Google's Project Peanut data center in Chesterfield County has landed in regulatory trouble twice in a little more than a month, after the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality issued a second notice of violation on Oct. 30 following seven earlier violations reported on Sept. 29. The site, the first of three Google data center projects planned for the county, has become a test case for how the state polices rapid data center construction amid mounting environmental complaints.
DEQ's latest notice, issued after a follow-up inspection, accused the project's developer, Peanut LLC, of violating requirements under the Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Act, including rules governing on-site stormwater management and permits, according to WRIC ABC 8News. Regulators determined that some upland disturbances at the site began before downhill runoff controls, which typically include vegetation and silt fencing designed to prevent runoff, were properly installed. DEQ documentation and photos from late October showed sediment-filled water collecting near stormwater drains, the station reported.
The September violations were more extensive. DEQ cited the project for seven environmental violations stemming from seven separate incidents reported over eight months, involving unauthorized surface-water filling and unpermitted sediment runoff into nearby waterways. A DEQ report found that sediment had affected about 7,735 linear feet of stream channel, with deposits accumulating up to 12 inches deep in places, per the same station's reporting.
Google Points to Rainfall, Pauses Construction
A Google spokesperson said significant rainfall at the site overwhelmed existing stormwater controls and resulted in the sediment runoff, and that the company temporarily paused general construction operations to focus on cleanup, environmental protection and stabilizing the site. A DEQ spokesperson, for its part, said the agency does not comment on pending enforcement actions.
Peanut LLC was expected to formally respond to DEQ's findings, and the enforcement process could lead to a consent agreement requiring site rehabilitation and compliance improvements, the station's report noted. As Roanoke.com cautioned, the notices do not by themselves establish that the alleged violations have been proven or that the agency has imposed a penalty.
Virginia law sets out a clear threshold before any land-disturbing work can begin at a site like this. Under Virginia Code § 62.1-44.15:34, a developer may not conduct land-disturbing activity until it submits the required application and plans, or an agreement in lieu of a plan if required, and the relevant stormwater management authority issues land-disturbance approval.
Part of a Larger Buildout — and a Larger Fight
Project Peanut is only the first of three Google data center projects planned for Chesterfield County; the company also has two other planned projects in the pipeline known as Project Loche and Project Skye. The campuses have proven controversial locally because of concerns about their necessity and their potential effects on the surrounding community.
The scrutiny in Chesterfield comes as Virginia, often described as the data center capital of the world, grapples with the scale of its buildout statewide. The commonwealth has more than 400 operating data centers and about 280 more planned or proposed, according to Virginia Mercury. DEQ is separately studying whether areas east of Interstate 95 should be designated water-scarcity areas, a label that could limit development of data centers that rely on evaporative cooling.
Environmental groups have pushed further still, calling on the state to pause all new data center permit approvals and grid connections until stricter rules on water use, energy infrastructure and siting are enacted, per the same Virginia Mercury report. Enforcement actions elsewhere in the region show how these cases can resolve: in Hopewell, a chemical manufacturer, AdvanSix, agreed to a roughly $2 million settlement over repeated air pollution violations between 2021 and 2023, according to WRIC's reporting on that case. Whether Project Peanut's regulatory path leads to a similar settlement, or something else, remains to be seen.
