The Piedmont News is an email digest of top news stories about conservation, land use, energy, and environmental matters of interest to the region. We hope you’ll share The Piedmont News with someone else who cares about these stories.
Heatmap
(June 5, 2026)
The national AI data center moratorium has momentum. As I’ve been documenting for months here at The Fight, data center opposition is surging across the country. Our latest Heatmap Pro poll, conducted by Embold Research, puts some very hard numbers behind that picture.
29 News
(June 3, 2026)
“Folks are concerned about the overall aggregate impact to land use, the changes to forested and farmlands throughout the routes, impacts to property values, development pressures down the road resulting from this line,” Barber said. “The bigger picture, I don’t think, has changed too much.”
The article quotes Piedmont Environmental Council Senior Energy Infrastructure Policy Analyst Michael Barber.
FFX Now
(June 3, 2026)
With the D.C. metro area now back under a regional drought watch, local officials have raised concerns about the ability of the Potomac River to meet the region’s long-term water needs.
An increasing population, proliferation of data centers, climate change and the possibility of accidents closing access to the river’s water are all threats, according to the general manager of Fairfax Water.
Business Insider
(June 2, 2026)
Mital Gandhi remembers watching the 2024 NBA Finals on TV at his home in Ashburn, Virginia, when he realized something wasn't right. Instead of hearing the ball bouncing or the intermittent squeaks from shoes on the hardwood, his ears could only focus on a constant hum. That hum, he said, came from one of the four data centers less than 2,000 feet away from his property.
Virginia Mercury
(June 1, 2026)
Data centers require a massive amount of water to cool their systems, which heat up as they process digital information through numerous computers and network servers. Systems that aren’t “closed loop” have to cycle out water that doesn’t evaporate. Most data centers in Virginia are permitted to discharge water...
Culpeper Times
(June 1, 2026)
Farm Credit has opened applications for its inaugural Young, Beginning and Small Farmer Grant Program, which will provide funding to 10 eligible farmers across its service area. The program will award 10 grants of $20,000 each to support farm improvements, innovation and business development efforts.
The Piedmont Journal Recorder
(May 30, 2026)
In response to devastating spring frost and freeze events that impacted crops across the Commonwealth, Governor Abigail Spanberger this week issued a request to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins, urging the federal government to expedite disaster assistance for Virginia farmers affected by the unseasonable cold.
The Washington Post
(May 28, 2026)
The 10,500 generators attached to data centers in Virginia produce enough pollution to harm public health even if used rarely, according to a new analysis of emissions permits for The Washington Post.
The Crozet Gazette
(June 4, 2026)
Crozet Park board members and volunteers are building momentum for the Crozet Park Aquatic and Fitness Center (CPAFC) expansion project as it moves from planning into a more concrete pre-construction and fundraising phase.
C-VILLE Weekly
(June 3, 2026)
A major objective in Albemarle County’s Comprehensive Plan is to “increase the use of infill, higher-density development, adaptive reuse, and redevelopment in the Development Areas.” That is a guideline, not a commandment, allowing elected and appointed officials to make decisions on a case-by-case basis.
Information Charlottesville
(June 1, 2026)
At their meeting on June 3, 2026, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors will be presented with an updated list of transportation priorities as ranked by county staff. There are a total of 169 projects and one purpose for the project is to guide use of the county’s Transportation Leveraging fund which covers the costs of local money required to match federal or state grants.
Information Charlottesville
(June 1, 2026)
The City of Charlottesville has invited companies to bid on a project to rewrite stormwater regulations in order to fit more houses on the landscape. Other aspects of the environmental review will cover flood management, tree canopy preservation, stream buffers, critical slopes, and energy efficiency.
Information Charlottesville
(May 31, 2026)
The master plan includes a map titled “Southern Urban Neighborhood Parks and Green Systems Plan” which depicts that greenway trail going south from 5th Street Station under I-64 and through land owned by the Mill Creek Homeowners Association. “Approval of this easement requires a two-thirds vote of approval by homeowners to allow the Board to agree to the easement,” voting began on May 6 at the annual meeting.
