Record-breaking protests led to the withdrawal of the first Stratos Project Water Rights Application
On April 28, Bar H Ranch—a private landowner in Hansel Valley—filed a water right change application to convert 1,900 acre-feet from agricultural to industrial use for the Stratos Project.
What followed was one of the largest public protest responses to a water filing in recent Utah history. In just eight days, 3,397 individuals filed 3,817 protests against the Stratos Project. Collectively, Utahns spent nearly $60,000 on protest filing fees—money that will not be reimbursed and will likely be deposited into the State’s General Fund.
Shortly afterward, Bar H. Ranch withdrew the application and said they intend to refile. Refiling would effectively restart the administrative process and bypass the thousands of formal protests already submitted.
The State Engineer doesn’t have capacity to process this volume of water rights protests
The unprecedented number of protests placed a major administrative burden on the Utah State Engineer’s Office, which must review and process each filing through an already strained system.
The protest campaign fundamentally altered the trajectory of the approval process, transforming what is typically a rarely-challenged technical administrative review into a highly visible statewide issue.
How does HB 60 affect future protests?
HB 60, passed during the 2026 legislative session:
- Limits the State Engineer’s ability to consider broader community harms—such as public health impacts, environmental collapse, or downstream consequences—by narrowing the definition of “public welfare” to issues tied only to beneficial use and the quantity, quality, or availability of water.
- Directs the State Engineer to only consider protests to the extent that they match the legal grounds the State Engineer may use to approve or deny an application (quantity, quality, availability, etc.)
- Narrows who is considered an “aggrieved person” for the purposes of judicial review, limiting court challenges to those who have experienced a direct, personal harm to their water right.
But in practice—unless you plan on protesting an application in court—your ability to protest future applications will not be affected.
HB 60 will not make future protests ineffective
While HB 60 changes the legal framework around court challenges and narrows the scope of arguments the State Engineer can formally consider, Utahns still retain the ability to file formal protests against future water rights applications.
To be most effective, protests should focus on issues tied to water quality, quantity, availability, and beneficial use.
Importantly, every protest must be reviewed and processed by the State Engineer’s office. When thousands of people participate, that creates administrative pressure, increases oversight, and slows attempts to move applications quietly through the approval process.
The response to the Stratos Project’s first filing demonstrates that large-scale public participation can meaningfully influence the process and force greater accountability.
Continued protests are key to ensure public participation as the Stratos Project attempts to secure water
The first water rights change application represented only an initial step in securing water for the project. The 1,900 acre-feet tied to the first filing is only a fraction of the total water the Stratos Project is expected to require, meaning developers will likely pursue additional transfers from multiple water rights holders moving forward.
As future applications are filed, continued public engagement and formal protests may remain one of the most effective ways to slow the project, increase scrutiny, and ensure public participation in the decision making process.
Opportunities for action
- Be ready to file formal protests against the next Stratos Project water rights change application.
- Reach out to your legislators and ask them to publicly oppose the data center
- Find your reps & an example template here.
- Sign up to volunteer with BEAR (Box Elder Accountability Referendum)
- BEAR is organizing a referendum effort to overturn county approval of the proposed Stratos Project and give Box Elder residents a direct vote on its future. This is one of the strongest legal tools we can use, and BEAR needs public support to make it happen.
