Sign the petition telling the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to listen to Southwest Virginia residents and reject MVP Boost!

Tell FERC - Reject the Mountain Valley Pipeline Expansion

Local organizing stopped a major fossil-fuel project in Virginia—for now. Help make sure federal regulators do not revive it. Sign the letter to reject the MVP Boost!

actionnetwork.org

Tonight! Join us to learn how we're still fighting back!

Drew Hudson@wealsoherdcats.com · 4d ago

Join us & friends from @powhr.org @7directionsof.bsky.social & @sierraclub.org for the next Vs Goliath film screening. This month, Appalachia Vs Goliath tells the story of the Mountain Valley Pipeline and the people who fought back. Learn More: www.198methods.org/2026/08/01/c... RSVP: bit.ly/4xjHNRe

A POLITICO investigation raises serious questions about how Virginia regulators handled concerns over air pollution. www.politico.com/news/2026/07...

Emails show how Virginia regulators downplayed data center health concerns

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality stepped into a fight over powering AI facilities with natural gas turbines. It could shape the industry’s future.

politico.com

Data centers have been building diesel generators and natural gas power plants without proper permits by registering as "minor" air polluters under the Clean Air Act, requiring less scrutiny than if they had applied for "major source" permits. insideclimatenews.org/news/2207202...

Environmental Groups Contest Texas Data Centers’ Air Pollution - Inside Climate News

Three environmental groups sent two San Antonio data centers a notice of intent to sue for failing to secure permits as major air polluters.

insideclimatenews.org

RVA: People are organizing against the Dominion/NextEra merger. It would be the largest electric utility merger in American history, and it would hand NextEra control over which data centers get connected to the grid, and how fast. NextEra also owns a big chunk of Mountain Valley Pipeline.

Rally & Press Conference: Virginians Say No to the Utility Merger

Virginia families are about to get stuck with the bill for an out-of-state corporate takeover. NextEra wants regulators to approve its acquisition of Dominion Energy, and ratepayers like you will be...

actionnetwork.org

"POWHR organizers also point to a presentation MVP’s developer EQT gave to investors last year, citing data centers as one of the driving factors leading to an increased demand for electricity across Virginia and the Southeast." www.wvtf.org/news/2026-07...

MVP defends safety of Elliston compressor station in letter to FERC

The Mountain Valley Pipeline filed a letter Friday with the federal government, defending their plan to build a compressor station in Montgomery County.

wvtf.org

Michael chats with POWHR community organizer Crystal Mello and community science manager Seferina Olivo about POWHR's fight against Mountain Valley Pipeline and environmental justice in Southwest Virginia. www.buzzsprout.com/701335/episo...

Buzzing about the power of POWHR: Environmental Justice nonprofit's win over Mountain Valley Pipeline - Buzz4Good! Nonprofits + Marketing

On today’s show, BUZZ creator Michael Hemphill is buzzing about the power of POWHR (Protect Our Water Heritage and Rights). Whenever nonprofits have to go up against big for-profit companies it’s...

buzzsprout.com

"Burning methane makes the air, water, and soil hotter, displaces land and waterways we need for food, and destroys native habitat forever. ...... There is no amount of tax revenue that can buy back our farms, forests, and rivers." powhr.org/blog/swann-c...

Swann Compressor Station, or Food For a Million People? — POWHR

Local Montgomery County resident reflects on the Eastmont community garden as vital community infrastructure and the harms and risks associated with the proposed Swann Compressor Station.

powhr.org

“The safety concerns in Elliston and Lafayette are at an all-time high,” said Penny Artis, an impacted community member in Lafayette, Virginia. powhr.org/blog/communi...

Community Organizing Forces Stoppage of Air Permit for MVP Boost Compressor Station in Elliston, Virginia — POWHR

Press Release on July 2, 2026 - Virginia DEQ has stopped processing the air permit for the proposed Swann Compressor Station.

powhr.org

Organizing did this. Years of showing up, speaking out, and refusing to back down is how we win.

US data centers for AI tend to run on more fossil fuels than renewables → they produce proportionally more climate pollution → which is supersizing extreme weather → which is now the #1 risk to data centers themselves. The very definition of "coming right back around to bite you."

The AI boom is colliding with a new threat: Severe weather

Heatwaves and severe weather are raising risks for AI data centers, from grid strain to higher insurance and repair costs.

cnbc.com

"If it’s this bad now, how bad would it be if the Google data center coming to Botetourt County were already here and drinking down its contracted 2 million gallons per day?" via .@cardinalnews.org (4 part series)

Carvins Cove is at one of its lowest levels in the past four decades. Here’s why this is different from previous droughts.

The big difference between this year’s drought and previous ones is that the Roanoke Valley’s water systems are connected now. That puts this year’s drought in a different categor…

cardinalnews.org

Fighting multibillion dollar corporations with $15,000 in grassroots fundraising and winning. #ClimateSky 👉 www.every.org/protect-our-...

