Tooele County Data Center Ordinance Faces Resident Pushback
More than 900 Tooele County residents signed a letter asking the county planning commission to delay approval of proposed data center regulations, citing concerns about water, power, environmental impacts and gaps in the draft ordinance. TooeleCARES planned a rally before the commission meeting, while a proposed 200-acre data center campus near the Great Salt Lake remains a focal point of local opposition.
TooeleCARES is urging the Tooele County Planning Commission to delay approval of Chapter 34, a proposed ordinance establishing data center standards for siting, setbacks, noise, and disclosures about water and electricity use. More than 900 residents signed the group's letter, and organizers planned a rally before the commission's meeting. An earlier version of the ordinance was tabled after contentious public discussion.
The opposition is tied to a proposed 200-acre, 500-megawatt data center campus in Tooele Valley, which would use natural-gas generators and seek permission to discharge up to 250,000 gallons per day of reverse-osmosis brine wastewater into wetlands feeding Great Salt Lake. TooeleCARES members, including Amy Lawson, Jessica Perschon and Natalie Merriam, are calling for more study and have advocated a one-year statewide moratorium on data centers. The Utah Inland Port Authority has approved a $4.875 million loan and offered up to $234 million in potential public financing incentives for infrastructure in the project area.