Lawsuit Against Data Center

Fox Carolina reported on the lawsuit against an unpopular data center being built in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The $3 billion data center proposed by developer Valara Holdings on South Pine Street has been the subject of outrage among Spartanburg residents, as well as this lawsuit. Indeed, there has been nationwide controversy over rapid data center development due to concerns that the energy infrastructure needed to power AI and other digital services could use too much water, raise power bills, and lead to noise pollution in quiet rural communities.

While countless Spartanburg residents share these fears, their concerns have been largely ignored by regulatory authorities and politicians, as the proposed data center was classified as a “minor” development by the county. Under Spartanburg County’s Unified Land Management Ordinance, all land development is classified as either minor or major.

Major land developments include, but are not limited to, commercial and industrial parks, subdivisions, shopping centers, manufactured home parks, and condominium and apartment complexes. All other developments are classified as minor. There is no way a data center should be classified as “minor”. Of course, a key difference between major and minor developments, besides an implied difference in size and scale, is the level of public oversight.

“If it’s a major development, then you have a planning commission review, you have publication of the commission’s agenda and the documents relating to the development, you have a public meeting, you often have public comments, you can have a public hearing, you have a public vote, and the commission has to say why,” attorney Frank Holleman said.

Records show that Valara submitted an application in 2025 to develop approximately 905,000 square feet of the former Kohler industrial plant. In the spring of 2026, Valara submitted Phase II improvements, including four proposed buildings totaling about 494,000 square feet, along with a power yard, internal roadways, electrical equipment, a metering station, mechanical cooling systems and stormwater ponds.

Both applications described the developments as minor. Spartanburg approved the first while the second is still pending. Unsurprisingly, the sidestepping of a public hearing attracted intense criticism from Spartanburg locals.

“It never was a minor development,” said Nancy Garner, who lives near the construction site. “All it was was a lie from the county council to push this monster through.”

Garner’s main fear is the project’s impact on the water supply.

“The top concern for me right now is the quality of water that we will experience if that data center goes through. I am scared to death,” Garner said. “I’m going to lose my water or it’s going to become contaminated.”

Many believe the politicians may have gotten kickbacks or bribes to approve the unpopular development. When an application is submitted as a minor land development, however, that public process does not apply.

Lead attorney Frank Holleman of the Southern Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit on July 6, 2026, against Valara and Spartanburg County on behalf of Concerned Citizens of Spartanburg County. The plaintiff group is seeking a court order that declares the data center to be a major development. According to the lawsuit’s complaint, “the Valara Data Center is far from a ‘typical’ project. It is a highly controversial project that the County failed to adequately inform citizens about its full scale and impacts until after it issued initial approvals and massive tax breaks. This is exactly the type of development that requires more stringent review at the Planning Commission.”

Holleman is also concerned about Valara’s plans for a utility-scale natural gas power plant on the site.

“When you burn that much natural gas in that kind of confined area, you have a lot of emissions into the air — particularly formaldehyde, which causes cancer, and particularly particulate matter, which can affect heart disease, lung disease, and particularly people who are vulnerable.”

According to Holleman, Spartanburg County still has a chance to fix its mistake. “Spartanburg County could decide today, well, you know, this really is a major development, obviously, and it needs to go through the public process.” If the county does not act, he said, the lawsuit will move forward.

“If that doesn’t happen, we’re going to ask a judge to require it to be done.” Garner agreed with Holleman.

“We need to take a minute and think about the future of the kids that are going to be coming and living in this world.”

A hearing is scheduled for July 30 in Columbia on the lawsuit. Separately, the Southern Environmental Law Center is asking the S.C. Public Service
Commission to review whether the Pine Street site is appropriate for the planned utility-scale natural gas power plant.

https://c.org/gBPGM6pX6C