SALT LAKE CITY – Over two months after the Box Elder County Commission approved a massive data center project backed by celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary, Utahns are still working to block the project’s development.
Dubbed the Stratos Project, the data center garnered an enormous amount of attention as Utahns raised concerns over potential environmental impacts and decried the lack of transparency surrounding the project leading up to its approval.
While the data center’s proposed size has shrunk and three of the politicians involved with its approval were voted out in the June primaries, the project remains in development.
Utahns opposing the Stratos Project say the fight isn’t over, though.
Lawsuits against the data center unfold
Following the Box Elder County Commission’s unanimous decision in May to approve the data center campus, county residents banded together to file referendum applications to bring the project approval to voters in the county.
However, the Box Elder County Attorney, Stephen R. Hadfield, rejected the applications, saying the matters within were not ”legally referable to voters.”
As a result, the group of local residents formed the Box Elder Accountability Referendum (BEAR) and filed a lawsuit appealing Hadfield’s decision.
BEAR members also filed another lawsuit alongside the Alliance for a Better Utah, a progressive nonprofit, which aims to have the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA) declared unconstitutional.
MIDA greenlit the data center earlier this year before it went to the Box Elder County Commission for approval. The project was referred to MIDA due to its partial placement on military land and because revenue from the data center will go toward supporting Hill Air Force Base and the Utah National Guard.
Therefore, MIDA is able to make land use decisions and levy taxes related to the project area.
MIDA’s spokesperson told Utah Junction they were not commenting on the lawsuit out of respect for the legal process. Box Elder County did not respond to a request for comment.
‘There is no silver lining with this’
Brenna Williams, the lead liaison for BEAR, told Utah Junction that she was motivated to act after the first public meeting with Box Elder County commissioners.
Williams said she knew the approval of the Stratos Project was on the way based on how the commissioners spoke at that meeting.
“I told my husband, ‘I’m going to have to referendum this,” Williams said.
Following the vote, Williams took to Facebook and connected with other residents who shared her feelings. From there, they got together and created BEAR.
BEAR members began attending rallies and holding panel discussions, and volunteers started flooding in.
“Everywhere we went, people were coming up to us saying, ‘What can I do? How can I help? Where do I donate? How do I volunteer?’ So, we just keep adding people to our list,” Williams said.
Williams said that since the group’s creation, over 2,500 people have signed up to volunteer in the fight against the Stratos Project.
“How it grew so fast kind of amazes everybody involved,” Williams said.
Williams said the Stratos Project has activated people across the political spectrum.
“I think by and large Americans have been more of a compliant group. It takes a lot to rile us up, but when we’re riled, we’re riled. When we really believe in something, we’ll go to bat for it.”
Williams cited a list of the data center’s potential impacts on local wildlife, water resources, and residents’ quality of life as cause for concern for Utahns of all backgrounds.
Data centers nationwide have been shown to pollute local water supplies, increase air pollution, raise utility bills, and emit harmful noise pollution.
“There’s nothing in my life that’s happened that I haven’t been able to find a silver lining somewhere. There is no silver lining with this,” Williams said.
As BEAR waits for their lawsuits to unfold, Williams said they’re working hard to keep people involved and active in the fight against the Stratos Project, especially ahead of the general election in November.
“We’re teaching people that they need to educate themselves about the beliefs of the people running.”
Increased interest in the Great Salt Lake
Part of the conversation surrounding the data center involves its potential effects on the already ailing Great Salt Lake.
Samantha Hawkins, communications director for local nonprofit and Great Salt Lake advocacy group Grow the Flow, said they have seen an increase in engagement since the project’s approval.
More people have been showing up to meetings, asking questions, and contacting their legislators about Utah’s water resources.
“For a lot of Utahns, the Stratos Project has been an entry point into learning more about the Great Salt Lake and Utah’s limited water resources,” Hawkins wrote in a comment to Utah Junction.
Project developers say that the data center would be “water-wise” and “reduce long-term water consumption.” But scientists have expressed doubt about the claim and are concerned that the center’s water usage would lead to more evaporation for the Great Salt Lake.
“This kind of public engagement is crucial to building up the political will to restore the lake, and we’re encouraged to see so many Utahns get involved,” Hawkins wrote.
A lawmaker’s efforts to learn more
In May, State Rep. Doug Owens (D-Salt Lake) made a motion with the Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Interim Committee to study the environmental impacts data center developments have on the state.
The motion to study was passed unanimously.
Owens told Utah Junction that he’d seen public concern surrounding the Stratos Project, along with other data center developments in the state, and wanted to push for more information about impacts to the community and the environment.
“I think there is a strong interest in preserving the Great Salt Lake, preserving the ability of people to have their kids and grandkids be able to live in this area. And that means that we have to be really careful about water usage,” Owens said.
That extends beyond data centers, Owens said.
He opened another bill file aimed at developing a decision-making process for any new industrial water user to have to go through before they can access the Great Salt Lake Basin.
“We need to have opportunities for public input. We need to have opportunities for policy. Leaders in impacted areas to be able to weigh in and have a discussion,” Owens said.
