{"id":1412,"date":"2026-08-14T20:48:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T20:48:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valcv26.wpenginepowered.com\/?post_type=valcv_release&#038;p=1412"},"modified":"2026-08-14T20:49:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T20:49:04","slug":"virginia-budget-fails-communities-sides-with-data-center-industry-over-environmental-protection","status":"publish","type":"valcv_release","link":"https:\/\/valcv.org\/es\/newsroom\/virginia-budget-fails-communities-sides-with-data-center-industry-over-environmental-protection\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia Budget Fails Communities, Sides with Data Center Industry Over Environmental Protection"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>RICHMOND<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 The Virginia League of Conservation Voters expressed deep frustration that the budget agreement released by the Virginia House of Delegates and State Senate on Friday once again fails to include meaningful environmental standards and safeguards for Virginia\u2019s rapidly expanding data center industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite growing concerns from communities across the Commonwealth about the impacts of large-scale data center development on water resources, energy demand, air quality, public health, and land use, lawmakers missed a critical opportunity to enact reforms that would better protect Virginians and the natural resources they depend upon. Delaying action only allows existing problems to worsen while the industry continues to expand at an unprecedented pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Michael Town, director ejecutivo de la Virginia League of Conservation Voters<\/strong>, emiti\u00f3 la siguiente declaraci\u00f3n:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWith this budget, the legislature has over-promised and completely under-delivered. Despite months of rhetoric about reigning in big tech and stripping away billions in tax breaks, lawmakers completely walked away from both promises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPutting together a budget is not easy work, and we recognize the dedication of the conferees and their respective staff, but this budget comes up short. Virginians need stronger protections for their air, water, public health, and quality of life \u2013 and they deserve them now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cParticularly egregious is the new budget language that will incentivize data centers to locate in low-income communities. Communities that historically do not have the resources to fight back against polluting industries should not be targeted for additional industrial development \u2013 especially without strong protections, meaningful community engagement, and rigorous environmental standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cVirginians are watching their communities be reshaped forever, their water resources diverted, and their electric bills skyrocket. We call on Governor Spanberger to make sure this budget puts our communities and voters first, and no longer at the mercy of the billionaires and trillionaire that run the data center industry. No more data center projects should be allowed to move forward until lawmakers pass the comprehensive solutions that Virginians deserve and demand.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RICHMOND&nbsp;\u2013 The Virginia League of Conservation Voters expressed deep frustration that the budget agreement released by the Virginia House of Delegates and State Senate on Friday once again fails to include meaningful environmental standards and safeguards for Virginia\u2019s rapidly expanding data center industry. Despite growing concerns from communities across the Commonwealth about the impacts of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-1412","valcv_release","type-valcv_release","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/valcv.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/valcv_release\/1412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/valcv.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/valcv_release"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/valcv.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/valcv_release"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/valcv.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/valcv_release\/1412\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1413,"href":"https:\/\/valcv.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/valcv_release\/1412\/revisions\/1413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/valcv.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}