Area residents have until Oct. 29 to submit a public comment to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expressing their concerns for possible environmental impacts of the large data center planned for Linton Hall Road, located behind Amberleigh Station and Silver Leaf Estates, and near Rollins Ford Road in Bristow.
According to the Corps of Engineers, the data center could be detrimental to the immediate and surrounding environment, including waterways and wildlife. Therefore, the agency is requesting public comments and may open a public hearing on the matter upon request.
The Corps said it will evaluate whether the project is in the public interest, balancing economic development with environmental protection, considering community input before making a final permit decision.
The Norfolk District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers received an application from LHR Gainesville, LLC, owned by developer Charles Kuhn, of J.K. Land Holdings, to construct a large data center campus in the Linton Hall area of Prince William County.
The data center campus on an approximately 196-acre property was approved by Prince William County in 2021. It will include ten 2-story data center buildings, two substation pads and associated infrastructure.
According to the Corps of Engineers, the data center could be detrimental to Broad Run and its tributaries and result in negative impacts to 4.11 acres of forested wetlands and 3,770 linear feet of streams. Additionally, it may decrease the population of some endangered species that make their habitat in that forested wetland.
But even before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reviewed the application, the data center was unpopular among residents due to the center’s proximity to neighborhoods and schools, including Bristow Run and Piney Branch elementary schools.
However, while other complaints have been lodged, it is the environmental impact of the project that actually has the best chance of deterring the center, especially as the project requires a permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.
Additionally, according to environmental and regulatory reviews, the project may also negatively affect endangered and near-endangered species: the Northern Long-eared Bat (endangered), Tricolored Bat (proposed endangered), and Monarch Butterfly (proposed threatened).
However, the applicant did not offer to alter its site plans to minimize impacts. Rather, the applicant claimed it has already set aside 38% of the site property for easements, setbacks and Resource Protection Areas (RPAs), road extensions and a right-of-way dedication. To make up for reduced land area, they are even proposing multi-story structures instead of additional land disturbance.
Instead of mitigating the effects of the data center in Bristow, the applicant prefers to offset environmental impacts elsewhere by purchasing 8.22 wetland credits from the Tail Race Wetland and Stream Mitigation Bank and/or purchasing 5,807 stream credits from the Limestone Bank (Potomac River watershed).
Residents are unlikely to be satisfied with that response.
Although not specified within the Army Corps of Engineers' announcement, residents are concerned that pollution to Broad Run will impact drinking water coming from the Occoquan Reservoir, which serves as the primary drinking water source for nearly 2 million Northern Virginia residents. The Reservoir is already listed on Virginia's impaired waters list for water quality concerns.
One concerned resident is Steve Pleikhardt of Amberleigh Station, Bristow, who had been instrumental in leading the charge against the Linton Hall Data Center.
Having, over the past five years, immersed himself in the research into the development of data centers and their impact on the environment and people's health, he is familiar with the environmental concerns the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality [DEQ] are considering, concerning the Linton Hall property.
In a phone call with Bristow Beat, Tuesday evening, Pleikhardt explained the kind of pollution the neighborhood could face, pointing out there would be ten data centers on the property with 40 diesel generators per building.
"That's 2 million gallons of diesel fluid on the property with the potential for a leak," Pleikhardt said. “If that gets into the creek there, it will destroy the environment.”
Running the same generators could also cause toxic air pollution, harmful to children and the elderly. “Nobody cares, it’s big money,” said Pleikhardt, who is in the process of moving to Fauquier County to escape the data center encroachment in Prince William County.
Not everyone realizes the severity of the pollution, but Pleikhardt is hopeful that if this becomes a big enough roadblock that J.K. Land Holdings will not sell to a data center.
But other residents focused on other negative impacts. Another key issue is that damage to the Broad Run and its streams could lead to more flooding in the area, including area homes.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - Broad Run near Bristow - National Water Prediction Service report, the major threshold for the Broad Run flood zone is 15 feet. At 15 feet, water will approach backyards in the Kingsbrooke neighborhood, and recent flood events have flooding that reached 14+ feet.
Then there is a quality of life issue. People such as Kingsbrooke resident Christopher Timothy, who photographed wildlife near Broad Run, appreciate living in a neighborhood surrounded by nature, where one can take a walk along a stream and be greeted by birds, butterflies, deer and other forest mammals.
Pleikhardt does not want people to lose hope, noting the Army Corps could put a stop to the project. He asks residents to comment online and request a public hearing, so that they can make their case public.
He notes that they already have hundreds of requests for a public meeting, via email, maybe thousands, but more voices could only help.
The Norfolk District will receive written comments on the proposed work until October 29, 2025, as that will be one month since the comments were opened.
Comments should be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs. The Corps point of contact for this project is Nicole Woodward at nicole.l.woodward@usace.army.mil.
Once on the submission page, find permit NAO-2022-02494, (IP) LHR Gainesville LLC Data Center/Prince William County, and click on the message icon.
The Corps may hold a public hearing if warranted. People should request a public hearing in writing.
This article was updated on Oct. 28, 9:05 p.m.
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