DRAFT

COMPREHENSIVE DATA CENTER ORDINANCE

DEVELOPMENT, TRANSPARENCY, AND ACCOUNTABILITY

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA

PURPOSE AND INTENT

This Ordinance is intended to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework governing the location, approval, construction, operation, expansion, monitoring, transparency, accountability, and eventual decommissioning of Major Data Center Facilities within Spartanburg County.

The County Council finds that Major Data Center Facilities constitute a unique form of critical infrastructure that differs substantially from traditional industrial, warehouse, office, manufacturing, or commercial developments and therefore require specialized review and oversight.

SECTION 1. APPLICABILITY

This Ordinance shall apply to any facility consisting of dedicated computing infrastructure intended for cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, high-performance computing, colocation services, enterprise data processing, or similar activities, meeting one or more of the following criteria: 

1. More than 50,000 square feet of enclosed computing space.
2. More than 50 megawatts of electrical demand.
3. Any expansion causing an existing facility to exceed either threshold.

SECTION 2. CONDITIONAL USE REQUIREMENT

Major Data Center Facilities shall be permitted only through Conditional Use approval by Spartanburg County Council.

No building permit, site permit, grading permit, utility permit, or development permit shall be issued until Conditional Use approval is granted.

SECTION 3. MINIMUM SETBACKS

No data center building, cooling equipment, substation, power generation equipment, battery storage facility, transformer yard, mechanical equipment, or associated infrastructure shall be located within 1,000 feet of:

1. Residential property.
2. Schools.
3. Churches.
4. Hospitals.
5. Assisted living facilities.
6. Nursing homes.
7. Public parks.
8. Public recreation facilities.

The County Council may require greater setbacks where warranted by site conditions.

SECTION 4. REQUIRED APPLICATION MATERIALS

Applicants shall submit:

A. Site Plan.

B. Utility Plan.

C. Electrical Infrastructure Plan.

D. Water Supply Plan.

E. Wastewater Plan.

F. Traffic Impact Analysis.

G. Environmental Impact Analysis.

H. Noise and Acoustic Analysis.

I. Emergency Response Plan.

J. Security Plan.

K. Visual Impact Assessment.

L. Heat Management Assessment.

M. Decommissioning Plan.

N. Community Impact Statement.

O. Construction Management Plan.

P. Quarterly Reporting Plan.

Q. Public Transparency Plan.

All technical reports shall be prepared and sealed by appropriately licensed professionals.

SECTION 5. ENERGY ALLOCATION CERTIFICATION

Prior to approval, the Applicant shall provide certification from the South Carolina Public Service Commission demonstrating:

1. The proposed facility will not cause residential or small-business ratepayers to subsidize infrastructure serving the facility.
2. Any transmission upgrades are appropriately allocated.
3. Any generation upgrades are appropriately allocated.
4. Any substation improvements are appropriately allocated.
5. Any utility incentives are fully disclosed.
6. The projected power demand over 20 years, and updated every five years for an additional 20 years. 
7. The source of electrical supply.

The County Council may request additional documentation from utilities, the Public Service Commission, or other regulatory agencies.

SECTION 6. FEE IN LIEU OF TAXES DISCLOSURE

Any proposed Fee In Lieu of Taxes Agreement shall be publicly disclosed prior to first reading.

The disclosure shall include:

1. Total investment.
2. Tax incentives.
3. Tax abatements.
4. Estimated annual tax payments.
5. Duration of agreement.
6. Infrastructure commitments.
7. Job creation commitments.
8. Public costs associated with the project.

SECTION 7. CONFIDENTIALITY, PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, PUBLIC DISCLOSURE, AND FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT COMPLIANCE

PURPOSE

The County Council recognizes that major data center developments frequently require substantial pre-development activities, including confidential site selection, land acquisition, utility negotiations, financing arrangements, engineering evaluations, vendor negotiations, and economic development discussions. The County further recognizes that premature disclosure of certain information may adversely affect land acquisition, financing, competitive positioning, and the viability of a proposed project.

This Section is intended to balance the legitimate confidentiality needs of project development with the public’s right to meaningful transparency prior to governmental approval of the project.

CONFIDENTIALITY DURING PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

The County may enter into confidentiality agreements, non-disclosure agreements, or similar arrangements with a prospective data center developer, utility provider, economic development organization, consultant, advisor, or related party during the project planning, negotiation, land acquisition, due diligence, financing, utility commitment, and pre-development phases.

