Utah wetlands under threat of development
A recent Salt Lake Tribune article highlights an issue that UPHE has been working on with our partners at the Stop the Polluting Port coalition. Many of the inland port industrial zones and data centers across Utah are near sensitive wetlands and in already water-stressed regions.
One of the most glaring examples of these irresponsible development plans is the Inland Port’s plans for the Tooele Valley, where they are proposing “a data center campus so large it will require its own power plant.”
Data centers consume enormous amounts of energy and water. A new power plant raises serious concerns about worsening air pollution in the area. The Tooele Valley is at risk of increased dust storms from toxic dust hot spots on Great Salt Lake. Industries that require this much water should not be considered in an area that’s already facing threats from a lack of water.
During this last legislative session, we asked for residents to speak out on S.B. 225. The bill included a limit on water used by the Inland Port location in Salt Lake City, but sets no water use limits on any of the inland port developments outside of Salt Lake City. There are 14 OTHER inland port project areas outside of SLC, for a combined 33,000 + acres.
Clear water-use caps are essential to ensure that large industrial users do not place unsustainable demands on already limited supplies. Without enforceable limits, projects can quietly draw hundreds of thousands of gallons per day, accelerating groundwater depletion and undermining efforts to stabilize the Great Salt Lake.
