Public hearing, petition set for public input on Lowcountry data centers

Environmental groups, including the Coastal Conservation League (CCL) and the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), are actively encouraging residents of Colleton County, South Carolina, to oppose a proposed "digital infrastructure overlay." This measure, which has already received initial approval through a first reading by the Colleton Co. Planning Commission and Colleton Co. Council, is seen by opponents as a tactic to enable data center development without public notice or a public vote, directly conflicting with a six-month moratorium on data centers recently enacted by the C.C. Council in July.

Critics express significant concerns that the proposed overlay could green-light massive data centers, including a one-gigawatt facility, which would demand as much electricity as one million homes. They also fear it would permit the construction of polluting on-site power plants in vulnerable rural areas. Robby Maynor, Policy Advocate for SELC, highlighted that the policy, as currently written, could be applied to over 72% of the county's land, potentially transforming rural Colleton County into a hub for new polluting data center development, especially given the proposed Kinder Morgan interstate gas pipeline.

A public hearing on the proposed overlay is scheduled for Monday, September 14, at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers in Walterboro. Both the CCL and SELC are urging the public to attend and make their voices heard, advocating for transparency, accountability from local representatives, and protection of natural and rural landscapes. The CCL has also organized an online petition for residents and those who value the ACE Basin's natural environment. A representative for the C.C. Council has not yet responded to requests for comment.