Oregon city declares 'state of emergency' after statewide ban causes it to lose data center revenue

Oregon city declares an emergency over $6 million in threatened revenue Statewide data center restrictions threaten more than $5 billion in investments Umatilla faces possible delays to its planned new police station An Oregon municipality has declared an emergency after statewide restrictions on ne

<![CDATA[ <article> <ul><li><strong>Oregon city declares an emergency over $6 million in threatened revenue</strong></li><li><strong>Statewide data center restrictions threaten more than $5 billion in investments</strong></li><li><strong>Umatilla faces possible delays to its planned new police station</strong></li></ul><p>An Oregon municipality has declared an emergency after statewide restrictions on new data centers threatened approximately $6 million in expected municipal revenue.</p><p>Umatilla officials warned state Governor Tina Kotek's suspension of environmental permitting could disrupt infrastructure projects, employment opportunities, and billions in private investment.</p><p>The emergency declaration addresses anticipated financial losses rather than an existing budget crisis, with municipal reserves remaining at historically high levels.</p><h2 id="revenue-losses-threaten-public-infrastructure-projects">Revenue losses threaten public infrastructure projects</h2><p>The city's financial projections include income from planned <a href="https://www.techradar.com/pro/best-data-center-proxies">data center</a> developments, with some proceeds expected to support major public infrastructure improvements.</p><p>Among the threatened projects is a proposed police station, alongside several million dollars in planned upgrades to municipal water infrastructure.</p><p>City manager Dave Stockdale warned that interruptions to expected payments would force officials to reconsider schedules for improvements already incorporated into financial plans.</p><p>Umatilla currently hosts four operational data centers, while another facility is being constructed and two additional developments are awaiting completion.</p><p>The local industry includes Amazon Web Services and Sabey Data Centers, whose operations contribute to the area's expanding digital infrastructure sector.</p><p>Municipal estimates indicate that the permitting restrictions could jeopardize more than $5 billion in prospective private investment associated with local developments.</p><p>The council also identified risks to at least 1,000 construction jobs, alongside hundreds of permanent positions and employment opportunities in supporting industries.</p><p>Projects awaiting regulatory approvals could experience delays exceeding two years, while some developers might abandon their investments or move elsewhere.</p><p>“These consequences extend far beyond the interests of individual businesses. They threaten the broader economic and financial well-being of the Umatilla community,” said Dave Stockdale, Umatilla city manager.</p><p>“I believe the Governor's directive creates precisely the type of human-created circumstance involving threatened widespread financial loss that Oregon law expressly recognizes as a potential emergency.”</p><p>Despite these concerns, officials confirmed that existing municipal services and financial obligations remain unaffected because the disputed revenue has not been received.</p><h2 id="statewide-restrictions-and-emergency-response">Statewide restrictions and emergency response</h2><p>Kotek instructed Oregon's environmental authorities in October to suspend new pollution permits for data centers, effectively restricting development until July 2027.</p><p>The governor previously halted transactions involving state-owned land intended for such facilities, allowing officials to examine their potential long-term consequences.</p><p>That directive followed an August decision preventing the sale of 32 acres at Salem's Mill Creek Corporate Center for a Verrus development.</p><p>Individual municipalities have also introduced restrictions, including Hillsboro, which imposed a 120-day suspension on new data center developments in July 2026.</p><p>Umatilla's council approved an emergency resolution requiring reconsideration within 90 days, following a formal request submitted by Stockdale to elected officials.</p><p>The resolution authorizes an economic assessment of projected losses and calls upon Kotek to reconsider the restrictions without further delay.</p><p>Stockdale claims that the city had not received or spent the expected data center revenue, although it had included the money in future financial plans.</p><p>He explained that the declaration was intended to protect future investment plans rather than address an immediate shortage of municipal operating funds.</p><p>The assessment will examine potential consequences for municipal financing, employment and infrastructure schedules while officials seek changes to the state's permitting policy.</p><p>Via <a href="https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/oregon-city-declares-state-of-emergency-over-lost-data-center-revenue-amid-state-wide-ban/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">DCD</a></p><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:676px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:31.51%;"><img id="diM9tpwF2Lz85R8q85CT78" name="tr-g_news" alt="Google logo on a black background next to text reading 'Click to follow TechRadar'" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/diM9tpwF2Lz85R8q85CT78-1920-80.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="676" height="213" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div></figure> </article> ]]>