Gov. Kotek expands Oregon data center moratorium

OPB | By April Ehrlich

FILE — A data center in Umatilla, Ore., seen on April 3, 2026. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has directed environmental regulators to pause permitting for new or expanding data centers until July 2027. Saskia Hatvany / OPB

The governor has already halted data center construction on state lands. Now she has directed regulators to pause environmental permits for data centers, in a move criticized by the industry.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has directed environmental regulators to temporarily stop issuing pollution permits to data centers, which would effectively pause most data center development in Oregon until next summer.

Amazon — which has more than a dozen hyperscale data centers in Morrow and Umatilla Counties — said it was disappointed by the directive, with an executive at the company saying Kotek’s move could cost Oregon thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in planned investment.

Data centers have played a growing role in the race for governor, with both Kotek, a Democrat, and her opponent Republican state Sen. Christine Drazan, saying they favor a moratorium on the high-tech developments. Both candidates have attacked one another for not doing more to crack down.