Umatilla declares emergency over lost revenue from Gov. Kotek’s data center permit pause
The Umatilla City Council declared a state of emergency over Gov. Tina Kotek’s temporary pause on state air and water permits for new or expanding data centers. City officials say the pause could cost Umatilla millions in direct losses and infrastructure contributions, and authorized efforts to seek changes to the directive and potentially pursue legal action.
The Umatilla City Council voted 5-0 to declare an emergency over Gov. Tina Kotek’s directive temporarily stopping the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality from issuing new air and water pollution permits for proposed or expanding data centers through July 2027. The city is formally asking Kotek to withdraw or modify the pause and authorized City Manager Dave Stockdale to coordinate with other local governments on possible legal action.
Stockdale estimated the directive could jeopardize more than $5 billion in regional private industrial development, cause Umatilla $6 million in direct losses and put up to $12 million in anticipated water infrastructure investments at risk. Umatilla has four operating data centers, one under construction and planned projects from Amazon and Sabey Data Centers. Kotek’s office and DEQ defended the pause as a way to evaluate recommendations and protect public health and natural resources before proposing broader regulatory reforms in 2027.