Henrico County is home to nearly 40 data centers, mostly concentrated at the White Oak Technology Park in the county’s eastern Varina District.
As the data center industry continues to grow in Virginia, residents in the area have questions about how these developments affect their health.
County residents raised environmental and health concerns with representatives from the state’s Department of Environmental Quality last Thursday during a meeting hosted by Varina Supervisor Tyrone Nelson.
The meeting primarily focused on whether data centers are in compliance with the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, a federal law designed to curb air pollutants and major threats to the environment. The amendments require businesses seeking air quality permits to submit semi-annual reports to DEQ — or risk fines.
Tamara Thompson, program manager for DEQ’s Air and Renewable Energy Permitting Programs, discussed the department's role in evaluating and permitting projects in eastern Henrico.
“Today's meeting was a lot about introducing the process by which DEQ determines air quality and permits particular businesses,” Thompson told VPM News. “I think it's great that people came out tonight and asked questions. We'd like for people to be informed. We want them to be informed.”
Thompsons explained to residents DEQ’s role in monitoring and restricting air pollution and walked through the process of how data centers obtain their air quality permits. These permits are subject to a mandatory public comment period of 30 days prior to issuance.
Last year, DEQ issued permits to a development soon to be operated by Kansas-based QTS Data Centers. The company purchased a 97-acre property from LL Flooring last year and has since received approval for a 600-plus-acre data center campus in the Varina District, known as White Oak Technology Park II.
DEQ permits indicate the site will have access to over 400 generators. QTS has expressed a commitment to restricting diesel generator use outside of emergency situations and agreed to work with Henrico and DEQ to measure and monitor the air quality, but residents like Sharon Klein are still worried over the potential impact to the area.
“I think if you saw or heard some of the questions that were being asked, we just want some reassurance that our health is protected,” Klein told VPM News. “ Somehow, we don't quite feel that.”
Thompson emphasized the importance of public participation and transparency, noting that data centers have strict regulations and low actual pollution levels. Varina residents have been concerned about potential pollutants emitted by data center generators, but Thompson told VPM News DEQ has recently issued clarifying documents that further limit their use outside of emergency situations.
“Our regulations are pretty restrictive, so they can't run very often,” Thompson said. “They may have permit limits that allow for higher emission levels, but that's basically set up for emergencies.”
Thompson added that there should never be a situation where hundreds of engines are going to run for an extended period of time or all at once, but the cumulative impact of multiple polluting sources and industry sprawling still raises questions for residents like Klein.
“We know we're not going to kind of stop the data centers from coming,” she said. “We just want to be safe in the environment.”
Klein said she was happy to see Henrico’s Board of Supervisors take these concerns seriously in recent months. Aside from the one-on-one meeting with DEQ, the county tightened its zoning restrictions for data centers after evaluating amendments to its existing code.
Still, residents have emphasized the need for better communication between the county, state agencies and residents — particularly in Varina, a rural and predominantly Black community that was hit hard by the water issues in January and May.
Nelson, who’s represented the district for over a decade, said environmental justice has been more of a focal point in recent years, but is just one part of ensuring eastern Henrico is a healthy and equitable community.
“Over my past decade, I’ve tuned into that more,” Nelson told VPM News. “In order to create a community here, we have to make sure that it’s a healthy place to live.”
