Amazon Agrees To Settle $20.5M Class Action Lawsuit Over Data Center Pollution In Eastern Oregon – AfroTech
Amazon has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit regarding its data centers in Eastern Oregon.
According to Rolling Stone, in partnership with the Food & Environment Reporting Network, the lawsuit centered on the Lower Umatilla Basin, where up to 45,000 residents rely on groundwater for drinking water in Morrow County and surrounding areas. The water has been examined by Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality, with samples being collected since 1991. That collection has shown a steady increase in nitrates, which can negatively impact newborns and put people at risk for cancer, the outlet noted.
The increase occurred before Amazon’s data centers arrived, primarily from chemical fertilizer runoff at nearby mega farms and food processing plants. However, data centers have significantly accelerated the increase due to the amount of water used to cool server equipment, moving the nitrates into the groundwater at a higher rate, per Rolling Stone. The lawsuit claims “that millions of gallons of wastewater from [Amazon’s] data centers and operations of other parties’ facilities in the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area (“LUBGWMA”) in Morrow and Umatilla Counties in Oregon contribute to nitrate pollution in the groundwater in the LUBGWMA,” according to a circulating notice.
Amazon has denied “each and every one of the allegations of wrongful conduct and damages by Plaintiffs, including, without limitation, that ADS has contributed to any alleged contamination of groundwater, surface water, or drinking water in or around the [Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area],” the filing states.
While Amazon denies the allegations, it has agreed to settle the class action lawsuit to avoid a long legal battle and to “focus our time and resources on supporting the community rather than on litigation,” Kylee Yonas, an Amazon spokesperson, said, according to Oregon Capital Chronicle.
Amazon has agreed to settle the lawsuit for $20.5 million, which will need to be approved by a court, per the outlet.
“It seems like a drop in the bucket,” Kathy Mendoza, a local resident, told Rolling Stone. “That money won’t go that far when you consider how vast that problem is.”
Mendoza, who suffers from a debilitating joint and muscle condition, attributes her condition to the nitrates, according to the outlet.