Such agreements may remain in effect until the public disclosure requirements established herein become applicable.

Nothing in this Section shall be construed to require public disclosure of confidential information during the preliminary planning and negotiation phase when such disclosure would materially impair land acquisition efforts, project financing, utility negotiations, vendor negotiations, economic development efforts, or the competitive position of the developer.

MANDATORY PUBLIC DISCLOSURE PRIOR TO FIRST READING

Not less than thirty (30) days prior to the first reading before Spartanburg County Council of any ordinance, development agreement, Fee In Lieu of Taxes Agreement, incentive agreement, zoning approval, conditional use approval, infrastructure agreement, or other governmental approval associated with a Major Data Center Facility, the Applicant shall implement the Public Transparency Plan required under this Ordinance.

At a minimum, the following information shall be publicly disclosed no later than thirty (30) days prior to first reading:

1. Identity of the Applicant and controlling project entity.
2. General project description.
3. Site location.
4. Acreage.
5. Proposed building square footage.
6. Planned electrical demand.
7. Water demand projections.
8. Wastewater projections.
9. Cooling technology description.
10. On-site power generation plans.
11. Utility infrastructure requirements.
12. Noise modeling plan and acoustical mitigation.

13. Environmental permitting status.
14. Public Service Commission-related filings or certifications required by this Ordinance.
15. Proposed Fee In Lieu of Taxes Agreement.
16. Proposed public incentives.
17. Expected employment estimates.
18. Construction schedule.
19. Major project phases.
20. Environmental reports required by this Ordinance.
21. Public contact information for submission of comments.

The County Council may require additional disclosures where necessary to permit meaningful public review of the proposed project.

INFORMATION THAT MAY REMAIN CONFIDENTIAL

The following categories of information may remain confidential unless otherwise required by law:

1. Specific processor types, computing architectures, chip designs, accelerator technologies, networking technologies, storage technologies, or other proprietary technical specifications.
2. Internal facility operating methodologies.
3. Cybersecurity systems, physical security systems, or critical infrastructure security measures.
4. Vendor identities where protected by contract.
5. Vendor pricing.
6. Supply chain arrangements.
7. Proprietary engineering designs.
8. Proprietary software systems.
9. Trade secrets.
10. Investor identities when protected by applicable law.
11. Financing structures and negotiations not required for public disclosure.
12. Customer identities.
13. Customer contracts.
14. Intellectual property.
15. Competitive business information.
16. Information otherwise exempt from disclosure under South Carolina law.

DETERMINATION OF CONFIDENTIAL STATUS

Prior to implementation of the Public Transparency Plan, the Applicant shall identify all information claimed to be confidential.

The County Attorney shall review such claims and determine whether the information is eligible for confidential treatment under applicable law.

The burden of demonstrating confidentiality shall remain with the Applicant.

SOUTH CAROLINA FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT COMPLIANCE

Nothing in this Ordinance shall supersede the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act.

All records held by Spartanburg County shall remain subject to applicable provisions of the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act and any exemptions contained therein.

The County shall respond to Freedom of Information Act requests in accordance with applicable law.

Where confidential information has been identified pursuant to this Section and is exempt from disclosure under South Carolina law, the County may redact such information prior to release.

When a Freedom of Information Act request seeks records containing both public and confidential information, the County shall provide all non-exempt portions of the records while redacting exempt information.

CONTINUING CONFIDENTIALITY AFTER PROJECT APPROVAL

The public disclosure requirements of this Ordinance shall not require disclosure of trade secrets, proprietary business information, security-sensitive information, protected utility infrastructure information, confidential commercial information, intellectual property, or other information exempt from disclosure under South Carolina law.

Such protections shall continue throughout the development, construction, operation, expansion, and decommissioning of the facility.

PUBLIC ACCESS TO REQUIRED DISCLOSURES

All information required to be disclosed under this Ordinance shall be made available for public inspection not less than thirty (30) days before first reading and shall remain available through final action by County Council.

Thereafter, all ongoing reports required by this Ordinance shall be maintained in accordance with Section 14  and made available for public inspection at the Spartanburg County Courthouse.

LEGISLATIVE INTENT

The intent of this Section is to encourage legitimate economic development discussions and project planning while ensuring that citizens receive meaningful information and adequate time to evaluate proposed projects before County Council takes final action.

