Rural Utah council approves 40,000‑acre AI data‑center amid noise and local concerns

Box Elder County commissioners approved two resolutions on May 4 allowing Utah’s Military Installation Development Authority, or MIDA, to create the Stratos project area in Hansel Valley, a rural part of western Box Elder County. The site covers about 40,000 acres and is planned as a phased data and energy campus tied to artificial intelligence, cloud computing and defense-related workloads. The vote followed weeks of protests over water, power demand, noise and impacts on the Great Salt Lake watershed. What was approved, according to county and state documents, was the project area and interlocal framework — not final permits for full construction. ### Did Utah actually approve a 40,000-acre AI data center? May 4 is the key date. The Box Elder County Commission unanimously approved an interlocal agreement with MIDA and gave consent for private land in unincorporated Box Elder County to be included in the Stratos project area, county notices and local reporting show. The 40,000-acre number refers to the entire project area in Hansel Valley, not to a single continuous block of server buildings. A FAQ posted by Governor Spencer Cox’s office said most of the acreage would remain undeveloped and that the actual data-center footprint would be only a fraction of the total area. ABC4 reported Cox said the initial phase would use fewer than 2,000 acres for the building footprint. (fox13now.com) ### Who is behind the project, and where is it? MIDA is the state authority advancing the project, and the site is in western Box Elder County near Hansel Valley. MIDA’s project page says Stratos is intended as a large-scale energy and data campus supporting artificial intelligence, cloud computing and defense operations. O’Leary Digital, linked in local coverage to investor Kevin O’Leary, has been identified as the lead private developer. (governor.utah.gov) Fox 13 reported the project is expected to take about 10 years, while Utah Public Radio said county commissioners estimated the cost at more than $1 billion. ### What are local residents objecting to? (midaut.org) Hundreds of opponents turned out for the May 4 vote in Tremonton, and protests have continued since then. Local coverage described concerns about groundwater withdrawals, electricity use, wildlife, taxes and whether the review process moved too quickly. (fox13now.com) Water has been the central issue. Fox 13 reported project representatives said they were working to secure rights to 13,000 acre-feet of water in the Hansel Valley area, while opponents and Great Salt Lake advocates argued groundwater connected to the lake should not be treated as separate from the lake’s health. (fox13now.com) Noise is also part of the dispute. Utah Public Radio reported the county negotiated a 55-decibel noise limit for the data center and power plant as one of several “guardrail” provisions attached to the approval framework. ### What about claims of heat, water depletion and utility strain? ABC4, citing the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, reported that data centers can consume large amounts of water for cooling, with large facilities using up to 5 million gallons a day depending on design. (fox13now.com) That outlet presented the figure as general context for Utah projects, not as a confirmed operating number for Stratos. (upr.org) Project backers have said Stratos would rely on on-site energy and a closed-loop water system. Fox 13 reported a MIDA spokesperson said the project planned to use on-site energy production and 3,000 acre-feet of on-site water in a closed-loop system, while county and state materials said multiple state agencies would still review air emissions, drinking water systems and water-quality permits before construction could proceed. (abc4.com) I did not find an official planning document in the available sources using the phrase “heat island effect.” That concern appears in social-media discussion, but the verified public record centers on water rights, noise, power generation, environmental review and local oversight. ### So what happens next? (fox13now.com) May 6 reporting by Utah Public Radio said MIDA’s county approval opened a roughly 60-day capital-raising period and the start of state environmental permitting. The governor’s FAQ said future steps include air-quality review, drinking-water oversight, water-quality permitting and public design-review meetings. H.B. 76, passed in Utah’s 2026 session, also created new reporting requirements for large data centers on water use before construction and annually after that. (fox13now.com) That means the next concrete record for Stratos should come from permit filings, water-right proceedings and MIDA or county public meetings in the months ahead. (le.utah.gov) (upr.org)