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Senate subcommittee hears calls for water‑use transparency and statewide oversight in data‑center siting debate
Summary
Witnesses told a Senate Judiciary subcommittee that reporting and statewide oversight are needed to measure data‑center water use and avoid community conflict; conservation groups urged DES reporting and limits on PSC authority while utilities described contractual protections for customers.
Megan Chase, director of government affairs for the Speedwell Group, told the Senate Judiciary subcommittee that missing, inconsistent information about data‑center water use has fueled fear and misinformation in communities and urged passage of reporting requirements tied to the state water plan. "The absence of clear, transparent, information that's provided willingly and freely to a community creates the conditions for fear and misinformation to spread," Chase said.
The hearing focused on S 902 (the Data Center Citing Act) and related bills, and several witnesses recommended clarifying who should hold siting oversight and what reporting should be required. John Brooker, senior vice president for policy and government relations at Conservation Voters of South Carolina,…
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