Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has directed the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to pause processing and issuance of air and water discharge permits for new or expanded data centers until July 1, 2027. The directive came in a letter to DEQ Director Leah Feldon dated Oct. 9, 2026, in which Kotek asked Feldon to use her "existing administrative authority and discretion" to carry out the pause.

Neither the governor's office nor DEQ announced the order. The governor's staff gave a copy of the letter to KPTV FOX 12 on Tuesday, Oct. 13, and Oregon Public Broadcasting obtained the exchange between Kotek and Feldon from Kotek's office. Oregon Rural Action, a grassroots nonprofit, also obtained the letter and shared it widely, OPB reported.

The pause applies to permits for new or expanded facilities. Without air or water permits, most large hyperscale data centers could not be built in Oregon, whether on public or private land, OPB reported.

Which permits are covered

The letter names four permit types "relevant to construction and/or operation of new Data Center facilities":

  • National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits;
  • Water Pollution Control Facility (WPCF) permits;
  • Air Contaminant Discharge (ACDP) permits;
  • Title V Air Quality permits.

The directive also reaches local governments. The pause includes applications from municipalities "seeking to renew or modify wastewater treatment plant facility permits in order to accommodate wastewater discharge from data center industrial facility sources," according to the letter.

What the governor said

Kotek tied the pause to her Data Center Advisory Committee and to the next legislative session. "This time limited pause will provide an opportunity for me to evaluate and digest recommendations forthcoming from the Advisory Committee, and to provide space for policy and/or regulatory reforms that may be considered in the upcoming 2027 session of the Legislature with my support," she wrote.

The letter says Kotek has been taking actions "to both support local moratoriums and restrict development of new Data Centers until we can assure Oregonians that our laws will adequately protect our communities and the environment of our state." It opens by thanking Feldon for an update on DEQ's work to improve air quality permitting processes in line with HB 4084 (2026), and ties that work to the governor's Prosperity Roadmap economic strategy. Asked on Oct. 13 to explain the order or its implications, the governor's office declined, KPTV reported.

OPB described the directive as an expansion of Kotek's data center moratorium. It follows a Sept. 8 pause that halted data center development on state-owned land.

Reaction

Amazon Web Services objected to the process. "This directive was issued abruptly, without meaningful stakeholder engagement of the workers, businesses, and municipalities," Shannon Kellogg, AWS vice president of public policy for the Americas, said, according to OPB. Amazon said it was disappointed by the move.

Kaleb Lay, director of policy and research at Oregon Rural Action, called for legislation that goes further. "What needs to happen at the Legislature, we need new laws to protect all of Oregon from these massive corporations," Lay said, according to OPB.

The idea of a moratorium has support in the governor's race. OPB reported that both Kotek and her opponent, Republican state Sen. Christine Drazan, favor a data center moratorium, and that each has criticized the other for not doing more.

Context: the advisory committee and eastern Oregon

Much of Oregon's hyperscale development is in the state's northeast. Amazon has more than a dozen hyperscale data centers in Morrow and Umatilla counties, according to OPB.

Kotek convened the Oregon Data Center Advisory Committee to "develop recommendations for a comprehensive regulatory framework" for data centers, according to the committee's page on the Oregon Department of Energy website. Margaret Hoffman of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council and Michael Jung, an energy and climate policy professional, co-chair the committee. Its members are Umatilla County Commission Chair Dan Dorran, Greg Dotson of the University of Oregon, Bill Edmonds of the University of Portland, Tim Miller of Oregon Business for Climate and Jean Wilson of Sandbrook Capital.

The committee deliberated a draft report at its seventh meeting, on Aug. 4, 2026. On Sept. 10 it released a document titled "Preliminary Learnings and Questions" and opened a 45-day public comment period.

What Happens Next

Written comments on the advisory committee's preliminary document are due at 5 p.m. on Oct. 24, 2026, according to the committee's page, which does not give a date for final recommendations. The Legislature convenes in January, and lawmakers are expected to respond to the committee's recommendations, OPB reported. Unless the directive is changed, DEQ will not process or issue the covered permits, or the related municipal wastewater permit changes, before July 1, 2027.

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