A Nov. 18 community forum has been set for Russell County residents who want to know more about the three or four data centers planned for the former Moss No. 3 coal mine site near Cleveland.
Oasis Digital Properties, the Northern Virginia-based data center developer behind the project, will hold the forum in the conference room at the county government center at 139 Highland Drive in Lebanon, Laura Gilmer, director of the county’s industrial development authority, said in a phone interview.
Ross Litkenhous, co-founder of Oasis, said the company is still working on the agenda, but the plan is to have a presentation on anything Oasis has done to date and answer questions from the community. He said he will also commit to appear before the community again before any construction begins.
“We’re still very early in the process. We’re not ready to put shovels in the ground,” he said in a phone interview. “This is not a presentation where we say we’re ready to break ground tomorrow… we want to listen to them before we get to the point.”
Three or four data centers could be coming to the site, a historic coal mine that was recently the site for a proposed landfill. That project was eventually rejected by county leaders, and now the data center campus is on the table as part of a deal between Oasis and the IDA.
The agreement says the authority retains control of the property while Oasis takes the next steps to develop it, Litkenhous told Cardinal News. That development is contingent on finding companies to occupy the buildings.
Russell County IDA members and other county officials have not answered questions about the project, citing a nondisclosure agreement with Oasis. The IDA denied a Freedom of Information Act request for documents and communications related to the project sent by Cardinal News, citing the agreement and exemptions under Virginia Code.
Litkenhous said the IDA asked his team members if they would be willing to come down to share more about the project. Gilmer declined to comment further on the project but reiterated what she said at last week’s IDA meeting.
“We were questioned about the details, and it really is, we can’t confirm details because they’re not there yet,” she said. “It’s not a project that’s finalized.”
Litkenhous said there are no major updates on the project, and the developer is still working to match with companies that would occupy the buildings.
“I hope by the time we get to the November meeting, we will have more substantive updates,” he said. “We understand this is a big deal for the community.”
Since learning about the plans for the data center, some county residents have spoken out against the project. A protest is planned for Saturday, following the first held on Oct. 3. On that day, 10 people stood at the corner of Church Avenue and Main Street in Lebanon, holding signs and asking those driving by to sign a petition opposing the project.
“No data centers in Russell County … NDAs do not belong in our local government. We have a right to know what’s going on at Moss 3,” Donna Ball, a resident of Cleveland, said through her megaphone.
She asked questions at the last county board of supervisors meeting and did not get a response, she said. She was also part of a group of 12 who attended the IDA’s meeting last week and spoke against the project.
The group cited concern over the potential impact on the Clinch River, whether there would be noise that would disturb the peace near Cleveland, the use of nondisclosure agreements and low tax rates set by the county. Russell County passed a machinery and tool tax in December 2025 at 24 cents per $100 of assessed value, an incentive to encourage development.
“If you’re going to do it, do it to the best of [your] ability,” Amy Branson, a pharmacist from Castlewood, told the IDA. She encouraged its members to pursue an aggressive agreement, including a “fair tax rate,” and prepare for the power demand to ensure the cost doesn’t fall on residents. Litkenhous said Appalachian Power has untapped electricity capacity and confirmed it could provide 300 megawatts to the site.
Residents brought up the bad taste they still have from past large land projects, including the failed landfill proposal and the fish farm project on the Russell-Tazewell County border that has been paused due to tariffs and gas prices. But some also noted appreciation for getting to have a back-and-forth with the IDA and said they understand the county budget is strained and solutions are needed.
Still, as they heard plans for the community forum, Betsy Dickenson, a resident from Cleveland, said, “This sounds like what we went through with the trash dump.”
