A ruling from a Virginia judge let Caroline County continue its effort to acquire 11 acres from a farmer for planned water intake on the Rappahannock River.
Here's what to know
Caroline Circuit Court Judge Dennis Hupp refused to set aside the county's use of eminent domain against farmer Cory Garrett, the Fredericksburg Free Press reported. Hupp said water fits the definition of public use.
He wrote that "clearly the construction and operation of a water intake and treatment facility supplying water to the general public is a public use."
Under the county's proposal, untreated water from the Rappahannock would be moved about 35 miles to a treatment plant in western Caroline County. The county already had state approval to construct the intake and to withdraw as much as nine million gallons per day from the river, per the Free Press.
Garrett challenged whether the county followed the right process in condemning his Tidewater Trail property. His lawyer, Joshua Baker of Waldo & Lyle, argued that the July 22, 2024, taking was speculative because permits had not yet been issued, but Hupp found that the county was pursuing a present project rather than a future one, the newspaper noted.
Hupp further ruled that the county complied with Virginia law by mailing notice July 26, 2024, and that its $78,400 proposal for the 11 acres qualified as a good-faith offer.
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More background
County officials sought up to 13 million gallons a day and included "industrial cooling" in the application but later removed that language, the Free Press reported. Local rules prohibit data centers from using potable water for cooling. Even so, Hupp wrote that possible business benefits would not change the project's status.
"That eventuality does not make it any less of a public use," he said, according to the paper.
New public water systems can support households and routine economic activity, but they can also make it easier for large developments to move into an area. For rural landowners, that can mean farmland is converted in ways that reshape how the surrounding community grows.
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Separate lawsuits from the Rappahannock and Mattaponi tribes are pending, the Free Press noted.
What's being done?
Caroline County Director of Public Utilities Joey Schiebel testified that regulators told the county it needed to control the site before permits could be granted.
On the question of necessity, Hupp wrote that judges generally leave that determination to lawmakers unless officials have acted arbitrarily, capriciously, or fraudulently. He said none of that happened.
"The county has described the need in its resolution and certainly has not acted arbitrarily or capriciously," he said.
Baker may file a response, and the tribal cases could also affect what happens next.
"We're still in the process of formulating exactly where we go from here," Garrett told the Free Press. "They should've been honest. They should've been forthright. We're disappointed in the result, but we're regrouping on where to go from here."
Where can I learn more?
Around the country, communities are grappling with similar pressure on water supplies, electric bills, and public infrastructure.
• In Texas, residents warn AI data centers could drain water and raise power bills.
• Backlash is building as AI expansion threatens jobs, water, and electricity.
• In Wisconsin, We Energies sought a rate rewrite after Oracle's data center hurdle grew costly.
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