Versioned publication
A compact, citable account of how this project preserves permit records, transcribes agency monitoring tables and handles uncertain facility identities.
ABSTRACT
The paper documents three connected evidence layers: a normalized index of Virginia DEQ-issued data-center air permits, a direct transcription of the agency’s July 17, 2026 air-monitoring tables and a conservative candidate queue for EPA facility identifiers.
The method preserves source dates, units, source-table references and unresolved identity questions. It explicitly separates regulatory records from claims about construction, operation, emissions, compliance, exposure, ownership or harm.
This is a project methods paper, not a peer-reviewed journal article and not an endorsement by any cited institution or researcher.
RESEARCH PACKAGE
Each component can be inspected or cited independently. Checksums make later copies verifiable.
METHODS PAPERNine-page description of acquisition, transformation, quality assurance and interpretation boundaries.
RESEARCH WORKBOOKMonitoring statistics, sensor deployments, data dictionary and identity-review queue in one workbook.
EVIDENCE APPENDIXSource-linked, comment-ready modules for two open public processes; publication does not mean submission.
CHECKSUMSSHA-256 fingerprints for the published paper, appendix, workbook and source CSV files.
CITATION
Public Evidence Project. A Public-Records Method for Virginia Data-Center Environmental Evidence. Version 1.0, July 22, 2026. https://publicevidence.org/publications/public-records-method.
When a conclusion depends on an individual record or table, cite the controlling agency document as well.