Colleton County settles lawsuit, creating exclusion zone for data centers in ACE Basin
Colleton County reached a settlement with the Southern Environmental Law Center and residents that will create a Data Center Exclusion Area covering much of the ACE Basin. The agreement blocks the proposed Eagle Rock Partners data center campus from the roughly 850-acre site south of Walterboro and resolves a lawsuit challenging county zoning changes.
Colleton County has agreed to establish a Data Center Exclusion Area in its Comprehensive Plan, covering most of the ACE Basin within the county, including environmentally sensitive areas along the Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto rivers. The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed by residents Miles Crosby and Jennifer Singleton over zoning changes that had opened rural areas to large-scale data center development.
The agreement effectively prevents Eagle Rock Partners from pursuing its proposed 859-acre, 1,000-megawatt data center campus south of Walterboro. Residents and the Southern Environmental Law Center opposed the project over potential effects on wetlands, water resources and the region’s rural character, while county officials said the settlement could balance economic development with conservation and serve as a model for other South Carolina communities.