Utah

Civic/Governance Barriers activates on moratorium-class action (C1), meaningful 2026 race (C3) — governance instruments on the electoral, legislative, and regulatory surface (protocol §10; Overview Civic breakout). Water/Geology dominates — Great Salt Lake protection, water-rights transfers (e.g., ~1,900 acre-feet from Saltwell Springs) and HB76 water-transparency drove the fight (Utah Legislature — HB0076 (water transparency), Salt Lake Tribune via Great Salt Lake Collaborative (Salt Wells water-rights request)). Energy/Power is co-dominant (Stratos' ~9 GW self-generated on-site gas turbines exceed Utah's peak demand) (Independent). Capital Flows is a strong secondary stressor: MIDA's special taxing authority (SB 169/2024) lets the project bypass standard land-use taxation, the Alliance suit targets 'no voter recourse' over taxation/land use of tens of thousands of acres, and Cox's EO explicitly directs ratepayer protection — a live fiscal/insurability and cost-shift question (Utah Legislature — SB0169 (MIDA taxing authority), Alliance for a Better Utah (Stratos suit — 'no voter recourse'), Utah Governor — EO 2026-03 (ratepayer protection), The Guardian).

U.S. House 2nd District GOP primary: incumbent Rep. Blake Moore defeated challenger state Rep. Karianne Lisonbee on June 23, 2026, in a race where the Box Elder/Stratos data center was a central flashpoint — Lisonbee positioned as the reform/transparency critic, Moore favoring dialogue and local engagement (Ballotpedia, Deseret News, Axios). Rep. Celeste Maloy also faced data-center pressure in her separate-district primary (Deseret News — primaries guide).

No statewide moratorium; a consequential local one exists. Box Elder County commissioners unanimously adopted Ordinance No. 654 on June 10, 2026, a temporary 180-day moratorium suspending new data-center and data-center-power-plant applications on unincorporated land — but it explicitly does NOT reach the Stratos project, which sits in a MIDA project area (Box Elder County, Cliff). HB76 (Data Center Water Transparency Amendments) was signed in the 2026 session; Gov. Cox issued Executive Order 2026-03 ('Higher Bar for Data Center Development') on May 29, 2026 (Curated Commercial, Business Insider).

No standalone 2026 ratepayer statute identified; ratepayer protection is being handled via Cox's EO 2026-03 (directing agencies to shield ratepayers and the Great Salt Lake) and Senate leadership's project-specific demands (ION Analytics, Daily Signal). HB76 imposes water-use reporting with civil penalties up to $10,000/day for noncompliance (Curated Commercial). HB 507 (MIDA/development-tool reform, cited by Lisonbee) passed the 2026 session (Rep. Lisonbee video).

None on the ballot. A local referendum effort — BEAR (Box Elder Accountability Referendum) filed two applications May 8, 2026 to put the county's Stratos approval on the November ballot — was blocked when the county deemed the resolutions administrative rather than legislative (Forbes).

Stratos Project (a.k.a. Wonder Valley; O'Leary Digital / Kevin O'Leary), Hansel Valley, Box Elder County: hyperscale campus needing ~9 GW; MIDA approved a ~41,200-acre project area in late April; after Senate President Stuart Adams demanded a 75% cut, O'Leary agreed June 4, 2026 to remove ~20,000 acres (halving, not the requested cut to ~10,000), pledge excess water to the Great Salt Lake, and add heat-capture/transparency commitments; no permits issued and no ground broken as of June 2026 (Deseret News — O'Leary pivot, KUER, The Guardian).

Not a leading Utah stressor; debate centered on water/energy/land and process rather than construction-labor organizing or jobs-delivered disputes.

Growing, dominated by the single mega-scale Stratos/Box Elder proposal plus existing northern-Utah facilities; no large operational hyperscale cluster yet, but the pipeline is state-defining (Utah Business).

"I'm not anti-data center. I'm definitely pro-business. But what I think we're seeing here is the result of a lack of good process." — state Rep. Karianne Lisonbee (Deseret News).

Semafor — data-center backlash twists UT primary; Ballotpedia — Moore beats Lisonbee; Box Elder County — Ordinance 654; Deseret News — O'Leary downsizing; The Guardian — Alliance suit; Forbes — Box Elder fight; Utah Legislature — HB0076 (water transparency); Utah Governor — EO 2026-03 (ratepayer protection); Alliance for a Better Utah — Stratos suit