PRESS RELEASE - As artificial intelligence (AI) drives additional data center expansion in eastern Oregon, this week Oregon Rural Action (ORA) hosted the region’s first community meetings on data centers in Hermiston and Boardman.

Gov. Tina Kotek this week embraced growing calls in Oregon for a statewide moratorium on data centers, joining a rally of close to 200 industry opponents on the Capitol steps in Salem. It wasn’t enough for some of the Democratic governor’s allies, though, who want her to move faster.

As the debate over data centers heats up in Salem, the industry is poised to grow 200 miles away in Eastern Oregon, where more than 50 facilities are already online with another in the works. Morrow and Umatilla counties were among the first places in Oregon to welcome data centers, as Amazon Web Services began building the facilities in the area 15 years ago. Amazon has since turned the region into one of the biggest hubs in the state.

Gov. Tina Kotek said Tuesday she now supports a statewide moratorium on new data centers. In a significant escalation of her position on an issue that is prompting voter outrage around the country, Kotek appeared at an anti-data center rally outside the Capitol building in Salem, lending her support to calls for lawmakers to pass a temporary data center ban when they convene next year.

Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek and her Republican opponent, Sen. Christine Drazan, both called for statewide moratoriums on data centers Tuesday, converging on the same position within hours of each other after years of more cautious stances on the hot-button issue.

Roughly 100 people showed up outside the Oregon State Capitol on Tuesday to call for a three-year pause on new data center development in the state.

Last week, a $6.2 million settlement was made between Madison Ranches and residents living in Morrow and Umatilla Counties whose wells were polluted with nitrates. The Lower Umatilla Basin has been grappling with high levels of nitrates for decades, affecting drinking water in wells in various communities. Food processors and farms using fertilizers are regarded as the source of the problem. J.R. Cook is the founder and director of the Northeast Oregon Water Association. He joins OPB’s Think Out Loud to share an irrigator’s perspective on the issue and solutions they would like to see.

Earlier this year, Amazon purchased more than 1,000 acres near Boardman, Oregon. As reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive.com, it could be the site for the state’s first “exascale” data center. Listen to OPB’s Think Out Loud Broadcast to learn more.

In the Hermiston and Boardman area, there are more than seven active data centers owned and operated by Amazon Web Services. Last year, the city of Hermiston annexed 800 acres of land to AWS, paving the way for more in the future. And while some have shared concerns about the environmental impact these data centers have, they have brought their communities millions of dollars. For the city of Hermiston, Amazon’s operations have funded renovations to the library, a new city hall and most recently, a water treatment facility for Umatilla County. Mark Morgan is the assistant city manager of Hermiston. He joins OPB’s Think Out Loud to share the impact Amazon dollars have had on the community.

For three decades, many residents in Eastern Oregon’s Umatilla basin have been drinking nitrate-polluted drinking water. Some residents blame nearby food-processors and farms that use nitrogen-rich fertilizers for the issue. Listen to OPB’s Think Out Loud to learn more.

An Oregon farm settled this week with residents of the Umatilla Basin who filed a class action lawsuit over nitrate-contaminated groundwater in the region. Madison Ranches Inc. was one of six defendants still named in the case as of Tuesday.

In May, state Sen. Janeen Sollman, D-Hillsboro, area lost her bid for reelection to the legislature, the first such incumbent loss since 2018. Multiple reasons contributed to Sollman’s loss to union-backed challenger Myrna Muñoz, but a pivotal and new factor was data centers.

A nonprofit is starting a petition, calling for a moratorium on data center development in eastern Oregon.

A grassroots group in Boardman have gathered signatures for a petition demanding “fair and just” terms for safe drinking water in their homes.

BOARDMAN – In a “show of unity and strength,” West Glen United / West Glen Unidos announced that an overwhelming majority of their neighborhoods have signed a petition demanding “fair and just” terms for safe drinking water in their homes. 

In a letter addressed to the Morrow County Clean Water Consortium, which is leading a plan to extend Boardman city water to the neighborhood, West Glen United highlighted its ongoing concern - the additional costs to residents.

ORA Launches Petition Calling for Eastern Oregon Data Center Moratorium

Calls to Rein in Runaway Growth Mount as Big Tech Plans Massive “Exascale” Project, Expansion of State’s Largest Data Center Hub