SALT LAKE CITY — The possibility of a hyperscale data center in Box Elder County could still be much further from reality than many people realize.
Tim Davis, commissioner for Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality, points out that the developers behind Project Stratos haven’t even approached the department with plans yet.
“I think it’s really important that people understand that we haven’t started our process,” Davis said. “There will have to be a year of background air monitoring before they can even apply for an air quality permit.”
Davis said the monitoring would have to be set up according to state standards, making sure emissions from the data center and power plant do not impact the airshed along the Wasatch Front.
“The Wasatch Front is largely in what (is) called the non-attainment area, which means that the area is already out of compliance with the Clean Air Act,” Davis said.
That means air monitoring studies would have to show that emissions wouldn’t move from the airshed in western Box Elder County into the Wasatch Front. Some health experts, however, are concerned that those standards don’t do nearly enough to protect the community.
“What people need to understand is that there are some real limitations to those standards,” Dr. David Moench, board president for Utah Physicians for a Health Environment, said. “The Clean Air Act requires the federal government to look at those standards every five years, and then adjust them according to the medical research, and the medical research during all that time is telling one continuous story, and that is air pollution is much worse than we thought.”
Moench says from his perspective, Stratos Project developers at O’Leary Digital can never do enough to satisfy his concerns.
“There’s no safe amount of community air pollution you can be exposed to,” he said.
However, Davis said people will have a chance to offer their feedback as standards for both air and water quality are evaluated. Each will come with a 30-day public comment period. The DEQ is also anticipating that people will ask for public hearings for each.
“Our process to ensure that air quality is protected, water quality is protected, hasn’t even begun,” Davis said. “There’ll be plenty of opportunity for people to engage with the department, provide public comments, and it will take time.”
Still, Moench believes airshed boundaries are arbitrary and impossible to maintain.
“If Mr. O’Leary brings his hyperscale data center into Box Elder County, that’s going to have an impact on the air pollution that’s experienced by just about everybody along the Wasatch Front,” Moench said.
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