Check everything
Sources and reading
Every number on this site names its source, and this page is the full list. It comes in three parts: the documents specific to this project, the official references our answers lean on, and what to read if you want to understand data centers from people whose job is facts, not fear and not sales.
The documents behind our answers
Project-specific records. Where a document is not online, we say how to get it.
CPW water letter, November 17, 2025The written confirmation from McCormick CPW's General Manager that the system can serve up to one million gallons per day as requested.
Copies available through the Question Line: text (864) 362-1053 or email mccormickquestions@gmail.com.
County zoning letter, November 17, 2025The county's written confirmation that the two core parcels are zoned Service Industrial, where high performance computing centers are permitted by right.
Copies available through the Question Line.
The county's draft data center ordinanceThe noise caps (55 dBA, 7 dBC), generator testing hours, and other protections. A draft until adopted.
Not posted online. Request it from the County Administrator, James Upchurch: jupchurch@mccormickcountysc.org.
Project concept plan, August 11, 2026Five 100,000 sq ft buildings, buffers, ponds, and marked gas and substation areas. Stamped "Concept Only," and it should be read that way.
Circulated with the Aug 11 community document; copies through the Question Line.
"Clearing up the Confusion" community document, August 11, 2026The Pollard family's written overview handed out at the Mims Center meeting, with its own source list.
Contact: Bert Pollard, Pollard Lumber Co., bertpollard@pollardlumber.com, 706-541-1343.
Planning Commission meeting, July 30, 2026The public record behind the $200 million pipeline figure, the 1 million gallon per day discussion, and the commission's recommendations.
Public meeting; recording and minutes through McCormick County.
FERC docket CP25-517-000 (South System Expansion 4)The pipeline's federal filings by Southern Natural Gas, L.L.C., a Kinder Morgan company, including the certificate issued July 31, 2026.
Free to read: ferc.gov, eLibrary, search "CP25-517-000".
McCormick County budget, FY 2026-27 (Ordinance 26-01)The county's own adopted numbers: $14,991,231 general fund, a $786,435 deficit, 53 percent of revenue from real estate and vehicle taxes.
Read the PDF on the county website (mccormickcountysc.org, Document Center, Ordinances).
McCormick County Water & Sewer budget, FY 2026-27 (Ordinance 26-02)The document that states no funding has historically been set aside for line replacement and that usage fees will likely need to rise.
County Council special meeting minutes, June 24, 1992The record of the 40-year Farmers Home Administration loan and grant ($220,500) that financed water-line extensions, repaid through user fees.
County Administrator's written statement, August 2026James Upchurch's public response on what the county has and hasn't received, the 250 miles of aging water lines, and the natural gas barrier.
Circulating on local Facebook groups; full text available through the Question Line.
Official references
The government pages our answers cite. All free, all public.
Fee-in-lieu-of-tax (FILOT)How South Carolina counties negotiate data center payments, from the SC Department of Revenue.
dor.sc.gov/property/fee-lieu-taxes
SC data center program thresholdsThe 25-jobs and $50 million eligibility figures, from the SC Department of Commerce.
sccommerce.com
Air permits in South CarolinaHow the SCDES Bureau of Air Quality sets enforceable emission limits, with public notice.
des.sc.gov, Bureau of Air Quality, construction permits.
Stormwater and construction runoffThe NPDES permitting that governs land disturbance over one acre.
des.sc.gov, Bureau of Water, NPDES stormwater.
EPA guidance on gas turbine emissions and controlsWhat NOx controls like SCR do, from the federal regulator.
epa.gov, search "stationary combustion turbines".
Pipeline construction and landowner rightsFederal construction standards (PHMSA) and FERC's plain-language guide for landowners near proposed pipelines.
phmsa.dot.gov and ferc.gov, search "landowner".
McCormick CPWThe water plant's own published capacity: 2.7 million gallons per day from Lake Thurmond.
mccormickcpw.com/water
Loudoun County, Virginia adopted budgetsThe longest-running data center county's audited numbers, including the $26-to-$1 revenue-to-services figure and its tax rate history.
loudoun.gov, search "adopted budget".
What to read about data centers
Instead of the scariest post in your feed, start here.
Columbia County, GA: the Google announcementThe neighboring county's 8 million sq ft campus: 23 buildings on 1,900 acres, roughly $11.6 billion at build-out, more than $118 million a year in estimated local tax revenue, with Google covering 100 percent of its power costs.
mlq.ai (search "Google Columbia County") and datacenterdynamics.com, "Google announced as end user of 8 million sq ft data center in Columbia, Georgia".
Marion County, SC: the whole storyA $2.4 billion data center approved in January 2026, lost in June 2026 over power timing, about $28 million a year gone against a $25 million budget. The case both sides quote, worth reading in full.
datacenternews.org/marion-county-south-carolina-data-center-deal and spectrumlocalnews.com (June 12, 2026 report).
How SC counties are handling data centersStatewide reporting on which counties passed moratoriums, which passed ordinances, and why.
SC Daily Gazette, "SC counties enacting data center moratoriums" (June 26, 2026), scdailygazette.com.
Data centers in rural communitiesThe Brookings Institution's research on what data centers do and don't do for rural counties: the source behind the "Data Centers in Rural Communities" discussion draft circulating locally.
brookings.edu, search "data centers".
Local press coverage of this projectWRDW and WJBF have covered every public meeting, and the Lincoln-McCormick Journal Messenger covers council. Read the coverage, then check the numbers in it against the documents above.
wrdw.com, wjbf.com, thejournalmessenger.com.
The August 18 council meetingThe moratorium recommendation gets taken up in public on Monday, August 18. The single most useful thing to read next is the agenda, and the most useful thing to do is show up.
mccormickcountysc.org, County Council.
Text (864) 362-1053
Found a source we should add, or a number that doesn't check out? Send it. Every message gets logged and a person reviews every answer. Email: mccormickquestions@gmail.com