MORNING HEADLINES  |  More than 850 acres of land are currently being proposed to become data centers in Colleton County according to a televised report.  But people in the rural area are raising concerns about what it would mean for their livelihoods and the environment. 

Dozens of residents gathered Monday at the Isaiah United Methodist Church near Ritter to learn about the proposal and decide how they want to effectively voice their concerns.

“I wake up and walk out on my porch every morning and I hear cows mooing, I hear roosters crowing, I hear dogs barking, I hear my neighbor call their dogs in in the afternoons and those are the simple things in life,” Colleton County resident Jennifer Singleton told WCSC-TV. “Am I going to be able to hear that anymore? Am I going to be able to experience that? It’s not just about me, it’s about my community.”

The property is currently zoned for rural development.  The owner and a partner reportedly are requesting a special exception to build nine data centers and two substations. The data centers would support the growth of generative AI models and the developers say it will create jobs and benefit the local economy.

In the application for the special zoning exception, the proposed data centers and substations would meet the natural buffer requirements and show the potential impact on the land, but residents are worried about the future costs. 

“I think South Carolina really is at a decision point: what do we want our state to look like 20 years from now, 30 years from now?” resident and Climate Campaign Associate Robby Maynor said. “Do we want a lot of gas plants and pipelines and data centers? Or do we want to protect the things that make South Carolina special and unique? The ACE Basin is at the very top of that list. This is the absolute wrong location for a complex of this size.”

The impacted area is holding a meeting 6 p.m. Dec. 16 to discuss the proposal.  Location:  1681 Rodeo Road. The Colleton County Zoning Board of Appeals is holding a public hearing on Dec. 18 at 5 p.m. at County Council Chambers, 109 Benson St., Walterboro.  Data center image via Creative Commons here.

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