.
Perhaps some regional or national news coverage would be a good idea!