Settlement bans data centers in most of Colleton County’s ACE Basin area
A settlement between Colleton County and the Southern Environmental Law Center prohibits data center development across most of the county’s ACE Basin area, including the site of the proposed Eagle Rock complex. The agreement resolves a lawsuit challenging the county’s data center zoning changes, while a previously approved six-month moratorium and related power and pipeline proposals remain part of the broader debate.
Colleton County has agreed to create a Data Center Exclusion Area covering most of the county’s ACE Basin watershed. The exclusion zone includes an 850-acre site where Eagle Rock Partners had proposed an approximately 859-acre, 1,000-megawatt data center complex. The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of landowners Jennifer Singleton and Miles Crosby, who challenged county zoning changes allowing data centers in rural areas.
SELC South Carolina Office Director Chris DeScherer described the agreement as a major environmental victory, while local landowners said it would protect their properties and the ACE Basin’s rivers, wetlands and rural communities. The exclusion area does not cover all of Colleton County, and other regional infrastructure proposals remain under consideration, including a Santee Cooper and Dominion Energy gas plant near Canadys and the Elba Bridge Pipeline. Colleton County also previously approved a six-month data center moratorium and considered a digital infrastructure overlay amid continuing community concerns.