Opinion: Utah Government Criticized Over Box Elder Data Center Transparency
The article, an opinion piece, criticizes the Utah government's bureaucracy, contrasting a lengthy highway study in Park City with the rapid, opaque approval of a large data center in Box Elder County. The author alleges the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA) expedited the data center project, with the state Legislature altering water rights laws to streamline industrial use approvals and limit public input. This process raises concerns about environmental impacts and democratic transparency.
Tom Clyde, a Park City lawyer and columnist, criticizes the slow pace of government projects in Utah, contrasting a protracted $2.1 million environmental and design study for the "Re-Create 248" highway project in Park City with the perceived rapid and opaque approval of a large data center in Box Elder County. He lambasts the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA) for promoting the data center, which he suggests was "sprung on the public" without sufficient discussion or environmental review.
Clyde highlights that the Utah Legislature, in anticipation of such projects, altered water rights laws to remove public benefit as a consideration for industrial water use, effectively expediting development while reducing transparency and public involvement. He questions the lack of public notification, especially given MIDA's distant Kaysville office, and expresses concern about the unknown environmental impacts of "60-square-mile data centers" and the potential for "bad government" when processes are rushed.