
After a White Town Rejected a Data Center, Developers Targeted a Black Area
News ClipCapital B News·Walterboro, Colleton County, SC·1/6/2026
Residents in Colleton County, South Carolina are fighting a proposed data center complex and gas power plant that would replace woods and wetlands in their predominantly Black community. The project was proposed after developers failed to build a similar campus in a predominantly white county in Georgia. Residents are concerned about the environmental and health impacts, including water usage, air pollution, and property values.
zoningenvironmentalelectricitywater
Gov: Colleton County Board of Supervisors, South Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Trump administration
Four million Americans live within 1 mile of a data center. The communities closest to them are “overwhelmingly” non-white.