Contact
Kevin Ramundo, President, CFFC, ramundok@gmail.com
Julie Bolthouse, Director of Land Use, PEC, jbolthouse@pecva.org
Spencer Snakard, Protect Fauquier, Spencer.Snakard@gmail.com
WARRENTON, Va. (Oct. 21, 2022) – Next week, on Wednesday, Oct. 26, Citizens for Fauquier County (CFFC), Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) and Protect Fauquier (PF), will host a town hall event to explore the myths and realities of Amazon’s proposed Blackwell Road data center in Warrenton. The agenda will include everything citizens need to know while focusing on three key issues:
- Why the Blackwell facility would, if approved, be the first of many more data centers in Fauquier County;
- How the noise and vibration issues are more serious than the public has been led to believe; and,
- Why there should be serious concerns about how the entire situation has been handled by Amazon and town officials, including the lack of transparency.
The event, Our Community: More at Risk Than Ever, will take place Wednesday, October 26, at Highland School’s Michael A. Hughes Center for the Arts. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. EDT where attendees will have the opportunity to sign a petition in opposition. Presentations will commence at 7 p.m. EDT, and there will be time for questions and answers.
“It’s been a couple of months since our first Amazon town hall, and the list of concerns just gets longer and longer,” said Kevin Ramundo, President of CFFC. “Our organization has spent many hundreds of hours reviewing all available information about Amazon’s proposed data center and doing the due diligence that we wish town officials would do. We must prevent Warrenton and Fauquier County from going down the sad data center path so evident in Loudoun and Prince William Counties.”
PEC Director of Land Use, Julie Bolthouse added, “The more we’ve learned about Amazon’s data center proposal, the more concerned we’ve become about the lack of transparency in the process and the detrimental impacts to surrounding communities. And regardless of route, the transmission line proposed by Dominion to serve the data center would negatively impact gateways into the Town of Warrenton, historic and cultural resources, and residential neighborhoods. With an average height of around 110 feet, that overhead 230-kV transmission line would effectively industrialize any corridor it runs through. Adding insult to injury, it’s all of us, as Virginia ratepayers, who would end up paying for it, making it a subsidy to Amazon, one of the richest companies in the world, as well as Dominion.”
“We chose to make this region our home for what it is, not to be surrounded by industrial buildings, incessant noise, and monstrous transmission lines. If the proposed Blackwell Data Center is approved, it will inevitably lead to many, many miles of 110′ tall steel power towers littering our town and countryside, which will then justify approval of many more data centers to come,” Spencer Snakard, a PF spokesperson said. “Do not be fooled by Dominion’s maps indicating buried lines – it’s a PR stunt, and citizens should come Wednesday to find out why. You only need to look to our neighboring counties to know where this is headed. This fight is about more than one misplaced data center; it’s about protecting the community from the avalanche of additional data centers, substations, and transmission lines that will surely follow.”
Founded in 1968, Citizens for Fauquier County (CFFC) is the oldest non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the natural, historic and agricultural resources of the county. CFFC has hundreds of members who share our mission and who support us through their annual dues and donations. The organization is a major reason why Fauquier remains a unique place in northern Virginia that has successfully avoided the congestion and over-development in neighboring counties while maintaining its rural traditions. Learn more at citizensforfauquier.org.
Since 1972, The Piedmont Environmental Council has proudly promoted and protected the natural resources, rural economy, history and beauty of the Virginia Piedmont. PEC empowers residents to protect what makes the Piedmont a wonderful place, and works with citizens to conserve land, improve air and water quality and build thriving communities. PEC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and accredited land trust. Learn more at pecva.org.
Protect Fauquier was recently formed by concerned local citizens to fight the Amazon/Dominion Project. Within weeks the group created a website (www.protectfauquier.com) and Facebook community with over 900 members, and has acquired over 1800 petition signatures from Town of Warrenton and Fauquier County residents who oppose the project. The group’s mission is to preserve the beauty of Fauquier County, protect the community from data center, substation, and powerline impacts, and secure the value of our homes and land.