Dear Friends

We are sharing this special edition of the MFE Newsletter to bring you information about a critical issue that affects everyone but particularly we Virginians. Virginia is already the data center capital of the world – 371 are in operation across the state – and another 438 are planned, according to Cleanview, a company that tracks data centers and other power infrastructure development.

VA study on groundwater, data centers calls for tighter water regulations WTVR, Richmond

Virginia, the world’s largest data center hub, has released a long-delayed study that examined the state’s eastern region groundwater supply and the resource-hungry industry’s possible impact on it, finding declines are likely in a critical aquifer due to population growth and industrial use and urging stricter regulations.Produced by environmental scientists, the report — which the state for more than six months had refused to release — said regulators should have more authority to reject industrial water withdrawal permits, force entities to examine alternative sources of water and clamp down on users who might be using more water than they should be. The report said most existing and planned data center capacity is located in public water supply service areas that mostly draw from surface water. But it went on to note that no comprehensive public data exists about groundwater-sourced water withdrawals from the facilities. Ground water

Brown water, dust and loud noises: Louisa homeowner sues Amazon over data center construction – Virginia Mercury

Round-the-clock disruptions drive a Louisa Virginia man to file a lawsuit against the tech giant as it seeks to build its latest digital warehouse in the commonwealth. Brown Water

This is a different take on the issue!!

At a Franklin County VA meeting, Laura Carter highlighted public outcry on the zoning and data center topics as symptoms of a deeper frustration with leadership as illustrated through the 7 Deadly Sins Deadly Sins

Virginia to offload more grid costs onto data centers E&E News/Politico

Virginia regulators have ordered Dominion Energy, the commonwealth’s largest utility, to create a process for assigning to data centers the direct costs of their electric service, such as substations built to meet their power demand. Those costs are currently spread across all ratepayers. Regulators also opened the door for data centers to pay more of the grid’s transmission costs further upstream, such as regional projects that are harder to tie to any specific demand source.The outcome marks a victory for environmentalists, consumer advocates and Virginia Democrats who had argued Big Tech needs to shoulder more data center costs. With energy affordability dominating voters’ concerns in the run-up to November’s midterms, Virginia’s decision offers both a model and a talking point as officials nationwide grapple with the data center boom. Offload

Sturtevant on data center moratorium: Before Virginia approves another data center, it should decide whether more are justified – Cardinal News Glen

Sturtevant, VA State Senator, notes that VA is home to almost 400 data centers and more are being approved everyday. He has called on Governor Spanberger to immediately issue an Executive Order establishing a moratorium on data center approvals throughout Virginia. Sturtevant

Want to express your concern about the data centers’ effect on Virginia??

*** Write to your state legislators and Governor Spanberger and urge them to take immediate action on a moratorium

*** Attend a Town Hall and Info Session on Data Center Expansion on August 18 with a number of great speakers. 6:30 pm at Studio Two Three, 109 W 15th St, Richmond. There may be a carpool from Cville. Let me know if you’d like to get on board.

For the planet,
Ellie Syverud