SECTION 8. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW

The Applicant shall submit all applicable reviews from:

1. South Carolina Department of Environmental Services.
2. South Carolina Department of Public Health.
3. United States Environmental Protection Agency.
4. United States Army Corps of Engineers.
5. South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
6. Any other applicable regulatory agency.

SECTION 9. WATER MANAGEMENT

Applicants shall disclose:

1. Maximum daily water use.
2. Average daily water use.
3. Annual water use.
4. Source of water.
5. Drought management plans.
6. Cooling technology.
7. Wastewater generation.
8. Water conservation measures.

Closed-loop cooling systems or more advanced methods utilizing less water shall be preferred whenever technically feasible.

SECTION 10. HEAT MANAGEMENT

Applicants shall submit analysis of:

1. Heat generation.
2. Heat plume impacts.
3. Heat island effects.
4. Waste heat recovery opportunities.
5. Long-term thermal impacts.

SECTION 11. NOISE, SOUND MODELING, LOW FREQUENCY SOUND, AND INFRASOUND

DESIGN-PHASE ACOUSTIC MODELING AND MITIGATION REQUIREMENTS

Prior to Conditional Use approval and prior to issuance of any building permit, the Applicant shall prepare and submit a comprehensive Acoustic Modeling and Sound Mitigation Plan prepared and certified by a qualified acoustical engineering firm.

The purpose of the Acoustic Modeling and Sound Mitigation Plan shall be to identify, predict, and mitigate all significant sound emissions associated with the proposed facility before construction begins.

The Acoustic Modeling and Sound Mitigation Plan shall include, at a minimum:

1. Identification of all significant sound-producing equipment and infrastructure, including but not limited to cooling equipment, chillers, cooling towers, pumps, fans, air handling equipment, transformers, substations, emergency generators, battery storage systems, power conversion equipment, switchgear, ventilation systems, and any on-site power generation equipment.
2. Acoustic characterization of each major sound source across the full frequency spectrum, including audible sound, low-frequency sound, and infrasound.
3. Computer modeling of cumulative sound impacts resulting from simultaneous operation of all major equipment systems under both normal operating conditions and reasonably foreseeable peak operating conditions.
4. Modeling of sound propagation under varying seasonal, atmospheric, meteorological, and operational conditions.
5. Identification of potential tonal noise sources and repetitive acoustic patterns.
6. Analysis of low-frequency sound transmission and infrasound propagation beyond the project boundaries.
7. Identification of potential sound reflections, amplification effects, terrain impacts, and interactions with adjacent structures.
8. Evaluation of future expansion scenarios reasonably anticipated by the Applicant.
9. Development of a Sound Mitigation Plan describing all design features intended to reduce sound emissions, including equipment selection, equipment placement, building orientation, sound barriers, berms, enclosures, silencers, vibration isolation systems, architectural treatments, landscaping, and other mitigation measures.
10. Demonstration that the proposed facility is designed to achieve operational sound levels below the maximum limits established by this Ordinance, providing a reasonable margin of safety to accommodate changing operating conditions, equipment aging, maintenance activities, and future equipment replacement.
11. Identification of any assumptions utilized in the modeling process.
12. Certification by the acoustical engineer that the facility, as designed and with proposed mitigation measures implemented, is reasonably expected to comply with all sound requirements established by this Ordinance.

The County may retain an independent acoustical consultant, at the Applicant’s expense, to review and validate the Acoustic Modeling and Sound Mitigation Plan.

Noise monitoring shall include:

A. Audible Sound

20 Hz through 20,000 Hz

B. Low Frequency Sound

10 Hz through 300 Hz

C. Infrasound

0.001 Hz through 30 Hz

Measurements shall be conducted by an independent acoustical engineering firm selected by the County and paid for by the Applicant.

Monitoring Locations:

1. 500 feet from the outermost structure or equipment.
2. Property boundary.
3. 1,000 feet beyond property boundary.

4. Measurements are to be taken at 6 or more points, evenly dispersed around the site, located on a radius from the geometrical center of the infrastructure area of the property.  
5. Additional locations designated by the County.

