Help us STOP the threat to the ACE Basin

By Jennifer Singleton

The Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto Rivers join to form the larger St. Helena Sound, creating 350,000 acres of marshes, wetlands, hardwood forest and rich wildlife habitat.

The ACE Basin is one of the largest undeveloped estuaries along the Atlantic Coast and one of the most pristine in the United States. The primary counties it encompasses are Charleston, Beaufort and Colleton. The Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto Rivers join to form the larger St. Helena Sound, creating 350,000 acres of marshes, wetlands, hardwood forest and rich wildlife habitat.

Just minutes from Charleston, locals and tourists escape here to breathe, recharge and experience a piece of nature that still feels untouched. Wildlife abounds. Serenity lives here.

This place was protected for a reason

In the 1970s and ’80s, development pressure sparked concern. Citizens stepped up, petitioning local, state and federal leaders to preserve it. In 1988, their efforts formed the ACE Basin Task Force, which evolved into the ACE Basin Project, driven by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; South Carolina Department of Natural Resources; The Nature Conservancy; Ducks Unlimited; and private landowners. Their work secured protected lands that ensure “quiet access” and long-term conservation, including:

• ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve
• Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge
• Bear Island Wildlife Management Area
• Donnelley Wildlife Management Area
• St. Helena Sound Heritage Preserve

Additional properties include Edisto Beach State Park, Edisto Interpretive Center, Great Swamp Sanctuary, Hunting Island State Park and Ravenel Caw Caw Interpretive Center. A lot of people invested time, money and heart to protect this place. It was meant to last.

Or so we thought…

The new threat: a proposed data center

Weyerhaeuser,one of the largest timber companies in North America, owns approximately 12.4 million acres of U.S. timberland and manages another 14 million in Canada. Much of their South Carolina acreage lies in Colleton County near Walterboro, the headwaters of the ACE Basin. On Cooks Hill Road, in the heart of it all, developersThomas & HuttonandEagle Rock Partnersare seeking an exception to current zoning restrictions in order to build a data center there.

Why this matters

Data centers come with real, measurable risks:

• High energy use (1–2% of global electricity)
• Massive water consumption — millions of gallons per day for cooling
• Air pollution from fossil-fuel power generation
• Noise and light pollution that disrupt wildlife
• Habitat fragmentation and industrial footprint
• Increased pipelines and waste streams

If we don’t protect the ACE Basin now, we risk losing it forever.

For starters, rural communities surrounding Walterboro rely on well water. These wells could run dry. Wildlife faces similar threats through pollution, habitat disruption and energy demands that chip away at fragile ecosystems.

We do not want this

The people and wildlife of the ACE Basin do not want and cannot sustain:

• Noise pollution
• Light pollution
• Air pollution
• Water pollution
• More pipelines
• Waste streams
• Health impacts
• Short-sighted development decisions

A call from a citizen who loves this land

As a concerned citizen and property owner who is passionate about the outdoors, I am shouting from the rooftop to STOP THIS EFFORT before the protected walls of the ACE Basin fall leaving us prey to a new environmental predator: the data center. 

Public hearing Thursday, Dec. 18, at 5 p.m., 3rd Floor Colleton County Council Chambers,109 Benson St., Walterboro, SC

What can you do? Show up and be heard. Bring a friend. Bring ten. Bring your neighbors. Spread the word. We need to pack the room and stand in opposition to this existential threat. If we don’t protect the ACE Basin now, we risk losing it forever.

Editor’s note: The editor, Robin Gibson, is married to the author, Jennifer Singleton.