Information Charlottesville
(May 31, 2026)
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality [held] a public meeting Monday night to take feedback on a company’s request to renew a permit allowing them to apply treated sewage on agricultural land. The firm Synagro Central LLC had originally sought to add about 1,702 new acres of land to their list of places eligible to receive what the industry refers to as biosolids but this week amended its request and removed most of the new land.
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29 News
(May 29, 2026)
We love hitting outdoors. It's the perfect day for a bikeride today. As you look back on Bike Month coming to a close, what were some of the highlights for you?
This story is a conversation with Piedmont Environmental Community Advocacy Manager Peter Krebs.
The Winchester Star
(June 5, 2026)
Recent rainfall didn't get rid of the drought in the Northern Shenandoah Valley. Groundwater supplies are hurting. So are farmers dealing with "a tremendous loss" of hay they need to feed their cattle, according to a Virginia Cooperative Extension official.
Culpeper Star-Exponent
(June 4, 2026)
The Orange County Hunt Conservation Foundation, based in The Plains, recently announced the inaugural recipient of the Malcolm Matheson III Memorial Scholarship Fund.
The new initiative supports young conservation leaders through hands-on environmental education, wildlife stewardship, and conservation training.
Culpeper Star-Exponent
(June 4, 2026)
The board unanimously voted to send a letter to the electric grid operator, PJM, officially stating its opposition to the recently modified Joshua Falls to Yeat line, proposed to end in Richardsville with a substation. Richardsville Coalition spokesman Michael Reagan said Culpeper County officials did not learn of the change to Richardsville until earlier this year.
Culpeper Times
(June 2, 2026)
Dominion Energy officials defended the proposed Valley Link transmission project before the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors on May 19, arguing that rising electricity demand driven largely by data center growth is forcing the utility to expand Virginia’s transmission infrastructure.
Culpeper Star-Exponent
(June 1, 2026)
The constant beep, beep, beep from construction vehicles backing up travels from the wooded area across the railroad tracks to the back porches of homes in one of Culpeper’s oldest neighborhoods. South East Street residents fear it’s about to get louder as rock removal and blasting commences at the site of the Culpeper Technology Campus. The data center complex is approved for eight, 70-feet-tall buildings...
The article quotes Piedmont Environmental Council Land Use Field Representative Sarah Parmelee.
Fauquier Times
(June 5, 2026)
Fauquier County residents who are on public water are asked to stop watering their lawns and avoid washing their cars at home – or filling empty swimming pools – as part of new restrictions due to ongoing drought conditions.
Fauquier Now
(June 4, 2026)
A rezoning and special exception application in Marshall would further open the door to a 1.4-million-square-foot industrial park that abuts the Mountainside Montessori School, raising concerns from parents, teachers and community members.
Fauquier Times
(June 2, 2026)
Fauquier County has 23 villages, and one of them is for sale. The person behind a group of trusts that own most of the village is searching for a preservation-minded buyer who can afford to purchase the historic railstop, fix it up and save its buildings from the ravages of time.
Loudoun Times-Mirror
(June 5, 2026)
Loudoun County’s eastern region is a digital hub, known for the data centers that help keep America’s online life up and running. But drive westward, and about 8,500 rural Loudouners have been waiting for years to get connected to high-speed internet.
Loudoun Times-Mirror
(June 4, 2026)
The Washington, D.C., metropolitan region is under a drought watch, the Metropolitan Council of Governments declared on June 3. Forty percent of the Potomac River watershed is in severe or worse drought, according to a news release from the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin.
Bay Journal
(June 3, 2026)
PJM Interconnection, which operates the power grid in the mid-Atlantic region, found that in some scenarios Dominion won’t have enough energy for eastern Loudoun County by the summer of 2028. If a part of the power line system were out of service, PJM found Dominion couldn’t reliably provide 300 megawatts by then. The state commission said data centers are primarily responsible for the increased demand.
This article quotes Piedmont Environmental Council Land Use Director, Julie Bolthouse.
Loudoun Now
(June 3, 2026)
The Aspen substation proposed along Cochran Mill Road next to an existing substation is part of expanding power grid infrastructure expected to include multiple substations and transmission line links. But this substation and others have met pushback from Loudoun’s supervisors, frustrated over the impacts to community members and pushing for better locations, upgraded technology and design improvements.
