Updated
Updated · Salt Lake Tribune · Jun 11
Box Elder Data Center Proposal Stirs Great Salt Lake Water Fears Near I-15
Updated
Updated · Salt Lake Tribune · Jun 11

Box Elder Data Center Proposal Stirs Great Salt Lake Water Fears Near I-15

3 articles · Updated · Salt Lake Tribune · Jun 11

Summary

  • Rhonda Lauritzen used a June 9 tour of the proposed Stratos project area to show how far the Great Salt Lake has receded from her family’s land, underscoring residents’ alarm over another major water user.
  • The site sits on gravel roads between Interstate 15 and open ranchland where cows outnumber people, a sparsely populated stretch locals say could be remade by a large data center.
  • Residents frame the fight as more than a single project dispute, warning the development could alter the landscape and identity of what they call the “mythical American West.”

Insights

When a state agency can bypass all local laws for a developer, who really holds the power in rural America?
As Utah spends $1 billion to save its Great Salt Lake, can it afford a project consuming billions of gallons of water?