Chesterfield residents push for more accountability as data center development grows

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Dozens of families gathered at Brightpoint Community College Tuesday to hear from representatives from companies including Google and Dominion Energy about data center projects in Chesterfield County, with some residents calling for greater transparency, community involvement and accountability as development continues.

“My question is, will you commit to coming to the table as community partners and do an actual community benefits agreement?” one attendee asked during the forum.

County officials said the decision to pursue data centers was driven in part by pressure to reduce the tax burden on residents. But some people who attended Tuesday’s forum said they want to see the numbers behind those projects and know what protections will be put in place for surrounding communities.

Ben Nelson, who attended the forum, said he wants Chesterfield County to strengthen its zoning rules and give residents a larger role in decisions involving data centers.

“I would like the county to rewrite the zoning rules so that community benefit agreements have to be considered and then enforced,” Nelson said. “I'd like the county to set up a citizen advisory board, so that people from the community can have meaningful real-time interactions with representatives from the tech companies.”

According to Chesterfield County’s website, the county lists nine ongoing data center projects and currently has three data center campuses in operation.

Environmental concerns also surfaced during the forum.

A Google representative addressed recent environmental violations involving the company after the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality sent a letter citing seven violations connected to the Project Peanut data center.

“We understand that trust is earned, and that is something that we will continue to try and earn with the community regarding the recent violations,” the Google representative said. “We've worked with DEQ to mitigate the impacts, to make corrective actions to ensure that those do not happen again.”

Still, some residents said they want stronger assurances from the companies developing data center campuses and mechanisms to hold them accountable.

“They really didn't give a clear answer,” Nelson said.

County officials said the forum was organized in response to hundreds of questions and comments about data centers. Nelson said the meeting was a positive step, but believes county leaders could do more to create opportunities for residents to have a meaningful voice in the process.

“The board can do a lot more to create mechanisms for actual meaningful community involvement,” Nelson said. “This is a great first step, but it's tiny compared to what they could be doing for us.”

CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.