SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah State Legislature held a series of hearings on data centers and their impacts to the state.
On Wednesday, three separate committees heard testimony from state agency leaders on everything from economic benefits and drawbacks to tax incentives offered and the environmental permitting of data centers. But House Speaker Mike Schultz told FOX 13 News in an interview on Wednesday it is likely regulation bills will be introduced in the upcoming legislative session.
"There does need to be some additional constraints put around the data centers and some of the developments there. We do know that. We are working on that," he said.
During public comment before the Utah State Legislature's Interim Natural Resources Committee, people overwhelmingly spoke against data centers.
"I am not necessarily opposed to data centers. However, location matters," said Allison Barton, who worried about environmental impacts.
Water and the Great Salt Lake were top of mind for many.
"I think it’s highly irresponsible to take on something that’s going to use so much of our water," said Teena Horlacher. "Look at the Colorado River, it’s a trickle!"
But a few did speak in favor of data centers, including Duchesne and Uintah County commissioners who said they had assurances that projects planned for their areas would be environmentally sustainable.
"I'm for data centers," said Alexander D'Angelo. "I think we need to be asking the correct questions and not get so focused on water usage and emissions — which are all critical aspects of building these big, potentially helping resources to the state of Utah."
What was learned in each of the committees is that there is no centralizing authority regulating data centers. Each state agency has its own permitting and public comment process.
"We have different roles and responsibilities," said Bryce Bird, the director of the Utah Division of Air Quality.
Candice Hasenyager, the director of Utah's Division of Water Quality, did call for better coordination.
"I think it’s really important we coordinate with all of our relevant state and federal agencies in this space," she told lawmakers.
Wednesday's hearings were in response to celebrity investor Kevin O'Leary's proposed Stratos Project in Box Elder County. It's a massive data center that critics say would be built too close to the Great Salt Lake. When it was announced, Utah State Engineer Teresa Wilhelmsen's office was flooded with formal protests over water rights — which require a fee — and made every single person who filed a protest a party to the permit process. She suggested that was different than public comment.
O'Leary's project has since withdrawn its water rights application and other permits have not been sought. The Stratos Project is currently in limbo, but is expected to resume in the future.
Faced with significant public blowback after he offered support to the project, Governor Spencer Cox issued an executive order setting some guardrails around data center development in Utah.
Speaker Schultz has called for studies and suggested he is not as supportive of mass data center development in Utah. On Wednesday, he said there would be more hearings.
"One thing that I think we’re united on is we do not want a state full of data centers," he told FOX 13 News. "What is the appropriate amount that’s acceptable? What’s not the appropriate amount? And having a true understanding of what the impact is both on the economic side and the natural resources side, water use and other types of things that we need to truly understand."
