Prince William County Digital Data Center Ruling Appealed By Opponents

MANASSAS, VA — After a judge rejected the lawsuit against the Prince William Board of County Supervisors and Digital Gateway data center developers, the plaintiffs are appealing the decision.

The nine residents and the nonprofit American Battlefield Trust appealed the Oct. 31 ruling in Prince William County Circuit Court. The ruling from Prince William County Circuit Court Judge Tracy Hudson said the case from the plaintiffs was not sufficient to bring to trial, according to an American Battlefield Trust news release.

The plaintiffs' lawsuit centered around violations in the approval process for Digital Gateway, including inadequate public notice and hearings, lack of required information about proposed development, and no consideration of environmental and historical factors. The data center rezoning by the Board of County Supervisors in December 2023 could pave the way for a major complex with as many as 37 data centers on about 2,000 acres close to Manassas National Battlefield, according to the Associated Press. The area was previously zoned for agricultural and residential uses.

"There is no question that the Prince William County Board of Supervisors violated state law and its own code in approving these rezonings," said Chap Petersen, a former state senator who is representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, in a news release. "I am confident the Court of Appeals will recognize the merit of our case and order the board to reconsider its shortsighted decision."

On the public hearing advertising issue, the judge acknowledged the plaintiffs' argument about improper advertising time for the Board of County Supervisors public hearing, according to the Prince William Times. However, the judge said the county did try to notify the public and wasn't responsible for The Washington Post publishing the third public hearing notice three days before the public hearing.

Other preservation groups, while not officially part of the lawsuit, filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the plaintiffs' data center approval challenge. These include the Coalition to Protect Prince William County, National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Parks Conservation Association, the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, Preservation Virginia and the Piedmont Environmental Council.

"The Digital Gateway proposal encapsulates the threat digital industrialization poses to protected historical lands, plus access to clean water, reliable affordable power, and a predictability in the local democratic process," said Elena Schlossberg, the executive director of the Coalition to Protect Prince William County, via a news release. "The lack of transparency from its inception is only amplified by the distorted process, or lack thereof, that clouds its final approval."

QTS Data Centers, one developer behind the rezoning proposal, says on its Digital Gateway web page that the project will help ease the burden on residential property owners while providing funds for schools, transportation, parks and affordable housing. The developer says the project aims to be "context sensitive to the historical and cultural components of the corridor, while working to realize the profound public benefit made possible by this project."