Residents urge ban or moratorium on data centers, citing water and noise risks
Summary
Dozens of Smyth County residents told the planning commission they want either an outright ban or a moratorium on data centers, raising concerns about large water withdrawals, continuous noise, generator pollution and threats to farmland and tourism-dependent quality of life.
During the open-floor public comment portion of the hearing, speakers across generations urged elected officials to block data centers from the county or impose a moratorium while more study is done.
"I personally want data centers banned from our county," said Ashley Privet, who included a list of environmental and community concerns in her remarks. Multiple speakers repeated worries about water consumption, with one warning that large facilities "can consume up to 5,000,000 gallons of water a day," and others saying the industrial scale and continuous noise would damage rural quality of life and property values.
Speakers representing farms, hunters, young residents and recent arrivals said the county’s scenic character, low-density lifestyle and local businesses would not benefit from large-scale data center development. Several callers urged the planning commission to recommend either an outright prohibition in agricultural and agricultural-rural districts or a temporary moratorium until studies and binding protections are in place.
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