Tag Archives: Jessica Harris

Public Hearing about Datacenter Ordinance –Irwin County Board of Commissioners 2026-03-17

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Irwin County is holding a Public Hearing about a Data Center Ordinance
tomorrow, March 17, 2026, at 6 PM,
in the Irwin County Administration Building, 225 East Fourth Street, Ocilla, Georgia.

[Public Hearing about Datacenter Ordinance, Irwin County BOC, 6 PM, March 17, 2026]
Public Hearing about Datacenter Ordinance, Irwin County BOC, 6 PM, March 17, 2026

See also Irwinville Data Center Withdrawn by Applicant, Irwin County Commission 2026-03-02.

https://wwals.net/?p=69660

Here is the Public Notice and the draft ordinance.

Linked in a popup on https://irwincounty-ga.gov:

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

The Irwin County Board of Commissioners will hold a Public Hearing on March 17, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. in the Irwin County Administration Building, located at 225 East Fourth Street, Ocilla, Georgia and March 30, 2026 at 5:45p.m in the Irwin County Courthouse, located at 301 South Irwin Avenue, Ocilla, Georgia. The purpose of these hearings are to receive public comments regarding the following matter:

  • Review Data Center Ordinance

All interested parties are invited to attend and be heard. The County will vote on the ordinance at their regularly scheduled meeting on April 6, 2026 at 6:00p.m.

Irwin County Board of Commissioners

[Notice of Public Hearing Data Center Ordinance, 2026-03-17 Irwin County Board of Commissioners]
Notice of Public Hearing Data Center Ordinance, 2026-03-17 Irwin County Board of Commissioners
PDF

Also linked into the popup is the draft ordinance itself:

https://irwincounty-ga.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Data-Center-Ordinance-JBBG-Draft.pdf?pid=2210

I’m not going to transcribe it, but images are below.

I will say it has some good features, such as on page 4:

(d) Water Usage Standards. Only closed-loop cooling systems are permitted in Irwin County.
There shall be no discharge of cooling water into public sewers or ground without treatment.

However, it may have come from the former data center applicant who withdraw on March 2; if so, that makes it suspect.

Please compare this draft datacenter ordinance to the others provided by Science for Georgia:

https://wwals.net/pictures/datacenters-2026-02-17

[AN AMENDMENT TO THE ORDINANCES OF IRWIN COUNTY, GEORGIA PERTAINING TO THE REGULATION OF DATA CENTERS WITHIN THE COUNTY.]
AN AMENDMENT TO THE ORDINANCES OF IRWIN COUNTY, GEORGIA PERTAINING TO THE REGULATION OF DATA CENTERS WITHIN THE COUNTY.
PDF

[Definitions and Applicability]
Definitions and Applicability
PDF

[Standards]
Standards
PDF

[(d) Water Usage Standards. Only closed-loop cooling systems are permitted in Irwin County. There shall be no discharge of cooling water into public sewers or ground without treatment.]
(d) Water Usage Standards. Only closed-loop cooling systems are permitted in Irwin County. There shall be no discharge of cooling water into public sewers or ground without treatment.
PDF

[Violations]
Violations
PDF

[SECTION 5. The ordinance shall be effective immediately upon its adoption by the Irwin County Board of Commissioners.]
SECTION 5. The ordinance shall be effective immediately upon its adoption by the Irwin County Board of Commissioners.
PDF

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

Irwinville Data Center Withdrawn by Applicant, Irwin County Commission 2026-03-02

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Here’s a reason to stay until the end of a County Commission meeting.

A proposed data center ordinance was read at the March 2, 2026, Irwin County Commission meeting, according to correspondence between the former data center applicant’s attorney and the Irwin County Attorney.

It was not on the agenda. I’m guessing they read it under

13. NEW BUSINESS

a. APPROVE APPLICATION FOR A SPECIAL EXCEPTION TO ZONING FOR DATA CENTER

Tomorrow in Ocilla there is a a Public Hearing about Datacenter Ordinance –Irwin County Board of Commissioners 2026-03-17.

https://wwals.net/?p=69663

[Irwinville Data Center, Withdrawn by Applicant 2026-03-02, Irwin County Commission, and Developments of Regional Impact (DRI)]
Irwinville Data Center, Withdrawn by Applicant 2026-03-02, Irwin County Commission, and Developments of Regional Impact (DRI)

I got the attorney correspondence by asking in an open records request for the applicant withdrawal letter that staff read at the Public Hearing on March 2.

First, that withdrawal letter.

Then a document on Developments of Regional Impact (DRI).

Then a couple of maps labeled as Concept Site Plan with the name for the project as Ocilla DC.

Finally, there are images of the rest of the document the County Attorney sent in response to a WWALS open records request. The entire PDF document he sent is on the WWALS website.

James Banter

From: Gerald L. Pouncey Jr.

Sent: Monday, March 2, 2026 2:28 PM

To: James Banter

Cc: Gerald L. Pouncey Jr.; Stephen A. McCullers

Subject: Withdrawal of Application Number IC-SE-01-2026

External to JBBG

James,

As you know, I am the attorney for the applicant of Application Number IC-SE-01-2026 and first appeared on his behalf during the Public Hearing on February 26, 2026.

This email is formal notice of the applicant’s withdrawal of Application Number IC-SE-01-2026. This withdrawal is without prejudice to the applicant’s or any other entity’s ability to file the same or similar application for approval, or to file an application for map amendment for the property located at 0 Ponderosa Drive and 0 Alapaha Road, Ocilla, Georgia and other surrounding properties.

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