Oregon Gov. Kotek orders halt to data center air, water permitting: ‘It is effectively a temporary moratorium’

The Oregoinian/OregonLive | by Mike Rogoway

Gov. Tina Kotek spoke at an anti-data center rally in Salem last month. Mark Graves/The Oregonian

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has ordered a halt to new air and water permitting for data centers until July, an action that could halt construction of new projects across the state.

The order will “provide space for policy and/or regulatory reforms that may be considered in the upcoming 2027 session of the Legislature with my support,” Kotek wrote in an Oct. 9 letter to Department of Environmental Quality Director Leah Feldon.

The governor’s order marks a milestone, putting a halt -- for now -- to the data center industry’s 20 years of uninterrupted growth across Oregon.

“I am asking you to exercise your existing administrative authority and discretion to pause processing and issuance of air or water discharge permit applications until July 1, 2027 that involve new or expanded data center facilities within Oregon,” Kotek wrote in her letter to Feldon.

Neither Kotek’s office nor the department announced last week’s order. The governor’s staff provided a copy of her letter to Oregon Rural Action, an environmental nonprofit in eastern Oregon.

“I think it is effectively a temporary moratorium, so long as DEQ follows through,” said Kaleb Lay, Oregon Rural Action’s policy and research director.

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