Judge dismisses Valara zoning lawsuit; SELC presses formaldehyde dispute
A judge dismissed the Southern Environmental Law Center’s lawsuit challenging Spartanburg County’s handling of the Valara data center’s zoning classification. SELC plans to appeal, while a separate dispute over formaldehyde emissions and the project’s air permit remains under review by South Carolina environmental regulators.
A South Carolina judge dismissed the Southern Environmental Law Center’s lawsuit against Spartanburg County over the approval process for the Valara data center. The court found that SELC had not first appealed the county’s permitting decision to the Board of Zoning Appeals, without deciding whether the project violates the county’s zoning ordinance. SELC attorney Catherine Wannamaker said the group expects to appeal and argued that residents were denied meaningful opportunities to challenge the project.
SELC is also contesting Valara’s air permit before state authorities. The dispute concerns revised estimates of formaldehyde emissions from natural-gas turbines planned for the facility. The South Carolina Department of Environmental Services issued a synthetic-minor permit in September and says the project remains within applicable hazardous-air-pollutant limits, while it reviews SELC’s request to reopen public comment. The data center is under construction, but air emissions have not yet begun.