Data center opponents to gather voter signatures at rally in Brigham City on May 27
Advocacy groups are rallying in Brigham City, Utah, to gather voter signatures for a referendum aimed at stopping the proposed Stratos Data Center in Box Elder County. Opponents cite concerns about the project's energy and water consumption, with developer Kevin O'Leary envisioning it as the world's largest AI hyperscale data center. The Box Elder Accountability Referendum (B.E.A.R.) group faces tight deadlines for signature collection and is prepared to pursue litigation if the referendum fails.
Advocacy groups are escalating their efforts against the proposed Stratos Data Center, planning a rally in Brigham City, Utah, on May 27 to gather voter signatures for a ballot referendum. The Box Elder Accountability Referendum (B.E.A.R.) group, along with other organizations like Elevate Strategies and the Center for Biological Diversity, aims to prevent the massive artificial intelligence hyperscale data center from proceeding in Box Elder County. This planned demonstration follows a successful protest in Tremonton earlier in May.
The referendum campaign faces a stringent timeline, requiring ballot applications to be submitted to County Attorney Stephen Hatfield within 20 days, followed by 45 days to collect nearly 5,500 local voter signatures for the November ballot. Economist Brenna Williams, a leader of B.E.A.R., indicated that if the signature drive is unsuccessful, the groups are prepared to explore other avenues, including legal action.
Developer Kevin O’Leary, known from "Shark Tank," envisions the Stratos Project as a 40,000-acre campus situated in the Great Salt Lake watershed. Opponents are raising significant environmental concerns, including the project's substantial energy footprint, potential emissions from associated natural gas power plants, and its capacity to divert critical water resources from the already diminishing Great Salt Lake.