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A group of Georgia residents wants to know how a $20 billion data center ended up in their backyard without anyone asking them first.
Residents and environmental advocacy groups in Effingham County have filed a string of lawsuits targeting OpenAI’s proposed Project Camellia, along with county officials and the local Industrial Development Authority. The latest complaint goes well beyond paperwork disputes. It alleges conspiracy, fraud, and civil racketeering.
What OpenAI wants to build
Project Camellia is a $20 billion investment by OpenAI and Octans GA LLC. The planned campus would sit on a 1,440-acre site in the Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub, near the town of Rincon.
The facility is expected to cover 4.4 million square feet and could require up to 3.2 gigawatts of power, with construction phases slated to begin in 2028.
Tax incentives tied to the project are estimated at between $870 million and $900 million over the next 15 years.
At least 80 permanent positions could be created per phase. The project is projected to roll out across five development phases through 2034.
The secrecy problem
The project only became public on July 22, 2026. By then, it had reportedly been the subject of nearly nine months of private negotiations covered by confidentiality agreements.
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Since early September 2026, three separate lawsuits have landed. Each targets a different piece of how the deal came together.
The first lawsuit takes aim at a county zoning ordinance. Plaintiffs argue it permits data centers on industrial land without the public hearings they say should be required.
The second lawsuit focuses on the Effingham County Industrial Development Authority. It alleges the IDA breached Georgia’s Open Meetings and Open Records Acts.
Plaintiffs point to the use of codenames such as “Project Gateway” during meetings, plus agendas that were allegedly changed without prior notice.
The third lawsuit, filed around November 6-9, 2026, is the most aggressive. It names OpenAI, local officials, and the IDA, and it alleges conspiracy, fraud, and civil racketeering.
All of these are allegations. None of the claims have been decided by a court.
What this means
For OpenAI, the immediate risk is delay and reputational friction rather than a direct hit to its plans. Construction is not scheduled to start until 2028, which gives courts time to weigh in before shovels hit the ground.
For Effingham County and its IDA, if a court finds that open meetings or open records laws were broken, the tax incentive package estimated at $870 million to $900 million could become a central point of contention.
The zoning case could matter well beyond this one project. If plaintiffs succeed in arguing that data centers on industrial land require public hearings, future developments in the county would face a more open approval process.
