Update to an earlier report: This article includes new information about a story we previously covered. Read our earlier report.
Effingham County commissioners unanimously postponed a vote on OpenAI’s proposed data-center site plan until Nov. 17, leaving questions about the project’s noise protections, utilities and potential wetland impacts unresolved.
District 2 Commissioner Roger Burdette moved to table the vote after raising concerns about the presentation’s clarity and the proposed noise protections. The plan does not include a written commitment to build a 20-foot dirt berm along Hodgeville Road, beside high-density residential neighborhoods.
The proposed campus at the Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub spans about 1,347 acres and includes six data-center buildings and other facilities. Commissioners also asked about water and sewer service, wetlands and generators. A representative said the generators would serve life-safety and security systems, not power the data-center buildings.
District 4 Commissioner Beth Helmly said the board would discuss a data-center moratorium at its next meeting. The board also approved the Effingham County Zoning Ordinance and adopted the county’s official zoning map.
Protect Effingham co-founders Alexis Lane and Anna Lee HeidtHarris said concerns about the project remained after the vote was tabled. County resident Jerri Howell said a petition seeking ordinance changes had collected more than 1,500 signatures. She said the petition seeks safeguards for future proposals, even if this site plan is approved.
Yolonda Harris
News Now Georgia
