Leading Conservation Organizations File Amicus Brief In Opposition to World's Largest Data Center Development

(Manassas, Virginia) — On October 3, 2024, six leading conservation organizations committed to the preservation of the nation’s battlefields and natural resources have filed an amicus curiae brief in support of a lawsuit to stop construction of the world’s largest data center campus immediately adjacent to the Manassas National Battlefield Park. According to the brief, the project “would inevitably lead to the irreversible and irreparable desecration of hallowed ground and the despoiling of the natural and cultural resources in Prince William County and across the Commonwealth.” 

The friend-of-the-court brief was filed Thursday afternoon in the Circuit Court of Prince William County by the Coalition to Protect Prince William County, Piedmont Environmental Council, National Parks Conservation Association, Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, National Trust for the Historic Preservation in the United States and Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks. The filing supports the nine residents and the American Battlefield Trust who have sued to overturn the December 2023 rezoning, which was rushed through to approval by a lame-duck Board of Supervisors despite the negative recommendation of county staff and the County’s Planning Commission and overwhelming public opposition. A hearing in the suit to determine if the case will be permitted to proceed toward trial is set for October 31.

The Prince William Digital Gateway — with 37 proposed data center buildings roughly the equivalent of 144 Walmart Supercenters — would sprawl across 1,750 acres immediately adjacent to the Manassas Battlefield and would require 14 on-site electrical substations for operation. The National Park Service has called it the most significant threat to the battlefield park in three decades. 

“The Digital Gateway promises to transform this idyllic portion of Prince William County into a buzzing hive of industrial activity, sucking up vast quantities of water and electricity and stretching transmission lines across the County and beyond,” the organizations wrote to the court. 

The organizations, with a combined membership of more than one million, said they are lending their voices to draw attention to the significance of the Manassas Battlefield and the decades of public and private action to protect it, as well as to provide historical context as the court considers the challenge to the rezoning. 

Manassas National Battlefield Park commemorates two critical battles of the American Civil War, the Battles of First and Second Manassas (Bull Run). Although the initial engagement is remembered as the first major land battle of the war, the second was more significant to its outcome and witnessed one of the most devastating and decisive assaults of the conflict. Together, the two battles produced nearly 27,000 casualties. While the presence of a national park demonstrates the significance of these battles, it is critical to recognize that important historical events occurred beyond its modern boundaries, some of which are slated to be the site of the Digital Gateway. The Congressionally created Civil War Sites Advisory Commission, in considering the state of all Civil War battlefields, designated the battlefields of First and Second Manassas among the most important for preservation and historic significance. 

Large-scale efforts to protect Civil War sites emerged at the turn of the 20th century, with the national park at Manassas formalized in 1936. A modern battlefield preservation movement began in the 1980s in response to the rapid suburban development in Northern Virginia. After NPS acquired 600 acres near the park, including the site of Robert E. Lee’s Second Manassas headquarters, in a last-minute deal to prevent it from becoming a shopping mall, more proactive methods for preservation were sought. In 1990, Congress responded by creating the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission to identify the nation’s historically significant sites, assess their condition and “recommend alternatives for preserving and interpreting them.”  

Threats of development to the Manassas Battlefield have persisted and increased. Since 2009, the American Battlefield Trust has taken action to acquire multiple parcels of historic significance in the area that will be impacted by the Prince William Digital Gateway. This includes 170 acres once part of Rock Hill Farm, an area that served as a field hospital during Second Manassas and likely saw the burial of many who did not survive the battle. Although significant effort was made to reinter the remains of the vast majority of those buried on the battlefield in more formal cemeteries, remains are regularly found on battlefields, including Manassas. The proposed Digital Gateway not only threatens these hallowed grounds, but the remains of those who fell and were laid to rest on the field. 

In their filing, the nonprofit organizations said the Prince William County Board of Supervisors were “duty bound to give due account to the historical, environmental, and other impacts of their decision,” but did not conduct the proper process or give due account for the will of the people they represent. The brief also noted the varying interests of the organizations in the filing, which demonstrate the diverse impact of the rezoning and the importance of the court’s decision. 

“Data centers are a fundamental part of the technology infrastructure that supports the modern economy, and they have a place in Prince William County and other localities in Virginia. However, given the enormous impacts they can have on the surrounding environment and nearby communities, it is essential that they be appropriately sited and scaled,” the organizations said. 

On December 13, 2023, Prince William County’s Board of Supervisors approved plans for the massive Digital Gateway complex, a data center campus in the narrow corridor between the western border of Manassas National Battlefield Park and Conway Robinson State Forest. After a 27-hour meeting that included public comment from hundreds of area residents, the final vote in favor was 4-3, with one abstention. In response, the American Battlefield Trust, which owns preserved battlefield properties adjacent to the rezoning, and nine residents filed suit to overturn the measure. The nonprofit organizations that submitted the amicus brief were active in opposing the rezoning. On October 31, 2024, a hearing will be held on motions filed by the County and the developers of the Digital Gateway to dismiss the suit. A decision is expected soon afterward. 

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Coalition to Protect Prince William County, https://protectpwc.org/, Elena Schlossberg, elenalouise@hotmail.com  703-587-0765

Piedmont Environmental Council, https://www.pecva.org/, Cindy Sabato, 540-347-2334 x7021, csabato@pecva.org 

Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (Preservation Virginia), https://preservationvirginia.org/, Jenna Affeldt, 804-404-6924, jaffeldt@preservationvirginia.org 

Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, https://protectnps.org/, Emily Thompson, 202-819-8622, Emily_Thompson@protectnps.org  

National Parks Conservation Association, www.npca.org, Kyle Groetzinger, 202-893-3391, kgroetzinger@npca.org  

National Trust for Historic Preservation, https://savingplaces.org/, Elliot Carter, 301-873-8520, ECarter@savingplaces.org