SALT LAKE CITY — A state legislative panel voted Wednesday to study the impact of data centers on wildlife and other natural resources in light of a large proposed data center in Box Elder County.

The Utah Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Interim Committee voted to add the data center study to a list of proposed topics to study over the summer that could help guide legislation for the next general legislative session that begins in early 2027. Rep. Doug Owens, D-Millcreek, suggested adding the data center study to a list that already includes looking at water issues, emergency preparedness and the development of rare earth resources.

“We’ve obviously seen that in the news lately,” he said, adding he thinks there are questions about potential impacts to wildlife, air quality, noise and water availability. “It seems like maybe we want to gather some information: latest cooling techniques, how to minimize water usage, and so forth. It seems like just a timely and useful topic.”

Owens said he was particularly interested in understanding the potential impacts on wildlife and examining “how to minimize those impacts where they’re deleterious.”

Lawmakers didn’t refer to the controversial Stratos Project Area by name, but alluded to the massive data center project in Box Elder County, which has been the subject of intense public scrutiny since it was made public last month. Backed by Kevin O’Leary, the Canadian businessman known as Mr. Wonderful on the reality television series “Shark Tank,” the data center project is planned to spread across some 40,000 acres of land and eventually include energy sources totaling between 7.5 gigawatts and 9 gigawatts of power.

Utah’s Military Installation Development Authority approved guidelines for project development and a tax-incentive plan last month, and the Box Elder County Commission passed two resolutions allowing it to advance on May 4.

Backers of the project say it is a national security issue and will help the United States compete with China to develop advanced artificial intelligence.

But opponents worry about the potential environmental impact of the data center and have raised fears that it could consume water as the state faces another drought.

The committee’s approval of the study wasn’t necessarily surprising, after Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, said last week he is supportive of independent studies to look at the impact of the data center on water availability. The speaker owns more than 25,000 acres of ranch land not far from the data center site and said the proposal is “not beneficial to me or to my property.”

State Sen. Scott Sandall, R-Tremonton, who represents all of Box Elder County, joined calls for a legislative study into the issue, saying there is a “lot of speculation” around the impacts of the data center on water that he is “not sure” are factual.

“I welcome any of the facts around what data centers do and don’t do,” he said. “I think it would be well if we brought our own experts in and learned as a Legislature what the facts are and really vet into that.”

And while the Stratos project is the most scrutinized project in the state, there are already dozens of smaller data centers in Utah with more plans proposed in Iron and Juab counties, among others.

“I think it needs to be studied,” said Rep. Carl Albrecht, R-Richfield. “It affects the whole state, and we need to take a good, hard look at it.”

It remains unclear what the study will look like, or what potential legislation will come out of it.

It’s not the first time state lawmakers have addressed the impact of AI data centers. The Legislature approved a new law recently requiring the operators of large data centers to regularly provide the government with information about water use and efforts made to reduce consumption. The law took effect on May 6.