Pickens County initially approves temporary data center moratorium
Pickens County Council approved the first reading of an ordinance proposing a six-month moratorium on data center development. The measure still requires two additional readings and a public hearing before it can take effect, while officials develop a definition and potential regulations for data centers.
The Pickens County Council in South Carolina approved the first reading of a proposed six-month moratorium on data centers. The ordinance was amended to define covered facilities broadly, including sites housing servers, storage, networking equipment, cryptocurrency mining infrastructure, substations, generators, cooling systems and battery storage, while excluding incidental IT equipment associated with other primary uses.
The moratorium would give county officials time to study potential rules covering water use, wastewater, energy demand, air pollution, noise, setbacks and landscaping. Southern Environmental Law Center attorney Frank Hollman warned council members about the scale and impacts of data center projects, while council members discussed definitions, possible exemptions for smaller facilities and the possibility of a future prohibition. The ordinance must receive two more readings and undergo a public hearing before final approval.