Pr. Wm. delegate’s bill to stop data center construction near parks fails

A bill introduced by Delegate Joshua Thomas (D-21, Prince William County), aimed at restricting the construction of data centers near state and national parks in Virginia, hit a roadblock in the House of Delegates subcommittee on Thursday. Despite Thomas’s plea to advance the bill, it was ultimately tabled, leaving supporters disappointed and frustrated, reports The Center Square.

“My district is hurting. This issue has torn apart our community,” Thomas lamented before the committee’s vote.

Kathy Kulick of the HOA Roundtable highlighted the contentious nature of the issue and emphasized the potential conflict between economic interests and environmental concerns. Kulick pointed out the influence and intimidation of the data center industry on localities, highlighting the need for state-level legislation to guide land use change requests.

“Localities are being overwhelmed by the enormous financial influence and intimidation of the industry,” Kulick told Potomac Local.

Chap Petersen, representing residents in a lawsuit against the Prince William Board of County Supervisors over the PW Digital Gateway development, echoed concerns about the data center industry’s overwhelming impact on rural areas. Petersen criticized the General Assembly’s inaction, emphasizing the environmental cost and the need for immediate legislative measures.

“The data center industry is overwhelming the Rural Crescent in Virginia. The environmental cost will be incalculable,” said the lawyer and former Democratic State Senator from Fairfax. “The General Assembly has done nothing for years. To defer the issue for ‘more study’ is a joke.”

The ongoing legal battle over the PW Digital Gateway development, approved by Prince William supervisors in December 2023,  underscores the high stakes. Residents, supported by organizations like the American Battlefield Trust, argue that approving massive data centers near historical sites like the Manassas Battlefield National Park would irreversibly alter the region’s character and damage its historical significance, Insidenova.com reports. 

The rezoning vote in December cleared the way for two companies, QTS and Compass Datacenters, Inc., to build the nearly 100-foot tall data center buildings on what has been billed as the world’s most significant data center complex, on nearly 900 acres next to the battlefield, a tourist magnet, and the site of the first major Civil War battle in 1861.