Loudoun Now
(June 3, 2026)
A new committee will be set up to work on updates to Loudoun’s rural zoning regulations after the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved its creation. Supervisors largely agreed that the process needed to go faster, but were unsure if an ad hoc committee was the best method to achieve that.
Loudoun Times-Mirror
(June 3, 2026)
The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors has again deferred a decision on Dominion Energy’s Aspen substation, and is trying to shift the way the county looks at this kind of infrastructure.
Blue Ridge Leader
(June 3, 2026)
The Purcellville Farmers Market is now open every Saturday from May through October from 9 a.m. to noon in the Town of Purcellville parking lot at the corner of Hatcher Avenue and Main Street—and this year’s market feels less like a shopping trip and more like a weekly community celebration.
Loudoun Now
(June 2, 2026)
Perry and McAuliff expressed support for terminating the program early, calling it a value statement. Perry said the program initially involved a few million dollars of forgone tax revenue. Today, the program costs $1.9 billion. “It has blossomed and bloomed in ways that I don't think anyone foresaw,” she said.
Loudoun Now
(June 2, 2026)
The Loudoun County School Board will need to make a decision on whether to allow Dominion Energy to build a new transmission line across school property by July 2, the State Corporation Commission ruled on Tuesday. If it doesn't, the SCC will approved an alternate route that diverts west before reaching school property and cutting through the Loudoun Valley Estates neighborhoods.
Loudoun Times-Mirror
(June 2, 2026)
Plans to build a nearly 1 million square foot flex industrial park outside Purcellville can move forward after the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors approved a rezoning application June 2. Known as Valley Commerce Center, the project is proposed by Chuck Kuhn, owner of JK Land Holdings.
Loudoun Now
(June 1, 2026)
Addressing the growing demand for energy while mitigating impacts on communities will require innovation and collaboration, State Corporation Commission Chair Kelsey Bagot told Loudoun residents during a forum hosted by the county’s Environmental Commission on Saturday.
Loudoun Times-Mirror
(May 31, 2026)
Loudoun hosted its annual Energy and Environment Forum at the Academies of Loudoun on May 30, this time with an extra emphasis on energy problems and solutions. Eastern Loudoun is called the data center capital of the world for good reason. The data center boom in Northern Virginia and beyond is a leading cause of increased energy demand, as supply struggles to keep up.
The Piedmont Environmental Council Senior Energy and Climate Advisor Ashish Kapoor participated on this panel.
Loudoun Now
(May 29, 2026)
The NOVA Parks Board of Directors this week expanded of the operating hours for the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park to 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, effective immediately.
Loudoun Now
(May 29, 2026)
Leesburg leaders on Friday celebrated the completion of a $6.3 million project to install missing-link segments of sidewalks along Morven Park Road. Mayor Kelly Burk said the work has created new connections for the neighborhood.
Byrd Street
(June 1, 2026)
In the latest episode of the Byrdcast, I interview Benjamin Pennington, founder of Preserve Orange Alliance, a new citizen-led nonprofit designed to protect Orange County’s rural beauty and tranquility. The group’s first project is a big one: fighting off Valley Link, the behemoth behind the proposed high-voltage transmission line project that would stretch across nine counties and devastate the farms, forests and lawns in its pathway.
The Daily Progress
(May 30, 2026)
“Members and their pets should avoid contact with the water as well as any other activities that may pose a risk of ingesting water in the CLOSED AREA of Keatons Lake,” the Lake of the Woods Association said in a statement issued Wednesday. Exposure to E. coli can lead to abdominal cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, fever, nausea, fatigue and, in severe cases, kidney failure and neurological damage.
Rappahannock News
(June 4, 2026)
The presentation focused heavily on Rappahannock’s reliance on groundwater and private wells. According to the county’s 2011 regional water supply plan, most residents rely on private wells, and the plan warned that existing water resources “may not be sufficient” to meet future demand.
