Box Elder County Commission members voted unanimously Monday to approve a multibillion-dollar hyperscale data center project on 40,000 acres of privately owned land in unincorporated Box Elder County. The initiative also includes an additional 1,200 acres encompassing part of the Utah Test and Training Range—a Department of Defense site—and property managed by the Utah Trust Lands Administration.
The Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA), which backed the proposal, approved the project late last month. The commission’s vote permits MIDA to establish the project area—primarily composed of privately owned land—to offer incentives for the developer after reviewing over 2,500 public comments submitted via the county website.
During Monday’s meeting held at the county fairgrounds in Tremonton due to anticipated crowd size, commissioners faced immediate backlash. Attendees erupted in jeers and shouts, with one man yelling, “it’s not like we are being heard here anyway.” Commissioner Tyler Vincent stated: “We need to realize and remember that everybody has property rights,” while Commissioner Lee Perry added: “There is no one on this commission or any other county elected official that is going to benefit from this project, financially or otherwise.”
The meeting was repeatedly disrupted by outbursts. After Commissioner Vincent began reading a statement about the project, attendees continued booing and shouting. A Bear River Water Conservancy manager also drew criticism when he asserted that the community does not rely on Salt Wells water in the Hansel Valley area.
Rob Dubuc, counsel for Friends of the Great Salt Lake, countered MIDA’s water usage claims: “There’s misunderstanding on what constitutes Great Salt Lake. A groundwater aquifer that feeds into the lake is absolutely critical to the lake. You can’t have it all; choices have to be made. Are we going to save the lake or not? It takes every drop.”
Commissioner Vincent emphasized the process remains ongoing, stating the project “is far from over.”