Hualapai Tribe enacts moratorium to halt ‘irresponsible development of hyperscale data centers’

The Hualapai Tribal Council in northern Arizona has enacted a moratorium on the development of hyperscale data centers across its nearly one million-acre reservation. Chairman Duane Clarke stated that such facilities, particularly those powering AI, pose a "direct and severe threat to the tribe's sacred water, lands, environment and way of life," vowing to protect these resources. The tribe's resolution opposes "irresponsible development" and asserts that no external entity or developer can compromise their resources without "free, prior and informed consent."

This action reflects growing concerns across Arizona about the rapid increase of data centers and their significant water consumption in the drought-stricken Southwest. Neighbors in Bullhead City, located near the Colorado River, are also apprehensive about potential rezoning proposals that could pave the way for data center development downstream of the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead.

Separately, the city of Page, situated across the river near Utah, sold 500 acres to Huntley, LLC for $7 million. Huntley intends to develop a potential $10 billion data center project near Horseshoe Bend and the Navajo Nation. The Page City Council approved this controversial sale last October despite a unanimous resolution against it adopted in February by the LeChee Chapter, the closest Navajo community. LeChee residents accused Page officials of lacking transparency and failing to consider environmental and resource impacts on the Navajo people before finalizing the transaction. The proposed 1 gigawatt data center still requires a feasibility study to assess Page's capacity to sustain it, with the city's FAQ page noting no municipal water has been committed and rumors of drawing from Lake Powell remain "speculative."