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The Data Center Divide

Butts County

Slightly Pro-Data Center Policies

Butts County approved project agreements, rezoning for a large data center, and a limited stream-buffer variance; infrastructure costs, required studies, erosion controls, and other approvals apply.

current law · County measure
Authorizes changes to Project Lighthouse’s (AWS) tax-incentive agreement to distribute payments sooner after a separate agreement covers the project’s water and sewer infrastructure.Butts County Project Lighthouse Amended Intergovernmental Agreement with Amazon Web Services (date not stated)

What this means

The county approved an amended Project Lighthouse agreement to speed distribution of PILOT funds, and the water authority approved a water-service agreement for the project (speed distribution of PILOT funds; approved the water service agreement). These steps could help build and expand the data center, but the sources don’t state the incentive’s value, and the water agreement includes ongoing payment obligations, so the net benefit appears moderate.

People behind it

  • Chairman of the Development Authority who introduced and advised the Board on the proposed Project Lighthouse intergovernmental agreement amendment.

  • Party to the proposed amended Project Lighthouse intergovernmental agreement and authorized its chair and secretary to execute the amendment.

  • Party to the proposed amended Project Lighthouse intergovernmental agreement.

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  • Party to the proposed amended Project Lighthouse intergovernmental agreement.

  • Party responsible for entering into the separate water and sewer infrastructure agreement for Project Lighthouse.

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  • Project Lighthouse’s water-service agreement requires minimum monthly payments and maintenance costs even when water is not being used, creating ongoing operating costs.

  • The water-service agreement includes a termination clause and warranty requirements that govern continued operation of the project’s water service.

  • Lighthouse’s proposed expansion onto approximately 70 adjoining acres could not be added to the original 2024 project because it was not included in the project validation and the 2024 bond lacked sufficient capacity; accommodating the expansion would require consideration of a separate, similar PILOT bond.

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  • The Project Lighthouse (AWS) intergovernmental agreement may be amended to accelerate the distribution of PILOT funds because a separate agreement with the Butts County Water and Sewerage Authority will fund needed water and/or sewer infrastructure. The acceleration depends on that separate infrastructure-funding agreement, eliminating the need to reserve or apply Project Lighthouse PILOT funds for those infrastructure costs.

Sources

current law · County project: Unincorporated area off Georgia Highway 16 and Interstate 75
Authorizes a mixed-use development with data centers on 560 acres in Butts County, subject to conditions including traffic studies and developer-funded infrastructure improvements before permits are issued.Butts County River Park Data Center Planned-Development Rezoning (date not stated)

What this means

The rezoning would allow a development with 11 million square feet of data centers, a substantial benefit for building at this site. But the developer must fund infrastructure and meet other conditions, including a traffic study and environmental requirements, adding costs and possible delays (several conditions).

People behind it

  • Developer and proposer of the Highway 16 Interstate Health Development and associated rezoning request

  • Submitting local government responsible for initiating and administering the DRI review process

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements8

  • Before any development permits are issued, the developer must fund and complete a traffic engineering study covering Bailey Jester Road to Joe Lane Road.

  • Development agreements must be submitted to and approved by the Butts County Board of Commissioners before applications for development permits may be made.

  • Before land disturbance adjacent to Woodward Cemetery on the west side of Jackson Road, the developer must fund an archaeological survey to protect the cemetery.

  • The developer must pay for all required water, sewer, and road-infrastructure improvements.

  • The project must comply with the county’s I-75 Overlay design guidelines.

  • Stormwater and environmental design must incorporate recommendations from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Georgia EPD, Georgia SWCC, the local issuing authority, and the Butts County UDO.

  • The developer must begin the permitting process within two years.

  • Georgia Power requires large customers with loads of 100 megawatts or more to pay for required power infrastructure upfront.

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions4

  • The county rezoned approximately 560 acres from agricultural-residential, office-residential, and commercial-general-highway districts to planned development–mixed use, expressly allowing development of up to 11 million square feet of data centers and data-center offices.

  • Pod A, consisting of approximately 372.62 acres, is specifically designated for data centers, data-center offices, utility facilities, and related infrastructure.

  • The approved development program permits utility facilities and infrastructure associated with the data-center development.

  • The developers have two years to begin the permitting process, providing a defined period to advance the approved project.

Sources

current law · County project: ATL086 Data Center and associated infrastructure
Allows Amazon’s ATL086 data center in Butts County to disturb parts of protected stream buffers, subject to erosion-control measures and required federal authorization.Butts County ATL086 Data Center Stream Buffer Variance Approval (2025)

What this means

The measure grants the ATL086 data center permission to disturb a limited area within state-water buffers, helping the project move forward. It also requires erosion controls and other approvals, so the benefit is modest and specific to this project.

People behind it

  • Permit applicant that submitted the stream buffer variance application for the ATL086 Data Center.

  • Named permit applicant and representative of Amazon Data Services, Inc.

  • State agency that received and reviewed the variance application and granted the variance.

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  • EPD Director who signed the variance approval letter.

  • Delegated issuing authority responsible for incorporating and ensuring compliance with the variance requirements in the project's land-disturbing activity permit.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements10

  • A state buffer variance is required for land-disturbing activity encroaching within the 25-foot buffer around State waters.

  • The variance approval covers only buffer areas where vegetation has been wrested by normal stream flow or wave action; EPD does not consider or authorize encroachments in areas without that condition.

  • A variance application must include an erosion and sediment control plan using conservation and engineering practices that meet or exceed Georgia standards and minimize erosion and sediment deposition.

  • The variance application is subject to a 30-day public-comment period before EPD completes its review.

  • All graded slopes of 3:1 or greater must be hydroseeded and covered with Georgia DOT-approved wood-fiber or coconut-fiber matting, or approved seeded and fertilized matting, and protected until permanent vegetation is established.

  • Construction clearing must be kept to a minimum.

  • All disturbed areas must be seeded, fertilized, and mulched as soon as final grades are achieved and protected until permanent vegetation is established.

  • A double row of Georgia DOT Type C silt fence, or approved high-performance silt fence, must be installed between land-disturbing activities and State waters where appropriate.

  • The variance conditions must be incorporated into any Butts County Land Disturbing Activity Permit, and the project must comply strictly with the approved erosion and sedimentation control plan and that permit.

  • Before any land-disturbing activity may occur in buffer areas, the applicant must obtain authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under an applicable Clean Water Act Section 404 permit and submit proof of that authorization to EPD at least 14 days before beginning land disturbance.

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  • Grants the ATL086 Data Center a variance to encroach within the 25-foot State waters buffer, allowing construction of the data center, associated infrastructure, and stormwater-management facilities. The approved project covers 229.35 acres of land disturbance and permanent impacts to 366 linear feet (21,300 square feet) of buffer along two unnamed tributaries. The variance is limited to buffer areas where vegetation has been wrested by normal stream flow or wave action; other requested encroachments were not approved. variance approval

Sources

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