Clearfield leaders OK 180-day moratorium on data center development

CLEARFIELD — Clearfield has joined a handful of communities in Utah that have put moratoriums on development of data centers, stemming from questions and concerns about their potential impact.

"It's good to look at emerging issues like this and know, as we do with all types of industry, what impact it might have on the city, on our resources, and what our local regulations should be," Clearfield Mayor Mark Shepherd said in a statement Thursday.

As a member of the Utah Military Installation Development Authority, Shepherd voted last April for several measures to permit a controversial data center proposal in Box Elder County, which has sparked intense debate across the state on the matter. Critics worry about the potential environmental impact of data centers, including the amount of water they need and the noise they can cause.

Tuesday's vote by the Clearfield City Council prohibits data center development in the city in the next 180 days as city officials study whether new guidelines are warranted to govern their creation and operation. Box Elder County commissioners passed a similar measure in June, though it doesn't impact the controversial Stratos project, which has given rise to data center debate in Utah. Iron County commissioners passed their own moratorium on May 26, and the Logan City Council adopted a measure on June 30.

Notably, the Clearfield action isn't meant as a determination that data centers are incompatible with Clearfield's varied zoning districts. No proposal is in the works in the city, and city staffers proposed the measure to get ahead of any potential issues on the matter.

"Rather, the purpose of the temporary regulation is to provide the city with a limited period to study the land use and infrastructure characteristics of data centers before establishing permanent regulations," Clearfield city planner Tyson Stoddard said in a memo to the mayor and the city council.

Tuesday's measure passed 4-0, with the four city council members present voting for it.

Still, the language of the ordinance approved references some of the public concerns with data centers. The ordinance noted potential impacts related to electrical demand, water consumption, noise and more. City officials will now delve into the matter to decide whether special guidelines governing data center operation are merited.

"The Clearfield city code does not currently establish a definition or zoning classification for a 'data center,'" Stoddard said in his memo. "As a result, the city has not adopted land-use standards specifically addressing characteristics that may be associated with larger or more resource-intensive data center facilities, including electrical demand, water consumption and cooling systems, wastewater, backup power generation, noise, fire protection, emergency response, utility infrastructure and other potential impacts."

One of the big concerns with the Stratos proposal in Box Elder County has been that it would need excessive quantities of water to keep the operation cool, sapping already scarce resources. Those involved in the project say they would use a closed-loop cooling system that minimizes water use. Some critics worry that the energy such facilities require could increase power rates for residents. In the case of Stratos, critics also worry about pollution caused by the proposed natural-gas-fired power plants that would accompany the data center.

State officials are working on the issue and are likely to adopt regulations applicable to all of Utah.

"In the meantime, Clearfield will have a framework already in place that can be adapted to fit the state's future standards as needed," city officials wrote in a statement.

The Box Elder County data center plans, spearheaded by Canadian businessman Kevin O'Leary, call for development of a complex of data centers on a 20,000-acre expanse in the Hansel Valley and up to 9.5 gigawatts of power-generating capacity to support it. Notwithstanding environmental and water worries of some, supporters say the plans would provide a big economic boost to the area and are key to national security.

At a forum on data centers last July, Shepherd said if Box Elder County residents were to vote to halt the project there, their wishes should be honored. Residents there have pressed to get the future of the Box Elder County proposal on the November ballot — so far to no avail, though the issue is focus of a pending lawsuit.

"If the referendum process moves forward, then we support that. We certainly will respect that," Shepherd said at the forum.

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