‘Protect the water, the air, the land’: Hundreds demand halt on Box Elder data center plan

Hundreds of Utahns gathered on the Capitol steps Saturday afternoon, demanding a halt to the development of the Stratos Project, a controversial 40,000 acre data center campus set to be built in Box Elder County along the north shore of the Great Salt Lake. 

The demonstration follows Box Elder County commissioners’ decision to allow the project to move forward, despite backlash from citizens and environmental groups. Speakers warned that the project could negatively impact air quality, increase greenhouse gas emissions and exacerbate the state’s water supply struggles. 

Chants like “data center dollars don’t trickle down, Kevin O’Leary get out of our town,” a reference to the project’s billionaire investor, and “Air, water and land, we’ll keep on fighting and take a stand,” echoed through the crowd...