County Fight Paused

Berks County PA — Upper Bern Township Warehouse (1,500 beds) Blocked by DEP

Berks, PA FIPS 42011

Current status: DHS purchased a 518,140 sq ft warehouse in Upper Bern Township on February 2, 2026 for $87.4M, planning a 1,500-bed immigration processing facility. PA DEP issued administrative orders on March 5, 2026, barring DHS from occupying the site or connecting to water or sewer until it demonstrates compliance with state environmental law — the proposed facility would spike sewage from 8,000 to 100,000 gallons per day against a 155,000-gpd plant. ICE filed an appeal April 8 with the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board; Judge Bernard Labuskes Jr. assigned; discovery and settlement negotiations run through November 2026, with contested resolution potentially taking years.

The Fight

The Trump administration quietly purchased a 518,140 sq ft warehouse at 3501 Mountain Road, Upper Bern Township, Berks County on February 2, 2026, for $87.4 million — paying nearly four times the property’s assessed value of $22 million. The seller was an LLC connected to PCCP, a national commercial real estate equity firm that had itself bought the property for $57.5 million in 2024. Upper Bern Township’s solicitor said community leaders only learned of the sale after the deed was recorded.

DHS’s plan: convert the warehouse — which has 40-foot ceilings and 100 loading docks — into a 1,500-bed immigration processing facility. The facility would increase sewage output at the site from 8,000 gallons per day to 100,000 gallons per day, pushing the township’s treatment plant (capacity: 155,000 gpd) to 65% of maximum from a standing start. Upper Bern Township has no public water system; residents rely on wells.

DEP response: On March 5, 2026, PA DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley issued five administrative orders covering both the Berks and Schuylkill sites. Two orders went directly to DHS. Three more went to local authorities (Upper Bern Township, Tremont Township, and Schuylkill County Municipal Authority), prohibiting them from extending water or sewer service to the facilities without required approvals. DEP stated the orders were necessary to prevent the addition of effectively 9,000 people to small rural communities with already-stressed infrastructure, warning of “polluted waterways from overwhelmed sewage facilities leaking raw waste into our streets and rivers.”

Former DEP Secretary David Hess — who noted he had “never seen an administrative order advise potential project developers in such detail about requirements” without prior violations — told Spotlight PA that if no settlement is reached, the Environmental Hearing Board process “can be a several-year kind of process.”

DHS appeal: On April 8, 2026, ICE filed an appeal with the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board, asking the board to allow “reasonable use of the water and wastewater systems” at levels previously approved for the prior industrial owners. Environmental Hearing Board Chair and Chief Judge Steven C. Beckman issued a prehearing order; Judge Bernard Labuskes Jr. assigned to the case. Discovery and settlement negotiations run through November 4, 2026.

Timeline

2024-XX-XX: PCCP LLC purchases warehouse for $57.5M
2026-02-02: DHS deed recorded; $87.4M purchase; Upper Bern Township learns of sale day of recording
2026-02-03: Press reports confirm purchase; Spotlight PA and WFMZ cover the acquisition
2026-03-05: DEP issues five administrative orders blocking occupancy and water/sewer connections at both PA sites
2026-03-06: Shapiro administration press release: “No Schuylkill or Berks Detention Warehouses Without Complying with State Law”
2026-03-26: ICE asks for deadline extension to address environmental concerns
2026-04-08: ICE/DHS file appeal to PA Environmental Hearing Board
2026-04-13: Penncapital-Star reports ICE is “fighting DEP orders” on both sites
2026-04-21: Spotlight PA reports process could stretch “months or even years”; deadline schedule through Nov. 4, 2026

Key Actors

DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley — issued the March 5 orders
Gov. Josh Shapiro — administration leading regulatory resistance
Judge Bernard Labuskes Jr. — assigned to Environmental Hearing Board case
Chief Judge Steven C. Beckman — Environmental Hearing Board chair; issued prehearing order
David Hess (former DEP Secretary) — expert noting severity and novelty of the orders
Upper Bern Township — named in DEP orders; local officials blindsided by secret purchase

Why This Fight Matters

The Upper Bern case established the Shapiro administration’s primary weapon against the warehouse conversion strategy: PA’s environmental regulatory apparatus. DEP’s move is unusual — it is not a legal challenge to federal authority but a state regulatory assertion that federal facilities must comply with state environmental law. The administration’s leverage is the sewer and water hook-up permits that local authorities control. DHS cannot occupy the warehouse without them. Whether that leverage survives a federal sovereignty challenge in the Environmental Hearing Board — or beyond — is now the central question.

Sources

This research is published at The RAMM — investigative reporting on the detention pipeline.

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