EVANSTON—The Uinta County Commission has approved the conditional use permit for Prometheus Hyperscale’s long-proposed data center east of Evanston. The decision follows approval of an industrial subdivision rezone during aJune 16 meeting in Lyman.
“Unless there is some malfeasance or bad act or acts beyond the original approval of a CUP, you can’t change [it] once it’s granted,” Uinta County Attorney Loretta Howieson Kallas told the commission during a work session earlier Tuesday morning.
During the interim between Tuesday’s work session and the regular afternoon commission meeting, however, 15 conditions were outlined and agreed upon by the data center developer.
Prometheus Hyperscale must begin construction within five years and notify the county once it has begun. That requirement could be met by one of three “objective metrics,” according to Kallas, such as mass grading of 250,000 cubic yards, pouring foundations or erecting a building shell.
All applicable federal, state and local environmental quality standards must be met, including compliance with both the Wyoming Industrial Siting Act and Uinta County’s Land Use Plan. Every permit and/or accompanying documentation from the state, the Department of Environmental Quality, the Environmental Protection Agency and/or any other significant agency must be provided and filed appropriately.
Uinta County will be the designated receiving location for all new goods related to the data center. This includes but is not limited to materials, tools, equipment, supplies and tangible property.
“It is a determination as a point of receipt where the sales tax is imposed,” Kallas said. “That is assuring that sales tax will be imposed and received in Uinta County accounting.”
Prometheus Hyperscale is responsible for dust abatement in accordance with Wyoming Air Quality Standards and Regulations.
“One of the conditions of planning and zoning was that the county shall inspect the project annually to determine compliance with the conditional use permit,” Kallas said. Hence, the county is responsible to regularly ensure conditions are being met.
A few of the permit’s conditions were previously suggested by Prometheus Hyperscale founder Trenton Thornock and subsequently included in Tuesday’s agreement. Thornock’s first offering was to report the data center’s annual onsite water consumption from the well on its premises. Thornock agreed to publicly post the measurement beginning a year post-commissioning and on the same date annually for a period of 10 years.
Thornock also offered to complete a computational fluid dynamic analysis within 90 days of the first date of operation and publicly report its results. The analysis will measure the center’s heat dispersal.
The developer will also be responsible for upkeep, maintenance and repair of two county roads (180 and 181), including bridges, culverts and supporting structures upon establishing a baseline prior to construction activity. Thornock had been approached by a nearby homeowner who’d requested he help fix the bridge on the county road also known as Lazeart Mine Road, Thornock said, which he’s willing to do.
Prometheus Hyperscale must comply with DarkSky International Standards to avoid light pollution. The standards include five principles, according to Kallas. Lighting that is on “all night should have a great purpose; light should be directed only to where it is needed; light should be no brighter than necessary; light should be used only when it is useful; and warm color lights should be used whenever possible,” she said. This condition does not apply to temporary maintenance lighting.
“The Permittee, when possible and available, will use commercially reasonable standards and practices to retain or employ Wyoming based contractors, vendors and suppliers for the construction, maintenance and operation of any facilities associated with the proposed project,” a revised version of the permit states.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards will be adhered to by Prometheus Hyperscale regarding noise pollution and abatement. A baseline must be established beforehand, but is expected to be affected by traffic on Interstate 80 and the nearby Silver Eagle Refinery.
“Permittee will ensure emissions at the project boundary of no greater than 60 dBAs [decibels] during the post construction/ operational phase with a commercially reasonable attempt to obtain 50 dBAs,” the permit specifies.
From the beginning of the construction period through its conclusion, Prometheus Hyperscale must reimburse the county for any applicable emergency services rendered, including both fire and ambulance services.
The final three conditions relate to the execution and delivery of a lease agreement “between G&C Holdings LLC and Prometheus Wyoming I LLC for the real property that is subject to this permit.” Any required notices must be submitted to the Uinta County Clerk. The permit also “may be revoked, suspended, or enforced by the County for a material violation” and may be contested via hearing.
While the commission meeting did not entertain a standing-room-only crowd as recent data center events have, nearly every seat was filled at the Lyman Town Hall.
During public comment, several Uinta County residents spoke both in favor and against permitting the data center.
Alex Rossi, of Evanston, presented the commission with eight signed pages of a petition.
“You, as the commission, have the obligation to protect us as citizens from … environmental issues, financial matters that will impact us,” Rossi said, requesting “more time for consideration.”
“I just wanted to stand and ask the county commissioners to support this project,” Lyman resident Eric Wyatt said. “The project represents significant brightness in our community, our county.”
Lyman resident Dustin Rollins added: “We need to recognize that, even though we are a small community, big things can still happen and for the benefit of our community for future growth.”
“I’m not saying I’m against this project,” Lonetree resident Joe Hickey said. “I think we need some tax breaks.”
Robertson resident Brian Woody said, “I’ve seen a lot of data centers throughout the country. This one seems like they’re doing it the responsible way.”
Mikel Voss, of Lyman, suggested initial skepticism about the development prospect but said all of his questions and concerns have since been answered.
“I’ve swung completely the other direction, because I see a lot of things that are going to absolutely benefit our community,” Voss said.
Linda Byers, who worked at the Fort Bridger State Historic Site for 30 years, said she thought that tourism would be negatively affected by the data center because “the people who come to Wyoming don’t want to see a data center when they drive into our state.”
Ultimately, the commission unanimously approved the conditional use permit with 15 conditions that the developer must meet.
Target Hospitality, the workforce hub outfit vying for a conditional use permit to facilitate the data center’s temporary housing, will present to the county’s planning and zoning commission at 7 p.m., June 24, in commission chambers at the Uinta County Complex in Evanston.
