Briefing for Preservation Advocates in Suit to Overturn Prince William Digital Gateway Rezoning

(Prince William County, VA) — A panel of Virginia environmental and historic preservation experts will gather at 10 a.m. on Monday October 28, for a virtual briefing to advocates and press ahead of a critical October 31 court hearing in the case against the Prince William Digital Gateway. The project, which would be the largest data center complex in the world, stands to be built on a historic landscape immediately outside Manassas National Battlefield Park.  

Last December, a lame duck County Board of Supervisors approved rezoning for the project through a flawed process. The American Battlefield Trust and nine citizen plaintiffs filed a lawsuit to overturn the vote, and have been joined in their opposition by a group of six leading conservation groups that filed an amicus curiae brief in the matter. The case’s first step in court will come on October 31, when a judge will hear arguments over whether it should proceed to trial.  

During the virtual briefing, experts will discuss the mechanics of this Demurrer hearing and logistics for press and other attendees. Broader implications of this project and overall impacts of poorly sited data centers will also be covered. 

WHAT: Briefing about Prince William Digital Gateway Demurrer Hearing 

WHO: Leaders from American Battlefield Trust, Coalition to Protect Prince William County, National Parks Conservation Association, Piedmont Environmental Council, other Amicus Curiae groups and the Sierra Club