Clay Middleton, candidate for SC House District 116, released the following statement on Proposed ACE Basin and Rural Data Center Development:
“South Carolina is at a crossroads on data center development.
“Across the South, communities are confronting enormous demands on the electric grid and water resources, which creates costly new infrastructure and serious questions about who ultimately foots the bill. Those same challenges are coming to South Carolina, and we must come together to address them before it’s too late.
“Colleton County’s proposed Digital Infrastructure Overlay raises serious concerns. The ACE Basin is one of the Lowcountry’s great natural treasures. Our rural communities, waterways, and quality of life are not blank spaces on a map for industrial development. Lowcountry residents deserve a meaningful voice in what happens in our communities. None of us benefit from rushed decisions. We need adequate notice, public input, and a transparent process.
“I believe South Carolina needs clear standards for data center development. At a minimum, we must take the following steps to protect the Lowcountry and our quality of life and natural resources:
- "Ban data centers in rural and residential communities until a full assessment of their impact on the region, environment, and natural resources is released to the public.
- "Allow communities the right to review and publicly oppose or support data center projects through an open and transparent public process.
- "Prevent utility-bill increases for Lowcountry families and small businesses due to enormous electricity demands of hyperscale data centers.
- "Mandate any data center operating in South Carolina to be held to strong energy, water, and pollution standards.
- "Require companies seeking to build these facilities to negotiate a comprehensive Community Benefit Agreement with the communities that will bear the impacts.
- "Prohibit taxpayers from having to bail out a failed data center project.”