Editorial: Localities can lead by siting data centers in industrial parks
An editorial urges Virginia localities to restrict data centers to industrial parks, citing issues with noise, pollution, and water consumption, as the General Assembly has not yet passed statewide restrictions. Examples from xAI's data center in Tennessee/Mississippi facing a pollution lawsuit and Meta's facility in Wyoming dealing with bacterial contamination highlight the urgent need for local action.
An editorial in the Daily Press advocates for Virginia localities to mandate that data centers be located within industrial parks. This approach, exemplified by James City County and the cities of Chesapeake and Suffolk, aims to protect residential neighborhoods from noise, pollution, and excessive resource consumption.
The article notes that the Virginia General Assembly has historically avoided intervening in local land-use decisions, leading to the failure of a statewide restriction bill, though similar legislation is anticipated in the next session. Without state action, local governments are encouraged to implement special permits that place conditions on data center operations.
The editorial highlights two critical incidents as cautionary tales. First, Elon Musk's Colossus 2 xAI data center, situated near Memphis on the Tennessee/Mississippi border, is facing a lawsuit from the NAACP for allegedly operating more natural-gas turbines than permitted, which are emitting significant pollutants and posing health risks to the predominantly Black community nearby. Secondly, city officials in Cheyenne, Wyoming, discovered rare and potentially dangerous bacteria, Cupriavidus gilardii, in their wastewater treatment facility, tracing the source to a 715,000-square-foot data center campus owned by Meta. While the contamination was limited to the recycled water system, it underscored concerns about water resource impacts and public health.
These examples reinforce the editorial's call for Virginia officials to prioritize expanding water testing for data centers and to place greater emphasis on the environmental and public health effects of data center growth, particularly concerning water resources strained by drought conditions. The piece concludes by emphasizing that the economic benefits of data centers should not come at the expense of community well-being.