Rappahannock News
(May 31, 2026)
A generational shift in one of Sperryville’s major landowning families has closed most of the River Trail, leaving residents searching for a way to preserve their community hub. Clifford Miller III, 85, a supporter of the Sperryville Community Alliance and its trail, lives primarily in a retirement community in Richmond. Miller Properties LC, which owns more than 800 acres in and around Sperryville, is managed by his children and cousins.
The Piedmont Environmental Council has been a long-time partner and supporter in the creation and maintenance of the Sperryville Trail. Read about why this trail and others like it, is important to us in the follow articles:
Rappahannock News
(May 29, 2026)
The Rappahannock County Planning Commission voted unanimously last Wednesday to recommend approval of a one-bedroom tourist home in Sperryville, advancing an application that drew limited opposition and launched a broader discussion about how new state housing laws could affect accessory dwelling units and short-term rentals in the county.
InsideNoVa
(June 4, 2026)
Residents of eastern Prince William County are voicing their apprehension over the budding proliferation of data centers into their communities, with the tech hubs no longer confined to the western end of the county.
The Northern Virginia Daily
(June 2, 2026)
After sustained questions about water, noise, power and the future of Strasburg’s industrial park, the town is setting aside a night for residents to ask about data centers and hear answers in return.
The Town Council will hold a public forum at 7 p.m. Monday, June 15, in the old gym at Strasburg High School, 250 Ram Drive. Mayor Brandy Hawkins Boies will moderate.
This article mentions The Piedmont Environmental Council.
WVTF
(June 5, 2026)
"We need to make sure that we do not do anything to kill the golden goose. I really don't care about a specific industry," Scott says. "I care about keeping our word to businesses that we attract, and that we want to retain in the Commonwealth of Virginia. That's what I care about."
Virginia Mercury
(June 5, 2026)
For about 200 years, the Ashland Mill Dam blocked many fish from moving through the South Anna River. Without fish like herring to attach their larvae to, a freshwater mussel species known as the alewife floater disappeared from the waterway, making them “functionally extinct” in the area. The dam was removed two years ago and on Thursday, biologists and volunteers planted over 750 of the shelled critters back in the river to help them migrate upstream.
Cardinal News
(June 4, 2026)
The project by Charlotte, North Carolina-based TAC Data Centers would require more than a gigawatt — 1,000 megawatts — of power capacity and would consist of about nine to 11 buildings totaling 3.5 million to 4 million square feet on approximately 1,000 acres.
Axios
(June 4, 2026)
Virginia has spent years building the infrastructure powering AI, but researchers and residents are still trying to answer questions about what data centers mean for air quality, water systems and public health.
Fredericksburg Free Press
(June 4, 2026)
According to a DEQ notice of enforcement action, the DEQ fined ADS $72,067.80 for violating three conditions of its minor New Source Permit (mNSR) that was issued Oct. 30, 2024, and allows for 186 non-emergency and 15 emergency generators.
Fauquier Now
(June 4, 2026)
Picture this: You’re sitting along a quiet little beach, fingers sifting through wet sand and rocks. Then the sound of waves and laughter from children fade into the background as you suddenly see something black that resembles a tooth. You clean it off, hold it up to the sun and discover that you’re holding a fossilized shark tooth that no one has seen before. That’s the magic of Fossil Beach at Westmoreland State Park.
Virginia Mercury
(June 4, 2026)
Limited access to local meat processors is a persistent challenge for cattle and poultry producers in Virginia and elsewhere, they said. Production facilities that are USDA approved are often overburdened with the amount of work they have.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(June 3, 2026)
As Virginia regulators and legislators grapple with the impact of data centers’ huge demand for electricity on other ratepayers’ bills, Sen. Mark Warner is co-sponsoring legislation for a national approach. Among other things, the Power for the People Act of 2026 directs states to follow Virginia’s lead and consider setting special rates and conditions for data centers.
Fredericksburg Free Press
(June 3, 2026)
Residents who live on St. Pauls Road said their lives will be upended by the 500-acre Dahlgren West data center campus. But the project was approved unanimously last August, and the supervisors informed them that it’s a done deal.
