The Southern Environmental Law Center has filed a lawsuit asking a state court to require Spartanburg County to publicly review the proposed data center on South Pine Street. The nearly $3 billion project, which includes a 450-megawatt gas-fired power plant and spans 500,000 square feet, is currently being processed as a minor lane development. The lawsuit, on behalf of Concerned Citizens of Spartanburg County, asks the South Carolina circuit court to declare the county must comply with its land development ordinance. The group is seeking a court order that would require Valara Holdings, a subsidiary of NorthMark Strategies, to obtain a major land development permit before the full planning commission. "I have no idea how this happened. The data center developer should have submitted a major development application, and the county should have insisted on that." The plaintiffs have characterized the project as lacking transparency since its inception, stating that the public was in...