BOARDMAN, Ore. – A petition launched this week is seeking a moratorium on new data centers in Eastern Oregon.
The petition from Oregon Rural Action (ORA), a non-partisan grassroots organization that works through community organizing and collective action, calls for an immediate halt to data center expansion in Northeast Oregon, citing ongoing harm to rural communities.
Oregon’s largest and fastest-growing data center hub is in the Lower Umatilla Basin region, according to ORA, and its petition focuses on Morrow and Umatilla Counties.
“Data center growth in rural Oregon is out of control, and it’s built on a foundation of secrecy, extraction, and exploitation,” said Kristin Ostrom, ORA’s Executive Director. “It’s time to pull the emergency brake. Our communities shouldn’t sacrifice one more acre of farmland or a single drop of water until we’ve solved the problems data centers are already causing.”
According to ORA, a moratorium is especially necessary as plans are underway for a massive “exascale” data center near Boardman, which would likely be the largest in the state.
ORA is concerned with the amount of water and power consumed by data centers, as well as the potential possibility of pollution, both in the groundwater and in the air from backup diesel generators used at data centers.
“Northeast Oregon is ground zero for this runaway data center boom – this isn’t a hypothetical debate; it’s our home,” said Jim Doherty, an Eastern Oregon land and water advocate. “We refuse to sit by while our water is depleted and our air is polluted. It is time for rural Oregon to stand up, demand change, and sign this petition.”
ORA’s petition comes as states and cities across the country consider moratoriums on data centers.
New York became the first state to impose a data center moratorium on July 14, and in the Northwest, Seattle recently approved a one-year moratorium on the construction of new AI data centers.
Just across the river from Northeast Oregon, the Pasco, Washington City Council adopted a six-month moratorium on data centers by a unanimous 6-0 vote on July 20.
ORA’s petition calls on “every city council member, county and port commissioner, state legislator, and the governor to immediately put a stop to any new data center developments in Eastern Oregon.
A link to the petition and resources, including a map of data centers in northeast Oregon are available on Oregon Rural Action’s website.