With the forecast today shaping up the same as yesterday, we're erring on the side of safety and postponing the Circle of Protection. Watch this space for a new date!

PAUSE!! Here's some Good News! The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has PAUSED the air pollution permit process for the MVP Boost project! 🧵

🧵We're gaining momentum and very close to reaching our goal of $15,000 to support air, noise, and water monitoring near the proposed MVP Boost Swann Compressor station site! Read the update here. 👇 mailchi.mp/c629563ff58f...

While many localities are rushing to bring in data centers, they are failing to update policies that limit or manage how much water these facilities can consume during a water crisis like the one Virginia is facing right now. virginiamercury.com/2026/06/22/a...

Amid statewide drought conditions, data centers face same restrictions as all water customers • Virginia Mercury

Most localities in the state don’t have specific standards to manage water conservation for the digital facilities during dry periods, which use massive amounts of water daily.

virginiamercury.com

ICYMI: "...the county passed a resolution stating that 'the Board of Supervisors hereby oppose the Boost Project from being located in the Elliston Community.'" #NoMVPBoost Organizing did that. roanoke.com/news/local/b...

County contradiction halts Mountain Valley Pipeline compressor station permit

A contradiction between Montgomery County actions has halted permitting for Mountain Valley Pipeline’s proposed Swann Compressor Station, leaving the project without an active air permit application.

roanoke.com

As we celebrate Juneteenth, here's some good news.

"Community meeting planned for June 30 to discuss impact on water, electricity costs." www.wvva.com/2026/06/08/m...

Monroe County residents raise concerns about potential data center

With rumors of a possible center being built in Monroe County, residents are concerned about what this means for their way of life.

wvva.com

Along with pollution, data centers produce a large amount of e-waste due to the constant development of faster microchips. Discarded microchips and other electronic equipment will end up in landfills where chemicals, including PFAS, are released into the environment. www.eesi.org/articles/vie...

Tonight! Doors open at 6:00. Join us for a special screening and the West Virginia debut of the documentary VS. GOLIATH: Appalachia, part of the award-winning series, at 7:00 PM on Thursday, June 11th at The Ritz Theatre - Cinema & Performing Arts, located on 211 Ballengee St, historic Hinton, WV.

New from @selc.bsky.social: "Methane gas is bad for the South."

Methane gas is bad for the South

Methane is a greenhouse gas that has a destructive footprint on the environment. Learn more about the negative effects of methane gas.

selc.org

Join us for a special screening of Vs. Goliath! 7:00 PM on Thursday, June 11th at The Ritz Theatre 211 Ballengee St, historic Hinton, WV.

"Expanding facilities are drawing heavily on water supplies, sometimes amid drought conditions." news.un.org/en/story/202...

AI’s environmental costs threaten water, land and climate

Artificial Intelligence is not only responsible for worrying amounts of earth-warming greenhouse gases: the technology's environmental footprint is also expanding at a pace that could strain the plane...

news.un.org

This is a long but very detailed and informative article on how data centers are negatively impacting the lives of Virginians. Read it here: prospect.org/2026/06/02/j...

Take This Data Center and Shove It - The American Prospect

Americans ain’t puttin’ up with these things no more. Welcome to Virginia, ground zero for data center defiance.

prospect.org

Please join us for a special screening and the West Virginia debut of the documentary VS. GOLIATH: Appalachia, part of the award-winning VS Goliath series, at 7:00 PM on Thursday, June 11th at The Historic Ritz Theatre - Digital Cinema & Performing Arts, located on 211 Ballengee St, Hinton, WV.

The Don’t Mine the Mon coalition banded together to stop a #CoalCompany from using a haul road through the Monongahela National Forest to transport coal to a railroad facility about 20 miles away in Rupert, West Virginia. Read more in The Appalachian Voice! ✍️: Dan Radmacher

Coalition Stopped Mining on the Edge of the Monongahela National Forest — for Now

A coalition banded together to stop a coal company from using a haul road through the Monongahela National Forest to transport coal to a railroad facility about 20 miles away in Rupert, West Virginia.

appvoices.org

The Mountain Valley Pipeline Mainline is a 303-mile, 42-inch fracked gas pipeline.... From the outset it was wildly opposed by landowners, farmers, neighbors, activists, and enough impacted folks to form local groups representing their communities to say “No!” cardinalnews.org/2026/06/04/p...

Pipeline opponents: A compressor station doesn’t fit rural character of eastern Montgomery County

The Swann Compressor Station is an unfit industrial imposition on Montgomery County. It would add air pollutants that include formaldehyde and benzene. It would produce noise and sound impacts on p…

cardinalnews.org

"In Virginia, revised permitting guidance now challenges the assumption that hyperscale backup generators are rarely used, reflecting growing community concerns over emissions as AI-driven load growth strains the grid." www.datacenterknowledge.com/data-center-...

New Data Center Developments: June 2026

We look at some of the latest data center developments announced over the past month.

datacenterknowledge.com