BOTETOURT COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) – A group of concerned citizens is pushing back against Google’s planned data center in Botetourt County, saying last week’s official announcement left key questions unanswered about water supply and infrastructure costs.
The Southwest Virginia Data Center Transparency Alliance was formed in response to the potential arrival of Google and other data centers in the region. Organizers said Google’s announcement was too vague when addressing community concerns like the eventual need for a new water source.
“They keep saying that they’re going to be paying for, like, the new water source. But there have not been any real specifics as to how that’s going to happen when the contracts state that Botetourt County is on the hook for so much of the costs of that,” said Ben Verschoor, an organizer of the Southwest Virginia Data Center Transparency Alliance…