The Monarch data center campus near Point Pleasant is back in the public comment queue, and this round is bigger than the last one. WVDEP is taking comments through October 26 on two State Waters Permit applications that together describe roughly 28 acres of wetland impacts and close to three miles of streams in Mason County.
Monarch Cloud Campus, LLC has filed State Waters Permit applications SWP-26-0002 and SWP-26-0003 for two more data center buildings east of Ohio River Road near Point Pleasant. Comments are due to WVDEP by October 26, 2026, by email to DEP.Comments@wv.gov or by mail, and should name the permit numbers.
Two applications, a lot of water
The applications cover Data Center No. 2 and a revised plan for Data Center No. 3, each describing one data center building and four power nodes. Data Center No. 2 would disturb about 193 acres and affect about 0.09 acre of emergent wetland, 2,487 feet of intermittent stream, and 2,697 feet of ephemeral stream that are classified as federally jurisdictional, plus another 1.78 acres of forested wetland and 3,296 feet of ephemeral stream classified as state waters only. The revised Data Center No. 3 covers about 166 acres and lists roughly 5,018 feet of streams and 23.36 acres of wetlands as federal waters, with another 920 feet of intermittent stream and 2.98 acres of wetlands on the state side. The company says design changes avoided some streams and wetlands, a claim the agency still has to evaluate.
Approximate wetland impacts described across the two applications, along with nearly three miles of stream channel.
The mitigation math is not finished
Monarch plans to offset the losses by reserving and buying credits through West Virginia’s in-lieu fee mitigation program, but the reporting on the public record shows that documentation is not yet complete. The record also does not show permit approval, finished federal authorizations, or construction clearance. WVDEP can still ask for revisions, add conditions, or approve or deny the permits after the comment period closes, which is exactly why specific comments matter now.
How to comment
Comments are due October 26, 2026. Email them to DEP.Comments@wv.gov or mail them to the WVDEP Public Information Office, 601 57th Street SE, Charleston, WV 25304. Name SWP-26-0002, SWP-26-0003, or both in the subject line and opening, and point to specific pages, maps, or stream and wetland feature IDs where you can. Because WVDEP publishes a date but not a cutoff hour, sending early and keeping proof of delivery is the safe play.
Why it matters for the rest of us
In September, groups across the region weighed in on the Section 401 certification for this same campus, and neighbors have already reported flooding near the site. These state permits are a separate decision with their own comment docket, so the September letters do not carry over. Every data center proposal on the Ohio is setting precedent for the next one upstream, and a comment that cites a specific wetland by its feature ID is worth ten that do not.
Reported from W4NEWS (September 28, 2026), based on WVDEP public records, with background from the West Virginia Rivers Coalition (September 2026). Current as of October 9, 2026.
