The disclosure and our analysis
Evidence dates
Evidence: DEQ Notice of Violation dated September 29, 2026, viewed October 12, 2026; WWBT 12 On Your Side report published October 5, 2026; WTVR CBS 6 report on the notice; VPM News report of July 29, 2026; Chesterfield County notice of an October 27 forum, posted September 24, 2026.
What the notice says
**Parties and permit:** Addressed to Peanut LLC, attention Aaron McGarry, sent by email to a google.com address. Project Peanut, Chesterfield County. Virginia Water Protection Individual Permit 19-1094, issued January 10, 2020 and modified several times, most recently April 9, 2026. [Source 1]
**Incidents:** Peanut LLC notified DEQ by email of unauthorized filling of surface waters outside permitted impact areas on December 30, 2025, March 2, March 20, May 28, July 1, July 31 and August 5, 2026. DEQ staff inspected the site on January 15, February 27, March 4, April 7 and August 13, 2026. [Source 1]
**Estimated impact:** About 7,735 linear feet of stream channel with up to 12 inches of sediment, about 0.75 acre of palustrine forested wetland and about 0.65 acre of palustrine emergent wetland with up to 2 inches of sediment. DEQ says it has not issued a permit authorizing these impacts. [Source 1]
**Late reporting:** DEQ lists five incidents reported between 3 and 15 days after they occurred and cites the permit's 24 hour notice requirement. [Source 1]
**Next steps:** DEQ asked for a response within 10 days to arrange a meeting. It says full compliance and remediation within 30 days may lead to administrative closure; otherwise it may pursue formal enforcement including civil charges. The notice cites statutory civil penalties of up to $32,500 per day of each violation. The notice says it is not a case decision. [Source 1]
Company response and context
Google said significant rainfall overwhelmed existing stormwater controls, that it temporarily paused general construction to focus on cleanup and site stabilization, and that most items in the notice have been addressed, according to WWBT. [Source 2] WTVR reports the response deadline is October 30. [Source 3] VPM reports Project Peanut is one of three Google projects in Chesterfield, with Projects Loch and Skye still awaiting state and federal permits as of late July, and a reported total investment of about $9 billion. [Source 4] Chesterfield County will hold a public data center forum with Google, Chirisa and Dominion Energy on October 27. [Source 5]
Buyer analysis
This is our analysis.
**This is a construction risk signal, not a capacity signal.** The notice establishes that site work has been under way and that DEQ is weighing enforcement. It says nothing about power, buildings or delivery dates.
**Schedule exposure is the open question.** Google's statement that general construction was paused is the item buyers should watch. The reviewed sources do not say when work resumed or whether the delivery schedule changed.
**Permits for the sister sites may face closer review.** Project Skye still needs a Virginia Water Protection permit, according to VPM. A violation record at a nearby project could lengthen that review. That is our inference, not a DEQ statement.
**Richmond area context.** The Richmond market draws hyperscale demand partly as an alternative to Northern Virginia. Environmental compliance and local sentiment are becoming part of the delivery risk for large self-build campuses there.
