In the garbage wars, West Virginia gave counties a say. Data center opponents say they deserve one, too.
West Virginians are drawing parallels between current opposition to data center developments and historical battles against landfills, arguing for greater local control. State legislation, House Bill 2014, has removed the authority of local governments to apply zoning and other ordinances to hyperscale data centers. This has sparked protests and organizing efforts across several counties against proposed projects.
West Virginia communities are experiencing a new wave of opposition, this time against large-scale data center developments, reminiscent of previous struggles against landfill proposals in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Then, a grassroots movement, spurred by figures like Rev. Jeff Allen, successfully advocated for legislation that granted counties the power to approve or reject commercial landfills.
Today, at least six out-of-state developers have proposed massive data center complexes across West Virginia. However, a key difference is House Bill 2014, passed in 2025, which exempts state-designated hyperscale data centers from local city and county ordinances, including those governing lighting, noise, and zoning. This legislation also diverts the majority of tax revenue from these projects to the state rather than local communities, effectively stripping local control.
In Tucker County, the group Tucker United recently protested a proposed data center near Canaan Valley State Resort. Organizer Cris Parque expressed concern over the project's environmental impact, which includes plans for 10 million gallons of diesel fuel storage and two natural gas-powered electric plants, plus a nuclear plant. Parque believes that if residents had a vote, the project would be rejected. Other communities in Berkeley, Mingo, Putnam, Mason, and Ohio counties are also organizing against similar proposals. While local officials like Cathy Fleischman of the Davis Town Council note that towns usually have options to regulate development, HB 2014 overrides these powers for "high-impact data centers." Proponents of the state law argue that data centers promise significant economic benefits that should not be hindered by local decisions, a rationale similar to that used during the earlier landfill debates.