Landowners sue Colleton County over data center ordinance

COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) — Landowners have filed suit against Colleton County, challenging a newly passed zoning ordinance that allows data centers to be built in rural areas with a “special exception,” the Southern Environmental Law Center said.

The complaint, filed in Colleton County state court on behalf of residents Miles Crosby and Jennifer Singleton, alleges the ordinance violates state law, the county’s comprehensive plan and the county’s zoning code.

Shortly after the county enacted the special-exception provision, Eagle Rock Partners applied under the new rule to build an 859-acre, 1,000-megawatt data center complex in a rural part of Colleton County. If built, the project would be one of the largest data center complexes in the country, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit says data centers not only consume large quantities of energy but can also affect water quality and contribute to air, noise and light pollution, and harm the character of rural communities.

The proposed complex would be located in the ACE Basin, a largely undeveloped 1.7-million-acre watershed centered on the Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto rivers. The basin is known for its ecological value and rural character.

Hundreds of residents attended a public meeting in December to voice concerns and oppose the proposal, the suit says.

“As a lifelong Colleton County resident, I’m seriously concerned about the harm the data center construction would have on our rural community, local wildlife, and the environment,” Crosby said. “We cannot allow this ordinance to threaten our star-filled night skies, natural quiet, and enjoyment of landscapes with light, water, and noise pollution.”

“I chose my homestead here in Colleton County because of the property’s natural beauty and the landscape surrounding it,” Singleton said. “It’s rural living at its finest steps from the ACE Basin. Now with Colleton County passing this ordinance, opening the door for this 9-building data center campus, this entire pristine and vulnerable area is under attack, undermining decades of conservation. Once constructed, there is no going back.”

Emily Wyche, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, said the ordinance improperly opens a treasured rural area to industrial development. “Data centers don’t belong in the rural ACE Basin. Colleton County should be continuing the legacy of conservation in this area, not selling it to the highest bidder,” she said.

The suit asks the court to overturn the ordinance and block the county from issuing approvals under it.