We believe the proposed Box Elder data center threatens the values many Utah conservatives hold deeply: local control, fiscal responsibility, and the protection of rural communities. We are concerned about the project’s enormous water and energy demands during an ongoing drought, the special tax incentives being offered to developers, and the potential strain on infrastructure and utility costs for everyday Utahns. We also believe the approval process moved too quickly and without enough transparency or meaningful public input. This is about protecting agricultural land, defending property rights, preserving Utah’s way of life, and ensuring outside corporate interests do not make decisions for our communities behind closed doors.
Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives, Mike Shultz
“That was not a decision that was made by me or the Legislature,” Cox said. “In the future those are decisions that should be made by us, so that we can do these types of things ahead of time to make sure people understand what’s actually happening out there. That did not happen, and it should happen.”