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Residents urge permanent ban or strict rules as Greenwood council pauses data-center approvals
Summary
About two dozen residents spoke during public comment after the council's adoption of a one-year moratorium, offering personal accounts, technical questions, and calls for community-led panels and state coordination to study impacts of data centers.
Multiple speakers addressed the Greenwood County Council during the public-comment period following adoption of the moratorium. Speakers recorded concerns about environmental, health and community impacts, and asked for continued public involvement during the 12-month pause.
Calista Lindholm and others cited national studies and anecdotal cases to argue that large data centers consume substantial electricity and water and can magnify surveillance when local camera feeds are stored in corporate clouds. Lindholm said data-center buildouts could raise average electric bills and urged the county to consider long-term consequences before permitting such facilities. Russ Fitzgerald described grassroots outreach, saying he distributed over 800 flyers and spoke with hundreds of residents; many attendees asked the council to make the pause permanent.
Other commenters suggested technical follow-up: questions about whether cooling would be closed-loop or open, concern about generator noise and the adequacy of a 65 dB standard with emergency equipment running, and calls for transparent public forums and state-level coordination to protect upstream and downstream water users. Several speakers thanked the four council members who voted for the moratorium and encouraged continued engagement throughout the review period.
The council heard these comments without immediate policy changes beyond the moratorium vote; multiple council members recommended convening panels and technical experts and involving citizens in the review.
