Utah residents sue officials over Kevin O’Leary data center plan

A progressive nonprofit and five Utah residents have filed a lawsuit against government officials and a special entity overseeing Kevin O’Leary’s planned Stratos Project data center, alleging that Box Elder County residents’ rights were violated.

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The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Utah’s 3rd District Court by the Alliance for a Better Utah and the group of anonymous residents.

The plaintiffs hope to challenge the constitutionality of the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA) — a special entity that oversees the data center’s proposal — and its approval of the project, a spokesperson for the nonprofit said.

Attorney David Irvine, who is representing the plaintiffs, alleges that MIDA is exercising powers as an unelected body that “the Utah Constitution never authorized.”

“Under the Stratos plan, it would hold permanent, irrevocable control over public health, safety, taxation, and land use across tens of thousands of acres of Box Elder County, with no voter recourse,” he said in a statement.

The lawsuit alleges that allowing MIDA to oversee the data center’s development “irrevocably” cuts off Box Elder County citizens’ rights by not allowing sufficient public input in the project.

“The Stratos Project Area Plan, and actions taken by MIDA and the Commission to enact the same, puts lawmaking power respecting questions of public health, safety, welfare, morals, taxation, zoning, land use, and the like, in relation to a significant swath of county territory in a non-elected MIDA Board,” the complaint reads.

In addition to MIDA and the Box Elder County Commission, the lawsuit names Utah Senate President J. Stuart Adams and state Sen. Jerry Stevenson, who also serve as MIDA board members.

Irvine said Adams and Stevenson’s presence on the MIDA board as active legislators “appears to violate the prohibition on holding more than one office of public trust simultaneously,” and claimed this should render the data center’s approval “null and void.”

Utah Senate Deputy Chief of Staff Aundrea Peterson said Adams and his staff are reviewing the lawsuit. Stevenson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a statement, a MIDA spokesperson said they are reviewing the lawsuit. A spokesperson for Box Elder County said that officials have not been formally served with court filings.

“Once the County receives and reviews the relevant documents, we will evaluate the matter and respond as appropriate,” public information officer Lynnette Crockett said in a statement.

The original data center proposal included building a 40,000-acre AI data center campus in Utah’s Hansel Valley.

Celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary told NBC News on Wednesday evening that he is “going to have to” slim down the project while political pushback continues to mount.

Two days earlier, Adams had sent him a letter requesting a 75% reduction in the size of the data center.

Adams announced Thursday that O’Leary conceded to his demands, including the 75% size reduction, a commitment of water to the Great Salt Lake and “thousands of acres to be set aside for open space, wildlife protections, and continued agricultural use.”

“The response to the demand letter I sent demonstrates that public engagement matters and that Utahns’ concerns are being heard,” Adams said in a news release.

He added that the project is still in its “earliest stages” and a full permitting and environmental review process will be carried out.

O’Leary responded Thursday in a post on X, saying his team is “working around the clock to address every issue raised.”

The Box Elder County Commission gave its first approval related to the project in May, followed by an executive order signed later that month by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to prioritize several environmental and consumer safeguards.

The Box Elder County residents’ lawsuit requests that the court deem actions taken by MIDA and the county commission as unconstitutional, and judge Adams and Stevenson as unconstitutional appointees of MIDA’s board. It also asks for an injunction to “permanently prevent” any further attempts to “implement or otherwise administer the Stratos Project Area Plan.”

“Backroom deals and pay-to-play have no place in Utah government, and Box Elder County residents deserve a voice in what happens to their community,” Irvine, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “We’re going to court to make sure they get one.”