Box Elder County commissioners OK controversial data center proposal

TREMONTON — Box Elder County commissioners on Monday gave the green light to a controversial data center proposal put forward by a Canadian entrepreneur, touting the import of the facility to national security.

At a rowdy meeting repeatedly interrupted by opponents of the project, the commissioners unanimously approved two resolutions required before the proposal, called the Stratos Project Area, can go forward. Tyler Vincent, the chairman of the commission, touted what he says are the jobs and economic development the project would create as well as the facility’s role in safeguarding national security.

Lee Perry, another commissioner, said commissioners heavily researched the matter and relied on community feedback ahead of the votes, which, he added, were tough decisions. In a nod to the fears about the potential environmental impact, he said Monday’s yes votes don’t end county involvement and that town hall meetings are in the works to better inform the public about the plans.

The action “is not the end of the process. It’s the beginning,” he said in a press conference after the formal vote. “At every step, (the project) will be subject to continued oversight, permitting and regulatory review. As a commission, we will ensure that the development is done responsibly and in a manner that protects the best interests of Box Elder County and its residents.”

The plans, put forward by Kevin O’Leary, a celebrity businessman, and O’Leary Digital, have spurred sharp backlash from opponents who worry the facility would sap water resources in the area, harming the Great Salt Lake. They protested when county commissioners discussed the issue a week ago and demonstrated again ahead of Monday’s meeting, held at the Box Elder County Fairgrounds complex in Tremonton.

“We’re already struggling with water. The Great Salt Lake is in trouble,” said Joy Beightol, of Salt Lake City, one of the demonstrators. Project reps have minimized water concerns, saying the developers would tap existing water rights tied to the property where the development is to occur, using less than what the current agriculture and ranching operations use.

Apart from worries about the water Beightol thinks the development would use, she thinks the proposal should first be focus of an environmental study to pinpoint its possible impacts.

Thor Dorosh, of Indivisible Ogden, who helped the demonstration ahead of Monday’s meeting, said the action won’t end their efforts against the project. Legal action, he said, is one of the avenues opponents are considering.

“It’s time for the community to organize, time for the community to make sure they’re heard. We’re going to keep it up,” he said. “There’s a lot of public outcry. There’s a lot of avenues.”

During the meeting, many in the audience repeatedly shouted down the county officials as they spoke, expressing skepticism and derision with their comments. As a result, the commissioners ultimately left the stage of the expansive fairgrounds room where the meeting was being held and continued in a small side room closed to the public. They broadcast the meeting electronically on a screen to the crowd in the larger room.

At full build-out, the long-range plans, which came to public light only recently and have sparked sharp debate, call for development of a data center operation across 40,000 acres on three swaths of undeveloped land in Box Elder County. The data centers would be supported by 7.5-9 gigawatts of power-generating capacity, likely from natural gas-fired plants, another controversial element of the plans.

The data centers would bolster the U.S. military’s access to artificial intelligence and cloud-computing capabilities, helping it counter and surpass advances by U.S. adversaries like China. Proponents have also hinted the data centers would serve the defense industry as well.

Casey Hill, an O’Leary spokesman, said at the post-meeting press conference that investment is lined up. The Box Elder County Commission decision paves the way for redoubled capital-raising efforts within the next 60 days. The overall project, to be completed in phases, has an estimated price tag of $1 billion, he said.

He hopes the concerns of some of the project’s critics are allayed with time as plans move forward. “It’s just going to take some time for the residents of Box Elder to see that we are a good partner and we intend to follow through on every part of the agreement that we’ve agreed to,” Hill said.

He also said there’s a lot of misinformation swirling around the project and that company officials will engage in outreach to counter it.

At any rate, it’s a large-scale project and has taken some by surprise, though O’Leary Digital officials have been in talks with state leaders on the plans, including Gov. Spencer Cox, House Speaker Mike Schultz and Senate President Stuart Adams. Cox and Adams issued supportive statements following Monday’s vote.

“The Stratos Project Area represents the kind of forward-thinking investment that strengthens our economy, supports national security and creates meaningful opportunities for Utah families, while being done the right way — in partnership with local communities,” Cox said.

Utah’s Military Installation Development Authority, or MIDA, which promotes economic development initiatives intertwined with military projects, also favors the plans and has been helping shepherd the project along. Paul Morris, the MIDA executive director, said a top U.S. Air Force official had approached MIDA authorities about the project, citing an executive order issued by President Donald Trump calling for “hyper-scale” data centers.

“He asked us specifically, ‘Can you … work with somebody to find it in Utah to start because it’s a national security imperative,” Morris said. Some of the users of the proposed data center, he went on, “are going to be directly benefitting our national security defense,” though he wouldn’t provide additional details.

Vincent said county officials received more than 2,500 comments from the public on the issue. They created an informational website that also allows the public to sound off and submit questions and comments and welcome additional feedback. Of those, 262 came from Box Elder County residents, Vincent said, which were given priority consideration.

Moreover, Perry stressed the importance of respecting the rights of the private owners of the land where the project is to be developed, who are allowing use of their property. “This land is private, and it is currently unzoned,” he said.