Ogeechee Riverkeeper Damon Mullis added his voice and that of the environmental organization he represents to Bulloch County's discussion of data centers when he brought a slide show to the county Board of Commissioners last week.
The member-supported nonprofit organization Ogeechee Riverkeeper, or ORK, is dedicated to protecting the Ogeechee River watershed, and Mullis, as executive director, holds the "Riverkeeper" job title. Speaking during the April 7 commissioners meeting, he noted that ORK is encouraging local governments to enact moratoriums on data center development until local regulations can be put in place and noted that Bulloch County has a moratorium in effect.
"The first thing to do is to adopt a moratorium so you can prepare and plan before one is proposed, and you guys have already done that, so kudos to you," Mullis said. "Don't be scared to extend that moratorium if it's needed."
The freeze against approval of any data center land use plans, imposed by commissioners' 6-0 vote on Feb. 17, will expire after 90 days, unless extended, and applies only in the county's unincorporated area.
Statesboro city officials, after an exploratory trip Jan. 22 to visit several Atlanta metro and Middle Georgia area data centers and meet with Georgia Power officials, discussed regulation of potential data centers but have not enacted a moratorium.
Bulloch County's moratorium expiration date would fall in the third week of May, but commissioners have a hearing slated for May 5 for further discussion of the topic and whether to extend the moratorium.
'Can't ban, so prepare'
"What can communities do to prepare for a potential data center wanting to come to Bulloch County or any other community? So, you can't just outright ban data centers, because of state and federal laws," Mullis said. "So you can't stop a data center from making a proposal to come here, but what communities can do is they can prepare, they can create guidelines, limitations, consequences for noncompliance."
Special-use permit
Beyond the moratorium to allow time for rulemaking, the next thing Ogeechee Riverkeeper is encouraging communities to do is "require a special use permit" for a data center in any zoning classification where they might be allowed.
"Then that would require transparency …, public comment, public input on any proposal, and it eventually would require a commission vote," Mullis said. "That's one thing we're asking is to make sure these things are special-use, they're not automatically zoned for any area."
The requirements for such a permit, he said, should be aimed at ensuring the public and elected officials have all the information they need to make an informed decision.
"And then if you decide it's not good for your community, then it gives you the justification to say 'no,' and that way you don't have to worry about being sued, and if you are sued, you have the protection there and justification to fight that," Mullis said.
Other key elements ORK suggests for data center permits include a prohibition on nondisclosure agreements, even those involving a local development authority, and requirements for comprehensive impact studies on water use and any large-scale land disturbance and its effects through sedimentation and deforestation.
Water supply
Under that category of water supply, he said this could include community input on whether this should be from ground water or surface water, from individually permitted sources or via a municipal system. Waste water permitting and storm water management could also be defined in advance, but these are things county commissioners often rely on the state and its Environmental Protection Division to regulate, Mullis noted.
"But in most cases you guys can go above and beyond what they require, and I always tell county commissions and city councils, do not rely on the EPD and the state of Georgia to protect your citizens," he said. "They will fail you."
He mentioned the Ogeechee fish kill of 2011 and the 2024 Biolab pool chemical plant fire at Conyers as examples.
Also in the realm of water supply and quality concerns, Mullis and the ORK organization are recommending that cities and counties prohibit "evaporative cooling" for data centers. These use surface or groundwater and allow it to evaporate in the process of cooling a center's electronics. "Closed-loop" cooling systems, reusing water was many times a possible, are one alternative technology.
"And then require them to meet with local community — you can do that — and also require a community benefits agreement," he said. "That's like, if you're going to come here and profit, how are you going to give back to the community?"
Such an agreement could spell out contributions or actions supporting education and land conservation, for example. Another suggested requirement is for a detailed emergency response plan.
Why now?
Mullis had begun his presentation with general information and comments about data centers and why they are generating so much interest and concern.
He noted estimates that $77.6 billion was spent on new data center construction starts in the United States in 2025, that over 4,000 were operating in the United States at the beginning of 2026 and that 56 are currently under construction in Georgia. With water more readily available here than in arid regions, relatively inexpensive electricity and some communities offering tax incentives, Georgia is ranked fourth, or by some sources third, among the states for construction of data centers, he noted.
But most of the Georgia data centers are in the Atlanta metro and Middle Georgia regions, so far.
Recent data centers built for the boom in artificial intelligence applications use 10 times the electrical power of earlier data centers, generate much more heat and so require liquid cooling, he said.
Mullis made clear that he thinks the negative impacts of large data centers outweigh the benefits for communities. One benefit is "tax revenues (if incentives do not erase them)," one of his slides stated. It also noted a "small number of potential jobs," reportedly ranging from 20 to 50 even at very large centers, which he described as comparable to the number of jobs created by a fast-food restaurant.
ORK is also urging communities not to provide tax breaks for data centers.
Major negative impacts, he asserted, include high energy consumption and water usage, as well as potential noise, light and water pollution. One major data center can supposedly use as much electricity as 350,000 households, and Georgia Power is predicting power generation will need to increase 50% by 2031.
Other voices, same room
But the Bulloch County commissioners heard a more upbeat account of data centers from Mickey Daniell, Georgia Power Company's area manager for Chatham and Effingham counties and former regional community and economic development manager, in February. His presentation was part of a "work session," later in the same meeting where commissioners enacted the moratorium.
"I know … it almost appears we're putting the cart ahead of the horse by imposing a moratorium and then talking about it," commissioners Chairman David Bennett said then. "But the intent here is simply to put a pause on this long enough for us to cross-level knowledge and information that's out there amongst the commissioners and the public so that we can proactively draft some type of zoning if it's necessary for data centers."
Commissioners did not take up the issue further at last week's meeting. Bennett missed the first few minutes of the meeting because of a family health emergency and arrived just after Mullis' presentation.
Area's only freeze
Bulloch County appears to be the only county or municipal government in the immediate area to have imposed a moratorium thus far.
Greene and Hancock counties, farther north, have passed data center moratoriums, and Port Wentworth, in metro Savannah, enacted some "clarifying language" which remains "fairly permissive," ORK Communications and Administrative director Meaghan Gerard said in a reply email Monday.
The Ogeechee watershed also includes the drainage areas of the Canoochee River and other Ogeechee tributaries, so the Riverkeeper's service area extends to all or parts of 20 counties. ORK has nearly 700 active, paid members, Gerard said.