Effingham County delays OpenAI data center vote over noise and safety

The decision to table

The Effingham County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday night to delay a decision on the Project Camellia site plan. This project is a proposed campus for OpenAI data centers located at the Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub. The board moved the vote to November 17 following a lengthy discussion regarding the project's specifics.

District 2 Commissioner Roger Burdette led the motion to table the plan after a presentation by Rich Modliszewski, a representative for Octans GA LLC. Burdette noted that the presentation lacked the clarity he expected and conflicted with previous conversations he had with OpenAI. He specifically pointed out that the current plan did not include a written commitment for a 20-foot dirt berm to block noise.

The commissioners expressed frustration over the lack of technical readiness in the current proposal. Burdette stated that he could not stand behind the site plan without approval on the noise mitigation measures. He expressed a desire for more detailed answers from the developers before the board can proceed with a final vote.

Technical and safety concerns

The proposed campus is massive in scale, covering approximately 1,347 acres. It is designed to house six data center buildings, a warehouse, an operations building, and two electrical substations. The plan also includes cooling infrastructure, electrical yards, and roughly 1,600 parking spaces.

During the meeting, commissioners raised several questions regarding wetland impacts, water and sewer services, and the use of generators. OpenAI had previously stated it would use battery storage as backup power for the data centers. Modliszewski clarified that any generators used would only power life safety and security systems rather than the data center buildings themselves.

When pressed for specific engineering details, the Octans GA representative deferred many questions to engineers from Thomas & Hutton. He explained that he was there to discuss the merits of the site plan and its conformity to the ordinance rather than provide engineering specifics. He described the current submission as a preliminary site plan, noting that many details would be settled during the formal development plan application.

Community pushback

The commission chamber was filled to capacity with residents who voiced significant opposition to the project. Many attendees wore stickers indicating their opposition to data centers while also showing they had voted in the recent election. The Protect Effingham Alliance even organized a silent protest during the meeting to show their disapproval.

Alexis Lane and Anna Lee HeidtHarris, co-founders of the Protect Effingham Alliance, celebrated the decision to table the vote but remained critical of the developer. They argued that the presentation suggested OpenAI was more focused on meeting minimum requirements than honoring verbal commitments. Lane specifically mentioned concerns regarding the revised site plan, which increased the proposed height of the data center buildings to 42 feet.

Local resident Jerri Howell is leading a petition drive to change the county's code of ordinances. The goal of the petition is to revise data center definitions and prohibit these facilities from being built in all zoning districts. Howell reported that the drive has already collected more than 1,500 signatures from residents who want more safeguards for future development.

Next steps for the county

While the vote on Project Camellia is delayed, the county is moving forward with other administrative tasks. The Board of Commissioners voted to approve the Effingham County Zoning Ordinance and adopted the official zoning map. These actions were intended to complete unfinished business from their previous meeting.

The board also announced that they will discuss a data center moratorium at their next meeting. A moratorium is a temporary prohibition on new construction, which would pause the development of such facilities in the area. This move comes as a response to the growing number of residents seeking to limit the pace of industrial growth.

Residents like Jerri Howell have expressed skepticism about a moratorium, suggesting it may be too little, too late. She argued that the county has already granted access for what might be one of the largest hyperscale data centers in the country. The community will now wait to see if the developers provide the necessary engineering details and noise mitigation guarantees by the November 17 deadline.