BOTETOURT CO., Va. – For Scott Yates, the land where his father built their family home by hand is more than just property – it’s sacred ground.
“I call this church. I’m not a particularly religious guy, but I can’t help but feel something when I’m on this property,” says Yates, a second-generation landowner in Botetourt County.
That sanctuary is now threatened by plans for a Google data center, which could consume up to 8 million gallons of water daily in a region where the Western Virginia Water Authority predicts needing a new water source by 2060.
“If we’re already planning to run out of water soon, why in God’s green earth are we trying to hook up another industrial user of this magnitude? It doesn’t make any sense,” Yates says.
The controversy has sparked the formation of the Southwest Virginia Data Center Transparency Alliance, which recently hosted a Q&A with the Western Virginia Water Authority. The group is circulating a petition demanding the project’s cancellation, citing concerns about both environmental impact and lack of government transparency.
“When our government officials do business behind closed doors without the opportunity for the public to give their point of view, we all lose out,” Yates says.
The push for transparency may be gaining traction. Newly elected Botetourt County Board of Supervisors members Linda Rottman and Tim Snyder are planning town halls to hear residents’ concerns. Neither supervisor responded to requests for comment.
Yates, who fears the data center could disrupt the peaceful character of his property.
“I swear if the data center comes in and takes this beautiful creek away from me or creates an ever-present hum on the horizon or a glow where the moon should be, that will just break my heart,” he said.
Yates said the issue is bringing together unlikely allies.
“Democrats, Republicans, independents are coming together to rally around a common cause, to learn more about this very impactful project in our backyards,” he says.
The Alliance plans to present its concerns at upcoming town halls, as they continue their fight to preserve what Yates calls his “piece of heaven” for future generations in Botetourt County.