ASHBURN, VA – The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday night approved a proposal directing staff to research how the board could enact a moratorium on new data centers within its borders.
The proposal was put forward by Supervisor Julie Briskman (D-Algonkian).
Loudoun Now reports that County Attorney Leo Rogers said the county can't legally enact a moratorium on data centers, but that he could research ways other Virginia localities are finding to block development, even temporarily.
Rogers is to report back on the county's options in September.
Two other proposals related to data centers also passed. The board passed Supervisor Koran T. Saines' (D-Sterling) promised proposal to research how the county can regulate the way data centers use their backup generators. Most recently, county residents in Sterling had to deal with the fumes and noise of a diesel generator for nearly 24 hours during a heat wave and air quality crisis when the Vantage data center's power went down.
They also passed Vice Chair Michael Turner's (D-Ashburn) proposal that staff research how the county could mandate selective catalytic reduction and diesel particulate filters on all backup generators to reduce their emissions, according to Loudoun Now.
See more about data center battles here.
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