DAVIS – Three groups have banded together to appeal the state Department of Environmental Protection’s granting of an air quality permit for a proposed data center and power plant in Tucker County.

The appeal was filed Monday by Appalachian Mountain Advocates on behalf of Tucker United, a grass-roots group of local citizens who oppose the Fundamental Data project, and the environmental groups West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and the Sierra Club.

“We’re taking the next step in this fight because we believe the WV-DEP wrongfully hid critical information about this facility and incorrectly classified the gas- and diesel-fired power plant as a synthetic minor source of emissions instead of a major source,” Nikki Forrester of Tucker United said in a Sierra Club press release.

An evidentiary hearing on the appeal has been set for Nov. 5 before the West Virginia Air Quality Board.

The proposed Ridgeline Power Plant would be a 500-acre natural gas power plant fueling a data center. The facility would be located between the towns of Davis and Thomas if constructed. Residents of those two towns have been voicing their disapproval of the facility for months.

Fundamental Data’s permit application was received by the state DEP on March 18, and approved on Aug. 13. The DEP’s Final Determination document notes that more than 1,600 comments were received during the public comment period, most of them against the project.

“There’s a lot of disappointment that the DEP approved the air quality permit,” Davis Mayor Al Tomson told The Inter-Mountain.

“Legal actions are being pursued by Tucker United and the town will participate, assist, and do anything that we can to help that process, so that we can look at still trying to prevent the power plant from being built right next to the town of Davis and city of Thomas,” Tomson said.

Tucker residents have complained that Fundamental Data has not released enough information about the project for them to make an informed decision about the issue.

“It’s really disheartening to see the lack of transparency from these companies and even the DEP and how they are handling these projects that are going to transform communities,” Forrester told The Inter-Mountain when the permit was approved. “We still have not seen and don’t have a good understanding of how the air pollutants from this are going to impact our community. We deserve to know what is going to be happening in our homes and how it is going to affect us.”

The Nov. 5 hearing will be available for viewing on Zoom by going to https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81157526305.