Amazon Comes to Warrenton – A Tale of Secrecy, Redactions, Bulldozing and Overwhelming Opposition
By Cindy Burbank
Executive Board Member, Protect Fauquier |
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For three years, an extraordinary David vs. Goliath battle has been playing out in the small town of Warrenton, Virginia. “David” is a determined band of citizens who want to preserve their historic town of just four square miles and 10,000 people. “Goliath” is Amazon, the second largest corporation in the world, which is determined to inflict a massive, noisy, energy guzzling data center on this small town.
It all started in February of 2021, when Amazon sidled into town and got cozy with the Town Manager, the Mayor, and most of the Town Council. Without a whisper to the residents, they cooked up a zoning amendment to allow data centers in the Town – despite a new Comprehensive Plan that made zero provision for data centers.
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The first meeting of the Data Center Reform Coalition in 2023.
Photo Credit: Hugh Kenny, Piedmont Environmental Council |
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Stay tuned. Do your own research. And join the Data Center Reform Coalition in resisting data center abuses and excesses.
Full Article
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Dominion Energy Data Center Public Hearing
WHEN: Thursday, December 5; 7 PM
WHERE: North Springfield Elementary School, 7602 Heming Court, Springfield, VA 22151 |
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The State Corporation Commission (SCC) application for the Plaza 500 data center substation and transmission line in Fairfax County will receive a local in-person public hearing. This project will have impacts for all of Fairfax County. A hearing outcome could be requiring the data center developers to cover the cost of these projects and not pass the cost on to resident ratepayers. This is the community’s opportunity to tell the SCC directly its concerns and ask them to deny this application. A denial or modification of the transmission line and substation application is an opportunity to stop the proposal or mitigate its impact on the surrounding community and environment.
SPONSOR: State Corporation Commission
Full information on the public hearing and about the proposal can be found at the SaveBrenMar website.
Please feel free to reach out to Tyler Ray, president@brenpointehoa.org, with any questions or for additional information.
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Volunteering is good for the environment!
We have new opportunities for volunteers in the Sierra Club Great Falls Group. See nine ideas here to find some that are a fit for you. Local volunteering
for the environment helps you and your community by:
- Cutting down on emissions by traveling close to home
- Giving you a sense of belonging in your own community
- Opening you socially to more people in your area
- Supporting local projects and people
- Teaching you more about your community and other ways to help
- The personal connections you can gain from volunteering locally can open you up to a wide range of advantages.
Not only will you make new friends but you’ll also be able to develop relationships in the long-term for as long as you live in the area. You learn more about what’s going on in your area, like events, groups and clubs, and more.
See the opportunities
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For the GFG weekly environmental events email, join the listserv here and select subscribe (or unsubscribe).
Sierra Club Outings |
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| The MeetUp group for Sierra Club Potomac Region Outings (SCPRO) is a special activities section of the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter. The group organizes hikes and other events in Virginia, DC and Maryland. No Sierra Club membership is necessary to participate. SCPRO welcomes all people on a variety of outdoor adventures, nature walks, conservation outings, and exploration of our natural and regional history. Join SCPRO MeetUp here |
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Ivy Main, Renewable Energy Chair for Sierra Club's Virginia Chapter
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Power for the People Virginia
Recent posts from Ivy Main's blog on energy-related matters in Virginia.
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