The Western Virginia Regional Industrial Authority, which is selling land in Roanoke County for a data center, announced earlier this week that it pulled out of a nondisclosure agreement with the buyer.
The authority’s initial statement did not answer why it chose to do so.
Asked that question by Cardinal News on Wednesday, the authority released another statement saying “communities across Virginia have raised concerns about transparency on data center projects, and the Authority wants to respond to those concerns.”
The authority also stated that it still has “ethical obligations” to “protect project information,” including the name of the buyer’s corporate parent.
On Sept. 11, the authority voted to initiate a purchase agreement with Clearview Dynamics for 94 acres of land at Wood Haven Technology Park, jointly owned by Roanoke, Roanoke County and Salem. It was later confirmed that the land, near the junction of interstates 81 and 581, would be used for a data center, with water coming from Spring Hollow.
NDAs have become a frequent topic of debate with data centers, as residents express concerns about the secrecy surrounding the projects — particularly at the start of the process.
During the Sept. 11 meeting, many members of a local advocacy group, the Southwest Virginia Data Center Transparency Alliance, spoke and acknowledged that there was little public information about the Wood Haven project available.
In a statement sent via text Wednesday, the alliance group said it suggests stakeholders “tell the whole truth from the start, rather than trying to obscure it from the public.”
Its statement questions what the “ethical concerns” cited in the authority’s statement are and when the public can expect full disclosure.
“To be clear, the community has spoken quite loudly that it does not want extractive industries, including data centers, in the area — especially when those ‘deals’ are negotiated behind closed doors,” the statement from the advocacy group said.
“Conducting public business without public oversight is antidemocratic. Furthermore, by continuing to withhold information from the public that we have already requested multiple times, they are violating the law.”
Kathryn Hatam, a member of the advocacy group, said Wednesday that it requested information through the Freedom of Information Act regarding what was discussed at the Sept. 11 meeting and more info about the NDAs, and “at every turn it felt like we were getting the run around.”
A spokesperson for Roanoke County sent a statement Thursday morning, saying that the county “wants to be as transparent as possible as this project moves forward, while also respecting the company’s ability to announce the project and its identity when the time is right for them.”
Megan Baker, economic development director, and Richard Caywood, county administrator, are Roanoke County’s two representatives on the authority’s board.
The statement compared the Wood Haven scenario to Publix, a grocery store being built in Cave Spring.
“We knew the company’s identity and the details of the project, but they wanted to wait and make the announcement on their own timeline,” the statement said of Publix. “We respected that decision, as we do with any company considering investments in our community.”
Roanoke Vice Mayor Terry McGuire, who spoke out at the Sept. 11 meeting and online, asking for more information and calling the meeting “undemocratic,” declined to comment on Wednesday. Roanoke Councilman Phazhon Nash, who also spoke out on social media against the proposal, also declined to comment on Thursday.
“The release means WVRIFA and its partners can now speak more openly about the project,” said John Hull, director of the Western Virginia Regional Industrial Authority, a coalition of area governments. “For example, WVRIFA can confirm that the project is a data center. Our earlier responses were accurate within the terms of the agreement.”
Hull said this doesn’t change anything about the purchase agreement that’s been initiated with the company.
A Tuesday statement from the authority said that localities that do not maintain the trust of potential businesses “face incredible reputational risk” and loss of opportunity.
Hull said that more information should become available to the public within the next 120 days.
