SPRINGFIELD, Ga. — Effingham County commissioners will vote Nov. 3 on OpenAI’s Project Camellia site plan while polls are still open on Election Day and one day before the public comment period closes on a federal permit to fill 72 acres of wetlands at the proposed data center site in the Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub.

The commission meeting begins at 5 p.m., with the site plan review scheduled as the final item on the Planning Board portion of the meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. Georgia polls close at 7 p.m., meaning the vote could come before the end of Election Day voting. The site plan review is not designated as a public hearing, but public comments are allowed on all agenda items.

Residents question Election Day timing

Manjusha Prasad Sheobaran, who lives near the proposed site, said scheduling the site plan vote on Election Day could prevent members of the public from attending the commission meeting.

She said a poll worker raised the issue with commissioners at their previous meeting, explaining that she wanted to attend and speak during public comment but would be working at a polling place. Prasad Sheobaran said she asked commissioners to postpone the vote until another day.

“They specifically acknowledged it and said they would take it under consideration,” Prasad Sheobaran said. “So the fact that they then add this item onto the agenda, it just seems like completely disregarding what the public has asked of them.”

The timing also means three commissioners — Roger Burdette, Phil Kieffer and Jamie DeLoach — will vote on the site plan while facing opposition in their Nov. 3 races.

“The fact that we have three commissioners currently on the ballot all facing opposition making a decision that's instrumental to the county on the day that decides whether they get to continue to represent the county or not, that's not a good look for the county,” Prasad Sheobaran said.

In a statement, the county said the site plan review is scheduled for Election Day because Nov. 3 is a regularly scheduled meeting date, not because of the election.

The county also said approval of the site plan would not allow OpenAI to fill wetlands or begin work requiring federal authorization before the necessary permit is issued.

“A county site plan approval would not authorize the developer to fill wetlands or begin activities requiring a federal permit before that permit is issued,” the county’s statement read.

OpenAI offered a similar explanation in an email, distinguishing the county’s site plan review from the federal wetlands permitting process.

“Site plan review is concerned with compliance with Effingham County’s code, and while site plan review and wetlands impact review are related, Effingham County’s approval of the site plan will not supersede Army Corps’ review of our requested update to the Individual Permit,” OpenAI said.

What commissioners will decide

The site plan vote was originally scheduled for the commissioners’ Sept. 15 meeting. However, Octans GA LLC, the OpenAI affiliate behind the site plan, requested that consideration be postponed.

The updated plan covers about 1,347 acres and includes six data center buildings, a warehouse, an operations building, two electrical substations, cooling infrastructure, electrical yards and 1,608 parking spaces.

The county says its review focuses on whether the proposed locations of buildings, parking lots and other infrastructure comply with county zoning and development ordinances.

“The county's role in reviewing Project Camellia's site plan is to determine whether the proposed locations of buildings, parking lots and other physical infrastructure on the property comply with the county's zoning and development ordinances,” the statement said. “This review focuses on the layout of the development, not every aspect of its potential impacts.”

The county also said it is obligated to approve the site plan if it meets all applicable requirements.

Federal permit remains pending

The federal permitting process is a key concern for residents and environmental advocates who question whether the county should vote on the site plan before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completes its review and before the county approves amendments to its data center ordinance.

The federal Section 404 permit application, filed Oct. 5, seeks permission to fill about 72 acres of forested wetlands at the site. The Army Corps is accepting public comments on the application through Nov. 4, the day after the scheduled county vote.

A Section 404 permit is required for the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters protected by the Clean Water Act. OpenAI cannot begin work requiring federal authorization in the affected wetlands until the Army Corps issues the permit.

OpenAI also said it plans to invest more than $20 million in wetland mitigation for unavoidable impacts.

“For unavoidable wetland impacts, we’re committing more than $20 million to mitigation through federally approved wetland conservation banks that serve the project area,” OpenAI said. “The mitigation credits support wetland restoration and protection in the same region affected by the project.”

Jeff Beauvais, north coast advocate for nonprofit One Hundred Miles, said the county’s planned vote raises questions about the sequence of approvals.

“It definitely steps on the toes of the federal permitting process,” Beauvais said. “Would they go ahead and issue the land disturbing permit before the Army Corps permits it? That means they could start developing the non-wetlands portions of the site before they have all their permits in place.”

Isaiah Scott, founder of Effingham-based Rookery and Roots Conservancy, said he believes the Army Corps should deny the application because of the environmental risks.

The site contains high-quality headwater wetlands that feed Dasher and Sweigoffer creeks and are important to the health of the watershed, he said.

“Wetlands are not suitable for data center development,” Scott said. “It’s really that simple.”

Scott said filling the wetlands would affect more than 100 species of birds, amphibians and plants, including endangered species that rely on healthy wetlands for migration.

“It’s been a trend of having our wetlands filled and taken away … turned into warehouses,” Scott said. “Who knows how much has been destroyed because it’s really hard to document and keep up because the definition of what a wetland is changes. They’re not always in one defined place that we can identify on a map.”

Beauvais said the federal review could lead to changes in the project’s design if the Army Corps raises concerns.

“There are important things that would come out of this permit in terms of changing the design if the Army Corps raised objections,” Beauvais said. “There might be alternative site designs that could minimize wetlands impacts on the property. We could be talking about reducing the number of buildings or the location and spacing of those buildings.”

The permit application identifies five alternative sites, including one between Bryan and Bulloch counties, west of unincorporated Blitchton.

One Hundred Miles is encouraging people to submit comments on the permit application and has provided a comment template on its website. The group is also asking the Army Corps to require OpenAI to hold a public hearing on the application.

“This is an opportunity to put pressure on them to actually show up and talk to everyday residents, not just those who have power,” Beauvais said.