Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed a bill with bipartisan support Friday that would have required data center applicants and energy utilities to disclose information to local governments on noise and environmental impacts of the project.
Under the bill, data center site applicants would have to perform and submit site assessments to examine the noise impact on residents and schools located within 500 feet of the property.
It would also allow local governments to require site assessments from applicants to examine the effect of the data center on water and agricultural resources, parks, historic sites and forestland.
Del. Josh Thomas (D-Prince William County), introduced HB1601 which he designated as Virginia’s first data center reform bill.
“It’s incredibly disappointing to see Governor Youngkin ignore our community’s concerns in favor of rapid, unconstrained data center development that threatens our homes and schools, our energy grid, our natural resources, our historical treasures, and our way of life,” Thomas said in a statement.
In his explanation for the veto, Youngkin said the bill limits local discretion and creates unnecessary red tape.
“While well-intentioned, the legislation imposes a one-size-fits-all approach on communities that are best positioned to make their own decisions,” Youngkin wrote.
Rapid growth of cloud computing and artificial intelligence has caused demand for data centers to balloon in recent years. Northern Virginia alone houses more than 300 data centers in the area’s westernmost counties.
Thomas said he’s going to continue to fight for the issue.
“Today is not the end – it’s only the beginning. With HB1601, we succeeded in bringing a bipartisan majority of Virginia legislators together to pass real data center reform, and that is a victory we can build on in the future. I remain wholly committed to fighting for western Prince William County on this issue,” Thomas said.
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