There's another water rights application for the Box Elder County data center project
A second water rights application has been filed for the Stratos Project data center in Box Elder County, Utah, reigniting protests from residents. The first application was withdrawn after receiving nearly 4,000 complaints, but a new entity submitted another application for the same project. The protest period for this new application is now open, indicating continued public opposition despite county approval of the project.
Residents of Box Elder County, Utah, are once again protesting a water rights application for the proposed Stratos Project data center. This follows the withdrawal of a previous application on May 5, which had garnered nearly 4,000 formal complaints.
The Box Elder County commissioners unanimously approved an agreement with the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA) to allow the construction of the massive data center. However, the project continues to face criticism over its potential impact on water resources, increased taxes, and danger to wildlife, while proponents highlight economic benefits.
Despite the county's approval, the project still requires water rights. A separate entity submitted a new water rights application at the end of April for the same data center. The period for filing protests against this new application opened on Monday and will continue until June 16, with new protests already coming in.