Data centers are energy-intensive, running servers around the clock to power streams of computer computations. (Image: Adobe Stock)
Community groups and Walnut Grove residents in Stokes County are suing the county to block a large hyperscale data center complex, known as Project Delta, that they say will harm environmentally sensitive areas along the Dan River corridor, damage sacred cultural sites and threaten the region’s rural character.
The lawsuit claims the Stokes County Board of Commissioners inappropriately approved a zoning map amendment and zoning text amendment to pave the way for the data center without following procedures required under state law.
The lawsuit was filed in Stokes County Superior Court by the Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) and Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), and announced at a news conference Friday.
Anne Harvey David (Photo: Southern Coalition for Social Justice)“This lawsuit isn’t suggesting that the county should be anti-tech or anti-development, but it must be done smartly, deliberately, equitably, according to law, and with some attempts at foresight,” said Anne Harvey David, an environmental justice attorney at SCSJ, “not simply buying into the pie-in-the-sky hype and grandiose speculation to fill the pockets of developers and tech investors while the community of Walnut Cove again pays the cost.”
In January, commissioners narrowly approved the controversial rezoning of more than 1,800 acres along the Dan River at the request of property owner David Couch, a High Point developer. The data center would be built by Charlotte-based Engineered Land Solutions. NC Newsline was unable to reach the developer.
The lawsuit claims commissioners overrode their own planning board’s recommendation against rezoning, and made their decision prematurely before a data center operator was identified or details about the project’s scale were available.
In a statement Friday, Stokes County acknowledged the lawsuit.
“We recognize that land-use decisions can have significant impacts on residents, and the County remains committed to transparency, public participation, and the fair administration of all zoning and planning processes,” the county said. “Stokes County will not comment on specific allegations contained in the complaint at this time, but will provide additional information when appropriate and permitted.”
The plaintiffs say commissioners’ decision to allow data centers in the county’s heavy manufacturing districts threatens more than a dozen sites across the county that have remained largely rural.
Megan Kimball (Photo: Southern Environmental Law Center)“Data centers bring significant impacts — from air, noise, and light pollution and massive energy demand, to pressure on local water resources and land,” Megan Kimball, senior attorney with SELC, said in a news release.
In addition, the plaintiffs say the county’s approval process was “flawed from the start” because commissioners never gave the required public notice about the zoning changes and failed to assess the potential environmental impact of the rezoning. They say the area includes sacred sites tied to Saura tribal history and the Hairston Plantation, where descendants of those enslaved on the property still live and maintain cemeteries nearby.
“For Indigenous people of this region, the Dan River corridor is not just land — it is a living cultural landscape tied to the Saura and other Siouan-speaking nations who have lived along these rivers for centuries,” said Crystal Cavalier-Keck, co-founder of 7 Directions of Service, an indigenous-led organization focused on environmental justice.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to throw out the Project Delta rezoning, void the decision by commissioners to allow data centers in any area zoned for heavy manufacturing, and block the county from implementing those decisions.
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