Utah Data Center Project Approved Amid Water Concerns and Opposition in Box Elder County
A proposed 40,000-acre data center in Box Elder County, Utah, has been approved by county commissioners despite fierce opposition from locals concerned about its impact on the struggling Locomotive Springs Waterfowl Management Area. Developers are now seeking water rights, a process complicated by protests and recent legislative changes (HB60) that remove environmental and recreational considerations from water permit decisions. Opponents are shifting their focus to challenging the data center's water applications.
A proposed 40,000-acre data center in Box Elder County, Utah, backed by investor Kevin O’Leary, is moving forward despite significant opposition. The Box Elder County Commissioners voted to approve the project on May 4. This decision has sparked alarm among local waterfowlers and environmentalists, who fear the data center's water demands will further degrade the already struggling Locomotive Springs Waterfowl Management Area, an 18,000-acre state-owned refuge.
R. Jefre Hicks, a board member of both the Utah Waterfowl Association and the Utah Airboat Association, is a vocal opponent, highlighting how agricultural expansion has already depleted water resources in the area. He advocated for the state to purchase water rights to restore the refuge but notes that legislative changes are making this increasingly difficult. Opponents previously protested water rights applications, leading developers to withdraw them, but Hicks anticipates new applications that will bypass past objections.
The Utah Legislature recently passed HB60, signed into law by Gov. Spencer Cox, which removed language allowing the state engineer to deny water permits based on harm to public welfare or unreasonable effects on recreation and the natural stream environment. Hicks believes this change will facilitate the data center's acquisition of water rights, making the restoration of Locomotive Springs even more challenging and raising concerns about the long-term environmental impact of the massive development.