There were two Amazon data centers in Oregon that just got fined for environmental violations — yet one city still wants to build more.
According to Apple Valley News Now, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality fined Amazon US$ 10,400 for violating pollution control permits at two of its data centers — one in Boardman and another in Hermiston.
In 2023, the emergency fire pump at the Boardman facility ran for over 55 hours after construction work triggered the system. Operation during non-emergencies violated the air contaminant discharge permit.
The Hermiston facility also violated its water pollution control permit several times in 2024, including building a wastewater pond without permission and failing to monitor its recycled water for runoff limits.
Antony Sparrow, a DEQ public affairs specialist, told Apple Valley that the violations involved several factors. "There are various types of violations, classifications of violations, and a range of magnitudes. There's magnitudes of type and it's overall impact," Sparrow explained.
This news comes at a time when heightened vigilance is needed, especially now that the Hermiston City Council approved the expansion of its Urban Growth Boundary, allotting 810 acres specifically for large-scale data centers.
Although they could open more employment opportunities in the area, data centers have massive environmental impacts. About 56 percent of the electricity they use still comes from dirty fuels, and their operations produce roughly 115.7 million tons of heat-trapping gases every year, according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.
The United Nations Environment Programme warned that data centers also use massive amounts of water to stay cool, generate electronic waste full of toxic materials, and rely on rare minerals mined in harmful ways.
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