Utah's open deserts and strained water supplies are being eyed by huge out-of-state tech companies looking to build some of the largest data centers in the country. In Box Elder County, developers want to turn 40,000 acres of desert into a massive industrial complex built to power artificial intelligence (AI). In Millard County, another company is planning a 4,000-acre computer campus near Fillmore. Cedar City, Nephi, Santaquin, and even Eagle Mountain could be next.

These projects sound abstract until you look at what they actually require: enormous amounts of water and electricity. Utah is already one of the driest states in the country, and pulling millions of gallons of water a day to cool computer servers puts farms, wildlife, and drinking water at risk in areas already losing groundwater. The electricity demand is just as steep, enough to require new power lines and substations that everyday Utahns could end up paying for through higher bills.

Many of these deals are also moving through county approval processes with little public notice, so residents often don't find out until decisions are nearly final.

Utahns deserve a real say before their water, land, and electric bills are committed to megaprojects that mostly benefit outside investors. We're calling on the Box Elder County Commission, the Millard County Commission, and Governor Spencer Cox to pause new data center approvals until independent water, energy, and environmental studies are completed and shared with the public, and to require every future project to fully disclose its water and power use before getting a permit.

Sign the petition now to demand real transparency and oversight before Utah's water, land, and power grid are signed away to data center developers.