The county Board of Supervisors is voting next Tuesday, March 16, on the Independent Hill Small Area Plan. Included in this plan is a proposal to locate data centers within the legislative boundaries of Prince William Forest National Park, inside the Rural Crescent!
Take action now against this insanity by signing this petition to our US Senators and Representatives; our State Governor, Senators, and Delegates; and our county Supervisors and Planning Director. If you would like to speak remotely during the Public Hearing at the 7:30 pm Tuesday Board meeting, complete and submit the form here to speak on Item 15C – sign up deadline is next Monday, March 15.
Here is the text of the petition:
Data centers in the wrong places wreak havoc on residential communities and small businesses alike. We have data center industrial use being proposed adjacent to our coveted Federal Parks – now in Prince William Forest National Park, and soon at the Manassas National Battlefield!
Data center energy infrastructure needs are like no other industry in the world. Requiring as much power as a city for a million sq. ft. complex is typical. And as an industry, their carbon footprint nearly matches the aviation industry. The environmental devastation emanating from their huge concrete buildings cannot be ignored. The impervious surfaces leave no opportunity for groundwater filtration, putting at risk how our watersheds function, and impacting our fresh clean water resources. This would be true industrial blight next to homes and in National Parks!
To ignore the lessons we learned from the Haymarket Amazon data center is pure folly. The community in the Gainesville district advocated for the creation of a data center overlay district for Prince William County. This Board choosing to place data centers outside of those borders puts every home value at risk, due to the impacts of these massive transmission lines that function as personal extension cords for data centers.
What we learned in the Haymarket fight was that these big tech companies expect citizens to pay the price tag for their hundreds of millions of dollars worth of electrical power and water infrastructure. We, the residents and citizens of Virginia, are subsidizing their massive billion dollar profit margins – while sacrificing the integrity of our homes and unique environmental assets.
Does that sound like fair trade to you?
There is an opportunity to save that parcel with state, federal and private stakeholders, and add it to the Park. THAT is forward thinking and would result in a real win for our community and the elected leaders who espouse climate action!
Say NO to data centers in the legislative boundary of Prince William Forest National Park!
