Box Elder data center organizers withdraw water rights application, nulling protest letters

SALT LAKE CITY — The group behind a proposed controversial data center in Box Elder County has withdrawn its application for water rights for the facility, with the intention of resubmitting it.

The Utah Division of Water Rights has received just one change application so far related to water rights for the data center project, dated March 25 and submitted by Bar H Ranch of Bear River City, Box Elder County. Bar H withdrew the application on Tuesday:

"In light of the county's action on Monday, we are withdrawing the current change application at this time," wrote Bar H consultant Logan Riley in an email to the Utah Division of Water Rights. "Bar H Ranch intends to resubmit in a timely manner with additional supporting information and to further demonstrate the feasibility of the application."

Riley referenced the decision Monday by Box Elder County commissioners to allow the data center project to proceed, notwithstanding strong opposition from some, largely in regard to the data center's projected water use.

In its original application, Bar H asked for the transfer of 1,900 acre-feet of water rights so it could be used for the data center project instead of irrigation, which is the current use.

"Water diverted under this application will be used primarily for power generation. A portion of the water will also be used in connection with a data center that will operate as a closed-loop system," the March 25 application reads.

Nonrefundable protest fees

With the application withdrawn, the Utah Division of Water Rights said it immediately stopped processing the application and won't look through outstanding letters of protest, according to spokeswoman Audra Sorensen.

The original Bar H application received some 3,800 formal protests, submitted to the Division of Water Rights by opponents who paid $15 each. If those who challenged the original application want to protest the new one, they'll need to refile their protests against the new application, when submitted, and pay the $15 fee anew, according to a Division of Water Rights spokeswoman.

Reps from three environmental organizations in Utah blasted the withdrawal of the water rights application as a means of skirting the 3,800-plus protests filed with the Division of Water Rights against the request. At $15 each, the protesters collectively paid nearly $60,000 to file their complaints.

"For the developer to sidestep the public input process by withdrawing their application and resubmitting later is another breach of trust. I keep trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, but this has all the hallmarks of an out-of-state megaproject with little to no concern for the local community," Ben Abbott, a Brigham Young University ecologist and executive director of Grow the Flow, said in a statement.

He, Deeda Seed of the Center for Biological Diversity and Maria Archibald of the Sierra Club in Utah, said the filing of the protests represents one of the largest outpourings against a water rights application in recent Utah history. "The unprecedented response underscores the public's growing alarm surrounding the project's scale and lack of transparency around the project's long-term impacts," their statement reads.

'Really an outlet for people'

General counsel of Friends of Great Salt Lake Rob Dubuc said his nonprofit organization was an encouraging force behind some of the letters.

"We were hoping that, oh you know, maybe 100 people or so would protest. And I think all of us were just blown away by the number of people who filed you know, almost 4,000," he said. "I think what this came out to be is this is really an outlet for people to express their concern."

Dubuc acknowledged the notion that the move was a strategy to invalidate all the protests. He said he believes the attention won't die down, even when the new application is resubmitted. Once done, Dubuc said, his organization will encourage residents to protest again.

"People are pretty upset and I think it's going to stay bottled up for a while," he said. "So I guess it depends on how quickly they reapply will determine what kind of reaction they get."

Contributing: Mike Anderson, Kennedy Camarena and Mary Culbertson, KSL

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