By a unanimous vote Monday, June 15, the Anderson County Commission took action to stop data centers from being constructed in the rural areas of the county.
The motion for a two-year moratorium was proposed by Commissioner Chad McNabb, of the Claxton area, and approved by all 16 commissioners.
The vote came after a half-hour public hearing in which nearly a dozen people spoke mostly against data centers, expressing concerns about noise from the facilities, their use of large amounts of water and electricity, and possible negative impacts on public health and area wildlife. Concerns were also raised about local fire departments’ and volunteer firefighters’ abilities and training to deal with any emergencies that might arise in connection to the data centers…