A Botetourt County man who lives a half-mile from a property on which Google has plans for a 312-acre data center is has filed a suit against the county alleging violations of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act during the review and approval process.
“I filed this petition because I believe strongly that the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors should follow all rules of procedure and give citizens like me the chance to make our voices heard,” Botetourt resident Robert Dallas said Monday during a press event announcing the suit, which was filed in Botetourt County Circuit Court on his behalf by attorneys from Fishwick & Associates, Dooley Law and Munro Byrd.
The suit asks the court to declare void the performance agreement for the proposed data center approved last year because the Board of Supervisors did not properly disclose the substance of the resolution approving the data center agreement.
Dallas, who has placed some of his adjoining land, which contains the headwaters of Tinker Creek, into a conservation easement, said today that the BOS agreed to a performance agreement for the data center “outside of the public eye, in closed session, and then voted to adopt it without offering even a hint of what it was.”
“We believe the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors acted in error when they approved the county land sale to Google last year,” said Julie Bivins, co-founder of the advocacy group Southwest Virginia Data Center Transparency Alliance. “We hope this suit leads to more steps, like the beginning of a moratorium on data centers statewide so that we can get to the truth of the effects of data centers before they permanently affect our communities.”
The attorneys noted that the FOIA law requires a hearing within seven days, which will be held at the Botetourt County Circuit Court in Fincastle.
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Chris Graham
