– Info from Sue Nelson Sargeant
Residents, activists, and local officials gathered Tuesday, July 21, for Community Forum #1 on data centers in the Fredericksburg area. The event, titled “Are We the New DATA CENTER Alley?”, featured a video screening, discussion, and Q&A.
Event Details
- Location: Downtown Library, 1201 Caroline St., theater room
- Time: 6:30–8 p.m.
- Sponsored by: Neighborhood associations
- Admission: Free and open to the public
The video shown was produced by University of Mary Washington students Chloe Adler and Owen Wheeler with UMW Assistant Professor of Communication and Digital Studies J.D. Swerzenski.
Taxation and Revenue Concerns
- Audience members raised the case of a bank tenant inside the Brickyard data center in Manassas. The tenant’s bank status triggered a longstanding Virginia exemption from BPOL and business personal property taxes, leaving Manassas officials without the expected equipment tax revenue.
- The facility, operated by Digital Realty Trust, still generates real estate tax revenue after a major reassessment, but city leaders have described the outcome as a significant and unexpected shortfall.
- Former Fredericksburg City Councilor Matt Kelly said data-center revenue is “not stable money for the budget.” He urged the city to follow Henrico County’s example of directing such revenue toward specific needs such as housing rather than treating it as general fund income.
- Kelly also noted that real estate tax rates can fall while assessed home values rise, shifting the burden onto residents.
Public Process and Elected Officials
- Julie Kay, a Fredericksburg resident and Climate Reality Project leader who helped plan the forum, questioned the value of public comment when elected officials appear not to listen. She pointed to a unanimous 7-0 vote in Fredericksburg and said a closer vote “would have felt better.”
- Kay called the outcome heartbreaking both as a resident and as an American principle of listening to constituents, especially during the nation’s 250th anniversary year.
- Matt Kelly said elected officials sometimes invite questions only to lecture residents at the microphone. He said officials should instead commit to answering: “I’ll tell you.”
Transparency and Access to Information
- Chloe Adler described the process of contacting people featured in the video as “very interesting” for learning local details but “very disheartening.”
- Adler said data-center contacts either did not respond or sent her on “a wild goose chase,” keeping information under wraps.
- On non-disclosure agreements, Adler referred questions to UMW Professor Eric Bonds, whose students have studied the prevalence of NDAs between localities and data-center developers. She noted that recording equipment is typically prohibited on facility tours.
Water Resources and Environmental Impacts
- Brent Hunsinger, a Spotsylvania resident and homeowner speaking personally (not as an employee of Friends of the Rappahannock), highlighted a 2024 General Assembly-commissioned groundwater and aquifer study.
- The study, due in early 2026, was held for more than six months. It was released by Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s office in late July 2026. The report found that the eastern Coastal Plain aquifer is constrained, with projected declines from population growth and industrial use, and that new data centers using evaporative cooling are unlikely to find reliable groundwater permits in the region.
- Hunsinger called for attention to “clustering” effects across Spotsylvania, Fredericksburg, Stafford, and Caroline counties, noting multiple wastewater treatment plant projects and the shift from groundwater wells to surface water.
- He also pointed to droughts, lower river levels, and potential effects on aquaculture and the seafood industry.
- Anne Little asked about impacts on river salinity, wetlands, crops, and ecosystems during low-flow months of August and September.
- Paula Chow of the Rappahannock Group Sierra Club raised concerns about process water and evaporative cooling, stating that roughly 60 percent of the water is not returned to the Rappahannock. She said Spotsylvania is not currently testing wastewater for PFAS (“forever chemicals”).
Specific Projects and Local Activism
- Jeffrey Sim of Stafford urged residents to attend the Aug. 26 Stafford Board of Supervisors meeting regarding the Potomac Creek Campus proposal. The project was deferred in early July 2026 pending archaeological review of a historic cemetery on the site that includes possible unmarked graves of enslaved people. He also raised concerns about impacts to Accokeek Creek.
- Caryn Prasse, founder of Spotsy DATA CENTER Transparency, credited Stafford activists with strong pushback against the proposed “Kraken” transmission line (now called North Anna to Bristers), a Dominion Energy 500 kV project running through multiple counties including Stafford.
- Prasse said Spotsylvania activists are seeking a referendum for greater accountability modeled on Stafford. She urged residents to watch the proposed Dominion–NextEra merger and to submit comments through the Chesapeake Climate Action Network on Gov. Spanberger’s four-year energy plan (deadline end of July).
- Cindy Staats, founder of Safeguard Spotsy, said the group continues to push back in Spotsylvania and distributed handouts at the forum.
Additional Context Raised
- Chuck Koch noted that UMW Professor Eric Bonds and students obtained water service agreements from several Planning District 16 localities. The agreements, discussed at an April 2026 community meeting at UMW Seacobeck Hall, show multi-million-gallon daily commitments for projects including Mattameade, Cosner Tech, Powerhouse 95, and the Stafford Technology Campus.
- Speakers referenced New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s July 14 executive order imposing a temporary statewide moratorium on new large data centers while the state studies environmental and grid impacts—the first such statewide action in the country.
Upcoming: Community Forum #2
“Show Up, Speak Up” on DATA CENTERS: Fredericksburg: Are We the New DATA CENTER Alley?
- When: Wednesday, July 29
- Where: Downtown Library, 1201 Caroline St., 22401 (big theater room)
- Time: 6:30–7:45 p.m.
- Cost: Free and open to the public
Tabling at Forum #2 will include:
- DATA CENTER Basics 101
- Area county data center activists
- Chloe Adler and Owen Wheeler, UMW student producers of the video (with Assistant Professor J.D. Swerzenski) shown at Forum #1