Maximum Allowable Levels

At Property Boundary

Daytime:

45 dBA

60 dBC

Nighttime:

40 dBA

50 dBC

At 1,000 Feet Beyond Property Boundary

Daytime:

40 dBA

55 dBC

Nighttime:

35 dBA

45 dBC

Low-frequency and infrasound measurements shall demonstrate no measurable adverse impacts to surrounding properties as determined by the County’s acoustical consultant.

Where measured operating conditions exceed modeled conditions by more than ten percent (10%), the Applicant shall update the Acoustic Modeling and Sound Mitigation Plan and submit corrective measures pursuant to Section 18 of this Ordinance.

SECTION 12. SOUND MONITORING PROGRAM

Quarterly monitoring shall occur throughout the life of the facility.

Monitoring shall include:

1. Full-spectrum analysis.
2. Octave-band analysis.
3. Low-frequency analysis.
4. Infrasound analysis.
5. Generator testing impacts.
6. Cooling equipment impacts.
7. Transformer impacts.

Reports shall be filed no later than the middle of the following calendar quarter.

Prior to the commencement of operation of the facility, a baseline sound level study shall be conducted by a qualified audio engineer consistent with these monitoring requirements to provide a basis for comparison with the pre-operational status and sound profile in the property where the data center is being developed. This information shall be provided and maintained consistent with the other reporting requirements. 

SECTION 13. QUARTERLY TRANSPARENCY REPORTING

Throughout the life of the facility, quarterly reports shall be submitted including:

1. Total electrical consumption.
2. Peak electrical demand.
3. Total water consumption.
4. Wastewater discharge.
5. Generator operation hours.
6. Fuel consumption.
7. Air emissions.
8. Noise monitoring results.
9. Environmental compliance status.
10. Safety incidents.
11. Emergency response events.
12. Construction status if applicable.
13. Expansion plans.

Supporting documentation shall include records from utilities, water providers, environmental agencies, and independent consultants.

SECTION 14. PUBLIC RECORD ACCESS

Quarterly reports shall be maintained by the County Clerk and available for public inspection at the Spartanburg County Courthouse.

Reports shall remain available throughout the life of the facility. Following the decommissioning of the facility, all reports from the lifetime of the facility shall be maintained in the state archives. 

SECTION 15. EMERGENCY RESPONSE

Applicants shall fund:

1. Fire department training.
2. Emergency response planning.
3. Specialized equipment if required.
4. Battery fire response preparation.
5. Hazardous materials response planning.

SECTION 16. SECURITY

Applicants shall provide:

1. Physical security plan.
2. Cybersecurity coordination plan.
3. Emergency communications plan.
4. Critical infrastructure protection plan.

SECTION 17. DECOMMISSIONING

Prior to operation, the Applicant shall post financial assurance sufficient to:

1. Remove structures.
2. Remove equipment.
3. Remediate contamination.
4. Restore the site to condition suitable for future industrial use. 

Financial assurance shall be reviewed every five years.

SECTION 18. FUTURE MONITORING PARAMETERS

When new technologies, environmental concerns, health concerns, engineering standards, or measurable impacts become known, County Council may require additional monitoring and reporting.

Such additions shall require:

1. Public notice.
2. Public hearing.
3. Expert testimony.
4. Adoption by ordinance amendment.

SECTION 19. OPPORTUNITY TO CURE

When any monitored parameter exceeds an established limit:

1. The Applicant shall file a Corrective Action Plan within 10 days.
2. Corrective action shall commence within 30 days.
3. Compliance shall be restored within 60 days following submission of the Corrective Action Plan.
4. Independent verification shall confirm restoration of compliance.

SECTION 20. PENALTIES

Failure to restore compliance shall result in:

Month One:
$100,000 per month

Month Two:
$200,000 per month

Month Three:
$400,000 per month

Month Four:
$800,000 per month

Each subsequent month shall continue at the rate of $800,000 per month or part thereof, until compliance is verified.

These penalties shall be cumulative and shall not limit the County’s authority to seek injunctions, permit suspensions, operational restrictions, permit revocation, or other remedies available under law.

SECTION 21. PERIODIC REVIEW

Every five years the County Council shall review this Ordinance and update requirements as necessary to reflect technological, environmental, regulatory, public health, utility, and infrastructure developments.

SECTION 22. SEVERABILITY

If any provision of this Ordinance is determined invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

SECTION 23. EFFECTIVE DATE

This Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon adoption by Spartanburg County Council