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County raises water and wildlife questions as MIDA details closed‑loop cooling and studies
Summary
MIDA told commissioners the Stratus campus intends closed‑loop cooling and on‑site water treatment; Austin Pritchett said about 3,000 acre‑feet were purchased on‑site and roughly 10,000 acre‑feet are under contract in Snowville, while MIDA pledged environmental studies and buffers for sensitive habitat.
Commissioners and residents pressed the MIDA team about water use and impacts to local habitat, including Locum/"Moody Springs" and Gunnison Bay migratory areas. MIDA said the campus would use closed‑loop cooling that reuses water and that, over the long term, water demand would be closer to "what you would see from a large office campus, not a traditional industrial use."
"So we have on‑site, we've got about 3,000 acre feet that we're purchasing," said Austin Pritchett, the technical representative MIDA introduced for the project, adding that the team also has about "10,000 acre feet in up in Snowville that we have under contract if needed." He said the project plans water treatment for alkaline/saline sources and that some new air‑cooling technologies under consideration can be zero‑water solutions.
On wildlife and environmental studies, MIDA said required impact studies (traffic, environmental, air permitting) would be completed with the state and third‑party professionals, and that project standards include dark‑sky and noise provisions. Commissioners requested specific studies and buffers for migratory bird habitat; MIDA said it would work with appropriate groups and include mitigations in studies and the master development plan.