The Virginian-Pilot
(June 3, 2026)
Sea-level rise has eliminated 25,000 acres of farmland from the Mid-Atlantic coast between 1984 and 2022, according to a study by William & Mary’s Batten School of Coastal and Marine Sciences and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Using a combination of satellite-imagery analysis and field work, the three-year study highlights a process called saltwater intrusion, which is landing impact on shores along the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay watersheds.
Virginia Mercury
(June 2, 2026)
Valley Link Transmission has released a new set of potential routes for the controversial project ahead of the first public meetings across the nine-county region that may be impacted by the 765 kilovolt, 115-mile transmission line. The power line will stretch from just outside of Lynchburg to Culpeper County.
The American Prospect
(June 2, 2026)
What residents see in exchange are higher electricity and water rates, a paltry number of new permanent jobs, and a host of unsavory environmental impacts, from the desecration of green spaces, erasures of wildlife habitats, and air and noise pollution. The public outcry has had a serious impact...
Cardinal News
(June 2, 2026)
When a massive electric transmission line was first proposed in February to run 115 miles across Central Virginia, Nathan and Leslie Brown learned that its route was drawn to go through a pond on their 50-acre Appomattox County property.U nder Valley Link’s latest revisions, the line wouldn’t run through the Browns’ pond. Instead, it would go through a cabin that Nathan has been building by hand for the past two years using timber cut and milled on the property, or through a nearby valley whose scenic beauty was a chief reason the Browns bought the land.
This article mentions The Piedmont Environmental Council.
Yahoo News
(June 2, 2026)
A proposed tech park in Virginia has been halted after months of local opposition, with residents warning that the development could put significant pressure on water, electricity, and the county's rural character. In a 4-3 vote, the Hanover County Board of Supervisors rejected the motions needed to move the nearly 430-acre project forward.
Fredericksburg Free Press
(May 29, 2026)
But the Stafford County Planning Commission on Wednesday night recommended denial of a data center project after almost two meetings’ worth of questions about the historical significance of the 99 acres on which it would sit. The commission agreed to defer discussion of the project, called the Potomac Creek Campus...
Bloomberg
(June 4, 2026)
Federal officials have suggested breaking up PJM Interconnection LLC, which runs the grid from the Illinois prairie to the Jersey Shore. New data centers are straining electricity supplies across the 13 states PJM serves, pushing up prices and fueling a political backlash.
Heatmap
(June 4, 2026)
Per Heatmap Pro’s latest polling, 45% of voters are “pessimistic” about the long-term impact of artificial intelligence on their lives, with just 22% saying they’re “optimistic” and about a third saying they’re unsure.
The Wall Street Journal
(June 4, 2026)
State’s largest utility is proposing a 45% electricity-rate increase for data centers and a 14.5% hike for households. No one is happy.
Oxford American
(June 3, 2026)
The 1.6-million-acre watershed known as the ACE Basin is more than a natural landscape. It is a movement that continues to grow and evolve as more folks buy into the shared vision and more property in the project area is conserved. It is a unique brand of South Carolina nature preservation and one of the South’s greatest conservation success stories. A tiny yellow sign threatened to bend the plot in an entirely different direction.
Politico
(June 2, 2026)
The New York Legislature appears poised to move forward with a one-year moratorium on new large-scale data centers. The measure could make New York the first state in the country to enact a statewide ban — if Gov. Kathy Hochul signs it.
Business Insider
(June 2, 2026)
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella used a conference keynote on Tuesday to defend against one of the biggest challenges to the company's massive AI datacenter buildout: Community backlash. Microsoft in January released a plan to build what the company called "community-first" AI infrastructure, making promises including that its data centers won't raise electricity rates for residents.
The Atlantic
(May 29, 2026)
Data centers are quickly becoming the most polarizing buildings in America. On this episode of Galaxy Brain, Charlie Warzel speaks with the reporter Jael Holzman about the backlash to the buildings powering the AI boom. Why have data centers become controversial? What are the environmental, economic, and political impacts? How does the backlash track along left/right party lines? This episode demystifies the data-center fight.
Stateline
(May 28, 2026)
Hearing backlash from residents, cities and counties across the country in recent weeks have blocked planned data centers amid concerns over rising electricity prices and environmental harms.
