Goochland nuclear reactor meeting to pick up next week after hundreds attend

GOOCHLAND COUNTY, Va. (WWBT) — Once again, the Goochland High School auditorium was filled with hundreds of people, this time at the planning commission meeting.

More than 300 people came out Thursday night, most opposing the Technology Overlay District (TOD) proposal.

The county wants to establish a TOD to attract data centers and other tech businesses like it. The county says will help bring in tax dollars.

Some of the residents tell 12 On Your Side they are not against the TOD; however, they are against some of the elements in the proposal.

“I respectfully request that we defer TOD proposal as the evidence shows today the county needs more time to research and modify,” a resident said during the meeting.

Nearly 80 people signed up to speak about the details that concerned them the most about the proposal. After a presentation, the planning commission opened the floor for neighbors, laying out the “house rules,” which included refraining from clapping, cheering and/or snickers during the public comment period.

The commission said public comment would continue until all speakers had the chance to speak, but it ended the meeting shortly before 11 p.m.

Not all speakers got an opportunity to speak by then, so the meeting will continue next week, Sept. 25, at 6:30 p.m. at Goochland High School.

Although the TOD could bring economic growth, the residents say if the proposal passes as is, it could have detrimental impacts on neighbors nearby. One major concern of the proposal includes establishing a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR).

“I am very concerned about the pollutions, the toxins and the poisons and speaking with the Sierra Club, they say even arsenic comes from the nuclear plant,” said another Goochland resident.

The SMR is also expected to be placed 1,500 feet from the Henrico border, which is drawing residents from that county to the Goochland podium.

“The proposed nuclear reactor is right on top where the epicenter of the last earthquake was,” said the Henrico resident. “So you can’t tell me this is an actual safe spot.”

Residents are also very concerned about the noise levels the data centers could bring.

According to the proposal, the decibel levels generated from uses on the property cannot exceed 65 dBA between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. and 60 dBA between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., as measured at any location within an adjacent residentially zoned property or mixed-use development with residential uses.

However, residents say this noise level should be brought down. Steve Levet, who lives in Goochland, tells 12 On Your Side he’s most worried about the inaudible noise from the data center’s cooling systems.

“People in Loudon County, who live near data centers, say they feel it, people are putting headphones on at night for white noise, moving their families into the basement to try to escape it, and there is no escape,” Levet said, “The CDC has said it can cause anxiety, it can cause stress.”

The residents asked county leaders to go back to the drawing board and come up with a new plan.

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