energy storage, accompanied by permanent industrial infrastructure, year-round operations, new traffic patterns, emissions, noise, lighting, and long-term industrial footprint. Nothing in the findings report meaningfully analyzes that expanded scale and intensity.

The presence of upstream gas development does not establish site compatibility for a centralized power generation facility, nor does it excuse the site-specific analysis required by the ordinance. Relatedly, the findings report does not meaningfully analyze water use or wastewater impacts associated with a large natural gas power plant that will operate for decades. While the project narrative makes general statements about low water use and water reuse, it provides no substantial analysis of cumulative water demand, wastewater generation, or disposal impacts in an arid basin where water resources are already constrained. Those impacts bear directly on public welfare and long-term land stewardship, yet they were not addressed in the findings. The Commission also accepted without evidence the claim that a significant portion of Basin natural gas has nowhere to go and that this power plant is therefore necessary.

There is nothing in the Wells Draw Energy LLC natural gas findings report nor in the project record that substantiates that claim. No market analysis, pipeline capacity study, or regulatory findings support the claim that 30% of Basin gas is stranded. Unsupported assertions cannot substitute for evidence, particularly when they are used to justify.

Second, the finding that the site is of adequate size and dimensions relies only on anchorage. Section 8-13-4 requires more than anchorage. It requires a determination that the use will not be materially detrimental to adjoining and surrounding properties. The findings report did not analyze increased industrial traffic in the recreational corridors in that region, noise and visual impacts beyond traversal boundaries, fragmentation of wildlife movement through a known corridor, or cumulative impacts on access routes serving Nine Mile Canyon and the Green River. Without that context, the finding lacks substantial evidence.

Third, the Commission deferred required findings to future conditions. The ordinance allows conditions only after required findings are made. Conditions cannot substitute for missing findings or cure fundamental site incompatibility. Here, approval relies on future permits and agency approvals to address impacts that should have been analyzed upfront. That approach shifts the burden from the applicant to us, the public, and me as an appellant, and postpones analysis until the approval stage.

Fourth, the finding of no detriment to public health, safety, or welfare ignores the record that the site lies within the range of protected species, introduces industrial infrastructure into a recreation-heavy corridor, and fails to meaningfully analyze traffic impacts on recreational access. Under Utah law, public welfare includes environmental integrity, recreation, and long-term land stewardship, not merely the absence of immediate hazards. The Wells Draw Energy LLC natural gas power plant cannot be lawfully evaluated in isolation from its surrounding regional context.

Duchesne County Code 8-13-4 requires affirmative evidence-based findings that a proposed conditional use will not be unduly detrimental to the public welfare and that the site size and dimensions allow the use to operate without materially harming adjoining and surrounding properties. The findings report does not satisfy those requirements when the full context of this location is considered. Nine Mile Canyon is a nationally recognized cultural and recreational landscape, often described as the world's longest art gallery, with thousands of irreplaceable rock art sites and a longstanding designation as a Scenic Backcountry Byway. Federal land managers and preservation organizations have repeatedly emphasized that the canyon is fragile and highly sensitive to industrial traffic, noise, and cumulative disturbance. Gate Canyon Access and Wells Draw serve as access points to Nine Mile Canyon, and the sandwash flows into the Green River, meaning industrial development in this corridor directly affects the canyon's use, integrity, and visitor experience.

The findings report contains no substantive analysis of how a large, continuously operating industrial power plant capable of driving increased traffic, noise, lighting, and air emissions will avoid degrading the adjacent cultural landscape. The project is also located near the Sand Wash and the Green River, which is not a minor access point but a primary gateway