SALT LAKE CITY — Facing public blowback over the massive data center project in Box Elder County, the head of Utah's Military Installation Development Authority is now asking for changes.
In a letter sent to celebrity investor Kevin O'Leary, who is backing the project, Senate President J. Stuart Adams called for the footprint to shrink by 75% — from 40,000 acres to 10,000 acres. He also demanded excess water be dedicated to the Great Salt Lake and further environmental mitigation.
"To ensure the community’s concerns are meaningfully addressed, I am calling on the O’Leary Digital development team to adequately and transparently meet the following conditions and incorporate them into the final agreements prior to their execution," Sen. Adams, R-Layton, wrote in a letter shared with FOX 13 News.
Beyond the footprint of the proposed nine Gigawatt data center, Sen. Adams called for a reduction in water demand and any excess water being dedicated to the Great Salt Lake at the developer's expense "even though none of the water currently used in that area flows into the Great Salt Lake."
The Senate President also demanded:
- A Memorandum of Understanding with the Utah Department of Natural Resources outlining the conservation of the land within the reduced project area to ensure that wildlife and agricultural uses are preserved and protected.
- Heat-capture technologies and provide independent scientific and engineering analyses for the project.
- Cooperation with state agencies to create a transparent, public-facing website with all information associated with the additional or future approvals, including water and air quality permits.
- O'Leary work with the relevant state and federal agencies to ensure that the project area utilizes the best available technologies and meets or exceeds all environmental performance requirements."Utah can pursue economic opportunity while protecting our water, air, wildlife and communities. We can and must do both," Sen. Adams said in a statement.
Sen. Adams, who is facing a primary election and numerous challengers, and MIDA have haved significant public blowback over the data center project. In his role as Chair of MIDA, Sen. Adams green-lit the Stratos Project. MIDA, which can push through projects quickly if it can make a military connection to a project, has seen its role scrutinized with some lawmakers on Utah's Capitol Hill telling FOX 13 News they are planning bills to rein in its powers. The Stratos Project has had community concerns raised about the resources it would use and the impact it would have on the environment.
On Friday, Gov. Cox issued an executive order setting guardrails around future data center projects.
