Data Center Backlash Greets State Lawmakers
Their visit to Tucker County provided a close-up view of the depth of opposition to a proposed local facility
Members of the state legislature recently visited Tucker County for a special “interim” session, with committee meetings on a variety of topics. They were quickly reminded that many area residents have one overriding concern on their minds: data centers.
The legislative event was held Sunday through Tuesday, with Canaan Valley Resort State Park as the primary hub of activities. Members of the West Virginia legislature arriving at the resort Sunday afternoon were greeted by data center protestors waving signs.
Democratic lawmakers held a press conference Monday afternoon at the Davis Town Hall, where they focused largely on their grievances with state laws recently enacted by Republicans that provide regulatory shortcuts and steep tax cuts for data center developers.
Protestors assembled again Monday night, outside a panel discussion at the Davis Volunteer Fire Department. Inside, a crowd of about 160 people gathered for the panel discussion.
(Editor’s note: Country Roads News and the nonprofit news organization Mountain State Spotlight co-sponsored the panel discussion about the state’s approach to attracting data centers. Click here for a news report from Mountain State Spotlight about the panel discussion. A video of the event provided by the nonprofit news site 100 Days in Appalachia can be found on Facebook using this link.)
Panelist Chris Morris, director of the West Virginia Data Economy Office, said he and other state officials want to work with local communities to address their concerns. He pledged to create a citizen advisory council to recommend standards and policies regarding data centers in the state.
JB Akers, a Republican member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, largely defended the state’s deregulatory approach to data centers, although he acknowledged that some adjustments might make sense. Akers said the state needs to attract jobs and keep young adults from moving away.
Other panelists said data centers would yield few jobs for local residents.
Evan Hansen, a Democratic member of the state House of Delegates, focused on provisions in state law that strip local communities of control over state-certified data centers.
Amy Margolies, executive director of Tucker United, a grassroots group opposed to a proposed local data center project, emphasized the importance of getting legally binding commitments from data center developers rather than hoping they keep their promises.
“I don’t want to just take everyone’s word for it,” Margolies said.
Fundamental Data, the secretive company incorporated in Delaware that has proposed building a 10,000-acre campus of data centers, three power plants, and other facilities near Davis and Thomas, declined an invitation to participate in the panel discussion.
This meeting brought out a lot of the best of a community that is concerned yet polite and respectful. National Public Radio featured a story today that revisions need to be made so that local government should have more say about data center development in their county. Anyone that would want to spoil Blackwater Falls, Dolly Sods, Monongahela National Forest, and Canaan Valley would likely be run out of town or even worse… Tarred and Feathered.
Shocking that the state is choosing to locate a 10,000 acre data center campus on the spine of the Appalachians where it could do the most harm. Why not instead build the data center on a strip mine at a much lower elevation on a site that needs significant remediation. Tucker County has so much to lose, for locals, the tourism industry, and outdoor recreation that is central to this community. This county needs a future land use plan, the comp plan never envisions the impact of a 10,000 acre campus. A future land use plan and zoning is a tool that can preserve the wild and wonderful while allowing for some clustered development near existing activity nodes.