Stakeholders statewide unite to form WV Data Center Accountability Project

PRESS RELEASE

Charleston, W.Va. — In response to the rushed attempt to build data centers across West Virginia, stakeholders and impacted communities have united to form the West Virginia Data Center Accountability Project (WVDCAP). WVDCAP opposes the unchecked buildout of data centers overriding our communities. We stand united in the following popular demands: 

• Let the People Decide: Local Control and Community Consent
• Clean Air & Clean Water for the People – Not for Data Centers
• West Virginia is Not for Sale
• Community Over Computers
• More information can be found at www.wvdcap.org.

Morgan King, WV Citizen Action Group Climate and Energy Manager, stated: “The formation of this statewide collaborative network will shape data center developments and demand accountability from the very government and corporations pursuing these projects without local input or consideration of environmental, economic, and health risks. When West Virginians across the state stand together, we are stronger and more effective at achieving our goal of putting community over computers.” 

Heather Ransom, Putnam United, stated: “The size and scope of these facilities means that the very fabric of the communities they land in will be forever changed. Therefore, the people who’ve chosen to build their lives in these beautiful rural towns should have a say in whether a hyperscale data center is a good fit for them. The people of Buffalo have made it very clear that we aren’t against progress, but that it needs to be progress to benefit the residents. This project does not. We should be considering all the ways these sites will impact the people of West Virginia, instead of only seeing tax dollars, which, by the way, are far less than they should be thanks to 2014.”

Elaine Matheny, Mason WV United, stated: “The Monarch Compute Campus is going in beside a long-standing neighborhood and has created health problems and flooding problems from the beginning. The people of Mason County had no say in whether they wanted a Data Center. HB2014 was designed to keep the public from knowing about data center development projects before they start construction. This is government overreach, and it’s all about the money that can be made on the front end. The jobs created will not justify all the destruction of the environment, health and welfare of our county. Our state and county governments should be protecting the people, not the corporations.”

Jim Kotcon, WV Chapter of Sierra Club Conservation Chair, stated: “Data centers in West Virginia should not be allowed to threaten the health and welfare of local citizens. That means stringent protections for the air we breathe and the water we drink.  Too many of the current proposals want to emit as much as they can get away with, and the State seems determined to let them. Allowing major new pollution sources is not going to benefit West Virginians.”

Amy Margolies, Tucker United Director, stated: “We stand united with communities around the state who demand a say in data center developments that will forever alter their homes. We support economic growth, but it must be on our terms and in a way that benefits our communities. HB2014 takes away our right to make our own decisions and shape the future we want to see. Fundamental Data’s proposed hyperscale facility in Tucker County will consume our water, threaten our health, and permanently transform the landscapes we love. Even Governor Morrisey called Fundamental Data “shameful.” It’s time to stop the shameful data center companies who only see West Virginia for what they can extract. We look forward to working with WVDCAP to help establish enforceable guardrails, stop irresponsible proposals, and give communities a real voice in data center developments.” 

Amanda McWhorter, Ohio County Resident, stated: “The proposed Silicon Foundation Data Center project in Warwood is currently projected to be less than 90MW and would fall under the ordinances and oversight of the City of Wheeling and not under HB2014. Despite this project still being under local control, residents are being met with little to no answers from city officials after pleading with them to protect the community that they represent. Frustration is increasing as the community sees other municipalities across the country doing the right thing and passing moratoriums. At every level of our government, the decisions being made about data centers will affect generations of West Virginia families and our communities.”

Rupok Bhuiyan, No Data Centers in the Eastern Panhandle Member, stated: “In the Eastern Panhandle, we are fighting multiple data centers planned right next to people’s homes. Families here worry about their well water, about noise that never stops, about their health from air pollution, and about electric bills going up to pay for power these companies need. HB 2014 took away our local control before most of us even knew what was coming. Site fights are grassroots, run by volunteers who give up nights and weekends with their families, and no community should have to start from scratch. That is why WVDCAP matters. When one county figures something out, every county gets it. Elected officials should take note that this is bipartisan. Across the country, dozens of towns and counties led by both parties have passed moratoriums to pause data center development while they figure out the impacts on water, power, and land. West Virginia has become an outlier, expanding as fast as possible instead of listening to the people who live here. Protecting homes and water is not partisan.”

Olivia Miller, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy Interim Executive Director, stated: “People all across West Virginia are raising the same concerns about the speed and scale of data center development and what it could mean for our water, air, communities and quality of life. These projects are moving incredibly fast, and without public input. Bottom line, West Virginians deserve a real voice in what happens in their communities. We have a responsibility to make sure our natural resources are still here for future generations, and we should not be asked to sacrifice them in the rush to build data centers.”