Many attendees said their concerns have grown as work on the facility continues.
"I'm frustrated," said Sarah Kirk of Falls Township.
Another resident shouted, "Shame on you people," prompting applause from the crowd.
Representatives from Amazon, PECO and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection presented information and took questions during the meeting at Pennsbury East High School. Some residents said the companies appeared unprepared for the level of scrutiny.
"They were going to look for an easy ride and they weren't expecting the questions to be as educated and as informed," said Sharon Mack of Bristol. "And they didn't seem like they could really answer them."
Amazon highlighted what it described as statewide benefits, including a $20 billion investment and more than 1,200 new jobs. But residents questioned the environmental impact of the project.
"I don't want to have to worry about a data center adding to our already bad air quality around here, and our water isn't great either," Kirk said.
Roger Wehner, Amazon's vice president of economic development for Web Services, said the company complies with public health requirements.
"We meet or exceed every expectation or requirement for public health that the jurisdictions have. You just don't want to impact the neighborhood," he said.
The DEP said it will monitor air and water quality and is reviewing a plan approval for natural gas-fired and diesel-fired emergency generators.
"Our actual operations don't emit anything," Wehner said. "We do have standby generators which a lot of critical facilities have to make sure in the event of a where there is no power, we can keep our customers' information flowing."
Noise from generators was another concern. Mack questioned what hundreds of generators running during a disaster would sound like. Wehner said Amazon uses an acoustics program to model noise impacts.
Residents also worried about potential increases in electricity bills.
Wehner said Amazon covers its own infrastructure costs.
"People's utility bills go up for a lot of different reasons. It won't be because of the infrastructure we require because we pay for everything," he said.
Water usage was another point of contention.
Wehner said the facility would use water about 6% of the year.
"Really the only reason we do it is because when the grid is pressured the most, and on the hottest part of the year, we use just a little bit of water. We reduce our energy consumption by 25-30%," he said.
Some residents urged Amazon to halt construction and reconsider the project.
"Nothing is ever a done deal," said Mike Ewall of Northeast Philadelphia. "People power can overcome money power when people organize."
Amazon said construction has been underway for about a year and the first facility is expected to come online in the fall.