Citizens Announce Petition to Pause Data Center Development County

Prince William citizens, in cooperation with the Coalition to Protect Prince William County, have created a petition asking the Prince William Board of County Supervisors to enact a 12-month pause on new data center development requiring their approval. The petition also supports a statewide moratorium on data centers. 

Pause Data Centers — Stop Data Center Sprawl in Prince William County

The pause would give the county time to establish meaningful protections for residents, such as updating Design and Construction Standards Manual (DCSM) to reflect the current scale of the industry.

They ask that updated standards include the following: 

• increased buffers and setbacks from homes, schools, parks and religious institutions;
• an updated, data-driven noise ordinance developed with qualified expert recommendations'
• clearly defined and measurable performance standards,
• meaningful enforcement mechanisms that provide accountability should the standards be violated.

"It feels like citizens are frantically putting out an SOS warning there is a five-alarm fire burning and the fleet of fire trucks has not arrived," said Coalition Director Elena Schlossberg, in a press release.  "One way to suppress a fire is to remove the accelerant.  Enacting a twelve-month pause, while not a magical solution, will provide time to establish a framework to facilitate updated regulations that put people first. "

 To publicly announce the petition, the Coalition will hold a media conference Thursday, Oct. 29 at  5:45 p.m. at  13710 Daves Store Lane, Gainesville.

The location will give attendees a view of the NTT data center complex. Upon completion, the complex will house four 550,000 sq. ft. buildings on 100 acres. Two are completed.

According to the Coalition, these are the largest Data Centers in Prince William County.  Each building is a quarter-mile long (1,320 feet). They measure 180 feet wide and stand 75 feet tall. Together, the campus will be the length of five football fields.  

The total peak load power demand is equivalent to approximately 468,000 homes. 

The coalition notes the following problems with data centers, especially large complexes: 

• • the noise, specifically, the whine of gas turbines 24/7,
  • backup diesel generators polluting the air
  • eminent domain threats to make way for their massive transmission lines,
  • substations that "spider out" more private extension cords,
  • and ever-increasing electricity bills.

"Do not forget, however, there are still millions of square feet of data center development that have been approved and not yet built, and more rushing in during the 90-day grace period enacted by the board of supervisors when they amended by-right in the data center overlay," Schlossberg said. 

Citizens and Grassroots Organizations from multiple districts will be speaking. Interested citizens are invited to participate and lend their support.

For more information contact Elena Schlossberg at  elenalouise@hotmail.com.

Pause Data Centers — Stop Data Center Sprawl in Prince William County