Prince William Co. data center opponents travel to Richmond to lobby legislators | WJLA
HAYMARKET, Va. (7News) — A busload of people will leave Prince William County and head for Richmond Wednesday morning to lobby lawmakers on bills concerning data centers.
Around 40 people will board a bus before sunrise, said Karen Sheehan, the organizer of the trip. She said an expected 250 people statewide will be advocating for “appropriate and significant guardrails” for data center projects.
Sheehan said there are 17 bills concerning data centers, including ones she’s fighting for related to noise abatement and environmental guidelines.
“Definitely putting the legislators on notice that we are here and we’re not going away,” she said. “That we are going to be watching their actions, we’re going to be watching their votes.”
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Sheehan is the director of the Coalition to Protect Prince William County, which recently filed a lawsuit against the county, supervisors and companies affiliated with the Prince William Digital Gateway. The lawsuit argues the county and the project applicants didn’t follow proper procedures leading up to the zoning vote, including providing adequate meeting notice and special use permits.
“I’ve watched the devastation that the industry has brought to our neighborhoods and I don’t want to see it continue to proliferate,” said Sheehan.
“Virginia continues to distinguish itself as a leader for the digital infrastructure that enables our innovation economy, including the apps, platforms, and services we use personally and professionally,” said Josh Levi, president of the Data Center Coalition, in an emailed statement to 7News about the bills up for discussion.
Levi said the data center industry has invested more than $37 billion in the state over the past two years, “to meet the growing, collective computing demands of individuals and organizations of all sizes.”
“As Virginia policymakers study and assess the state and local policies and processes that should be considered to ensure responsible expansion across the Commonwealth, we will continue to work collaboratively with legislators and other stakeholders to ensure positive economic, environmental, and social outcomes while supporting Virginia’s 21st-century economy,” Levi said.
When asked for comment on this lawsuit, a spokesperson for Compass DataCenters, one of the companies involved in the project, said they were served but wouldn’t comment additionally. A county spokesperson has said the county won’t comment on active litigation.