DEQ meeting about data center water discharging into Lake Anna tributaries turns contentious

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is seeking a Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to release 280,000 gallons a day of treated cooling water from its Lake Anna Tech Campus into Sedges Creek, a tributary of Lake Anna in Louisa County. The company stated that the cooling water would not come into contact with IT equipment and would be treated prior to discharge, primarily during peak hot periods, estimated to be 4% of the year.

The DEQ held a public hearing at Louisa County Middle School to address previously submitted public comments. The meeting quickly became combative, with frustrated residents like Cathy Corker and Randy C. expressing concerns about potential impacts on water temperature and aquatic life. Residents also raised prior concerns about the unknown presence of PFAS, to which the DEQ responded that the current draft permit does not require PFAS testing but allows for future alterations to include it.

Despite explanations from AWS that the water would be treated and that discharge limits would be based on state and federal regulations for metals and temperature, community members remained skeptical. Nicki Atwood of Louisa County highlighted that the water data used for responses came from a reservoir, not actual discharge data. The DEQ is expected to make a final decision on the permit, though a specific timeline remains unclear.