The Colleton County Zoning Board of Appeals will be considering a request this Thursday to allow a new data center on an 850+ acre property south of Walterboro off of Green Pond Highway in the ACE Basin Project Area.

SCWF, along with our partners at the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) and other conservation organizations, are opposed to this request due to the impact it will have on sensitive wildlife habitat on the site as well as in the surrounding waterways.

The ACE Basin is one of the East Coast’s largest undeveloped wetland estuaries and it serves as vital habitat for migratory birds, sea turtles, and other wildlife, and offers opportunities for birding, hunting, fishing, and exploring unique natural beauty. This proposed data center, and other similar projects which may be proposed in the future, would drastically change the landscape and available habitat in the ACE Basin due to its potential water and electricity usage.

Please see these linked talking points for more details about this project and all of the unanswered questions.

SCWF and our conservation partners are encouraging Walterboro area residents to attend the public meeting on Thursday, December 18th at 5:30 PM at the Colleton County Civic Center. The Civic Center is located at 494 Hampton Street in Walterboro. 

Residents are also encouraged to speak at the meeting – see these linked tips for giving public comments.

The Zoning Board of Appeals needs to see the large number of residents who are paying attention to these decisions, and hear comments about how this project would impact your community. Please feel free to share these materials with your neighbors and encourage them to attend as well!

It will take all of us working together to protect habitat for wildlife as they face more and more threats every day across our beautiful state. Thank you for considering how you can protect wildlife and their habitat in your own community!