BRIGHAM CITY, Utah — The chambers were overflowing at a Box Elder County commission meeting Monday, with residents packing the room to hear about the possibility that a 40,000-acre data center will be coming to the area.
Many attendees were concerned that it was the first time they heard about the facility and felt as if it was being rushed towards final approval.
“I was on Facebook for a second this morning before the kids woke up, and saw it on the local page that they were voting on it today,” explained Brigham City resident Savannah Mutz.
Mutz rushed downtown with her kids during what should’ve been nap time.
“It matters, like, you know, we need jobs, but for us to be bringing things to Utah that are using resources that we don’t have... we don’t have the water!” she said.
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Her worries and those of many others created tense moments during the meeting, before details of an interlocal agreement between the county and Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA) eventually emerged.
“At its core, this project is about infrastructure that supports the military mission. Reliable energy and secure data systems are no longer optional. They are part of the foundation of how national defense operates today," explained MIDA's Hillary Venable.
Our partners at the Salt Lake Tribune report that the project's head developer is O'Leary Digital, owned by Shark Tank personality Kevin O'Leary. They added that at a recent MIDA board meeting, the authority approved multiple tax breaks for the proposal.
At the commission meeting, Venable laid out the plan for the large data center to be constructed in a remote area of Hansen Valley, with plans of using on-site energy and a closed-loop water system. She claimed they have 100% consent from all private landowners in the area, and the rights to 3,000 acre-feet of on-site water, which is not from the Great Salt Lake.
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MIDA says the full buildout would take about ten years, and by the time it’s done, it could support up to eight gigawatts of power. They claim the center could bring more than $100 million in annual revenue to the county, along with thousands of jobs.
“Permanent jobs that will stay with the development, approximately 2,000," said Venable.
County leaders, like Commissioner Tyler Vincent, said all the information was a lot, likening it to “drinking from a fire hose.”
“All of a sudden, we’re brought in at the last hour, and we’re expected to hurry,” said Vincent.
While Venable said MIDA had done ‘due diligence’, she admitted that no impact studies had been conducted in relation to traffic or the environment.
“I had a lot of fear… it also kind of made me sad that it felt like it was all kind of secret,” said Manda Smith, who opposed the data center.
Acknowledging that the commission's decision is permanent, the general public and the commissioners were in no rush.
“With a project this big, we’re finding it’s just about impossible to understand every issue that’s coming along. In the event that we vote for this, after that happens, we lose control,” said County Commissioner Boyd Bingham.
Ultimately, commissioners decided to table a vote to give themselves more time to go over all the information, and have set another meeting next Monday at the county fairgrounds in Tremonton.
