There are currently at least 20 data centers in operation or in development in Chesterfield County. This unconstrained buildout will permanently change the cost of living, human health, and quality of life in our county.
Through non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and a process that has excluded meaningful public input, the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors and the Chesterfield Economic Development Authority have made decisions that will fundamentally transform our communities without adequate public process, transparency, or protection for the people who live here.
Tell Chesterfield County officials that we demand an end to approvals for any data center applications, an end to County engagement in NDAs, and full operational transparency from all data center developments.
Personalize the subject line and use the custom message box to tell officials who you are, and why you care (ex., "I live X miles from these data centers"; "My children go to school at X, which sits within X miles of these developments"; "I care about the public health / cost of living / community safety / environmental resilience / wildlife / resource availability in our county").

Tell Chesterfield County Officials: Protect Our Community, Not Data Centers

As a constituent and a Chesterfield County resident, I’m writing to formally express my opposition to the unconstrained data center development that has proceeded without adequate public process, transparency, or protection for the people who live here. 

There are currently at least 20 data centers in operation or in development in Chesterfield County. The scale of what is being proposed here is not routine industrial development. It is a fundamental transformation of our county, permitted without sufficient consideration of the impacts to our community. 

The threats posed by these data centers are not speculative. Other Virginia localities further along in data center buildout have provided firsthand evidence of what is coming for Chesterfield, including: 

- Significant consequences to public health through air pollution, water pollution, and an increase in industrial chemical emissions.

- The degradation of our county’s land and ecosystems, which not only changes the character of our community, but threatens residents by weakening our natural defenses against flood risk, fire risk, and water scarcity. 

- A decrease in quality of life for residents who will be subjected to continuous noise pollution, light pollution, and an increase in their utility rates. 

Constituents are being told that data centers bring economic benefit. This does not align with residents’ financial reality. Our electric bills are already going up, driven by the need for expanded electrical infrastructure to meet data centers’ energy demands. Dominion's plan to increase the average residential electric bill over the next two years is being compounded by ratepayers’ obligation to foot the cost of the new gas plant in Chesterfield. Chesterfield Economic Development Authority officials have said that over 20 years, a $1 billion data center would generate just over $71 million in combined tax revenue. Against billions in infrastructure costs, rate increases, and environmental remediation that will fall to the public, that figure deserves scrutiny, not celebration. The math doesn't hold up. 

The Chesterfield Board of Supervisors’ and the Chesterfield Economic Development Authority’s failure to be transparent and forthcoming with your constituents has prevented us from assessing the full reality of the local risks posed by these developments. Through non-disclosure agreements and a process that has excluded meaningful public input, decisions have been made that will permanently alter the character, cost of living, human health, and quality of life in our county.

That is unacceptable. And it is not too late to correct it.

As such, I respectfully request that the Board:

- Immediately cease approving data center applications. 

- Require independent cumulative impact studies that cover environmental, noise, water, air quality, and infrastructure effects as a part of the conditional use permitting process for data centers. These impacts should be assessed across the more than 130 data centers proposed or under development in the Greater Richmond region, not just within Chesterfield. Additionally, no construction should move forward on any data center development that has received approval until such a cumulative impact assessment has been completed and made available for public review.

- End all non-disclosure agreements, including existing agreements, and provide full public visibility into all previous and current negotiations, tax incentive arrangements, financial commitments, and development agreements made with data center applicants and developers.

- Require full operational transparency from all data centers on energy consumption, water use, generator type and usage frequency, cooling systems and associated chemical agents, and intended use of the facility, including for projects currently under development. 

Multiple Chesterfield Supervisors have told residents and the media that they support ending new data center approvals in Chesterfield County. Now it is time to turn words into action and fulfill your responsibility as representatives of our community. 

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We are watching, and we will remember.