As the Caroline County Board of Supervisors exited closed session and was set to adjourn late Thursday night, there was one bit of important business to address.
The supervisors voted unanimously to direct the county’s staff to remove any mention of “industrial cooling” in its Virginia Department of Environmental Quality permit application to withdraw water from the Rappahannock River.
County officials are hopeful the removal of any business interests, including data centers, from the application will encourage residents of the surrounding counties as well as state legislators to support the water withdrawal project.
The county will go from requesting a maximum withdrawal per day of 13.9 million gallons to 9 million. The original application called for 7.9 million gallons per day on average, and that amount drops to 5.1 million gallons per day with the new application.
State Sen. Richard Stuart, who represents the county in the General Assembly, said in an email to the Free Press that he can support this application after expressing concern in a letter to the DEQ about the previous request.
“It is my understanding that the county is now seeking a permit for drinking water for the citizens, and yes, I absolutely support that and will help them every way I can to accomplish that,” Stuart said.
The shift in dropping those two words “industrial cooling” could also impact the motion filed by farmer Cory Garrett to invalidate the certificate of take the county used to acquire a portion of his land (11 acres) to build a water intake facility off Tidewater Trail. Garrett said one of his major issues was that the permit was to be used for industrial purposes.
“I still don’t know why it happened or how it happened,” Garrett said of the county changing its request. “Those are all questions that need to be answered before we do anything.”
A statement from the county Friday evening noted that the change is intended to remove the use of potable water to cool data centers. The release went on to state that withdrawal from the Rappahannock is “critical to meeting the long-term water supply needs” of the county.
“After a thorough evaluation and analysis, the board of supervisors determined that the Rappahannock is the county’s only viable long-term source,” the statement read. “Declining levels in eastern Virginia aquifers led DEQ to establish the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area to preserve groundwater resources. These regulations and limitations pose significant challenges to the county’s ability to identify and sustain groundwater sources into the future to serve a growing population and increased demand.”
It was also noted that in seeking to withdraw from the Rappahannock, county officials worked closely with state and federal regulatory agencies to minimize impact on the environment, and that the work to obtain a permit from the DEQ began more than 10 years ago.
However, during the public hearing in June in which the supervisors approved the withdrawal permit, dozens of residents from the county and surrounding area spoke out against the project. That sentiment continued during a DEQ public hearing in October, as Stuart and Del. Hilary Pugh Kent (R-Richmond County) expressed concerns, prompting the DEQ to suspend the permit process until more information could be gathered.
According to the county’s statement, the efforts to identify a reliable source to meet long-term water supply requirements started in June 2002 as the issue was discussed in the county’s Water Master Plan.
“The board’s decision [Thursday night] further demonstrates its ongoing efforts to balance the varying interests and concerns associated with a project of this scale, while continuing to protect the long-term interests of the citizens of Caroline County,” the statement read.
