Local forum discusses approved Box Elder Data Center in Utah

A panel of community leaders, including an environmental lawyer, an ecologist, and a director from Utah Clean Energy, convened in Box Elder County, Utah, to address the recently approved Stratos Data Center project. The primary focus of the discussion revolved around the data center's potential impact on local water resources. Rhonda Anderson Lauritzen, a local citizen whose family has water rights bordering the Great Salt Lake and the data center property since the 1960s, voiced strong concerns. She highlighted the visible shrinking of the Great Salt Lake and stated her family has been unable to access water for a decade. Lauritzen questioned the data center's water source, asserting that local aquifers are already depleted.