Second lawsuit takes aim at Box Elder County data center project
A second lawsuit has been filed in Salt Lake County challenging the Box Elder County data center project, alleging state and county officials' approval processes violate the Utah Constitution. This new suit, filed by Alliance for a Better Utah, targets the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA) and county commissioners, also naming state senators serving on the MIDA board. Opponents are concerned about environmental impacts, water scarcity, and public health, arguing the project was rushed.
The controversial Box Elder County data center project in Utah is facing a second lawsuit, filed in Salt Lake County by the nonprofit Alliance for a Better Utah and five unnamed Box Elder County residents. This lawsuit claims that actions taken by the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA) and Box Elder County commissioners to greenlight the project are unconstitutional, seeking to nullify these approvals and halt the development.
The suit highlights concerns over insufficient evidence presented at MIDA's April 24 board hearing regarding landowner consent and public health impacts. It further argues that the MIDA and county commission's decisions, which granted MIDA and a special commission authority over the project zone, unfairly strip county residents of their rights to challenge these actions. Utah Senate President Stuart Adams and Sen. Jerry Stevenson, both MIDA board members, are also named in the lawsuit, which questions their dual roles and demands Adams return $135,000 in political donations from project supporters received after the MIDA meeting. Adams has publicly denied any link between the donations and the data center project.
This new legal challenge runs parallel to a separate lawsuit filed by the Box Elder Accountability Referendum (BEAR) in 1st District Court in Brigham City. BEAR's suit contests the rejection of their attempt to force a public vote on two measures approved by Box Elder County commissioners that would allow the project to proceed. The data center, known as the Stratos Area Project and spearheaded by celebrity businessman Kevin O'Leary through O'Leary Digital, is planned for Hansel Valley. Opponents express significant worries about its potential environmental impact on the Great Salt Lake, as well as concerns about air quality, water scarcity, and public health, contending that the approval process was rushed and lacked proper scrutiny.