91ÊÓƵ

Umatilla County commissioners have agreed to rezone 121 acres of fallow farmland for a major expansion of Amazon‘s data center operations in Eastern Oregon.

The online retailer is moving forward with plans to construct near Hermiston up to four data center buildings – each holding more than 200,000 square feet. The data centers would be joined by a logistics warehouse, an administrative office and an electrical substation.

The proposed parcel is a half-mile from the interchange of interstates 82 and 84. The applicant is Vadata Inc., an entity linked to Amazon.

Commissioners voted 3-0 Thursday to rezone the farmland from exclusive farm use to light industrial with a limited-use overlay. The proposed data centers would be the first in Umatilla County outside the urban growth boundary, said Brandon Seitz, an assistant planner for the county.

Amazon’s plans envision four data centers totaling 853,600 square feet, an 80,000-square-foot warehouse and logistics building, a 25,000-square-foot office building and the electrical substation. Multiple small, redundant data centers are sought to ensure reliability of its web services in the event of a utility outage or natural disaster, Jim Footh, regional development manager for Amazon Web Services, stated in a letter to county planners.

Amazon, in addition to its massive retail business, is a major provider of cloud computing services. The Seattle-based company did not respond to a message seeking comment.

The proposed data centers are part of a web of such facilities in Eastern Oregon. Amazon already has two data centers in Boardman, and one in Umatilla County. The facilities are clustered together because they must be linked by fiber cables, Footh stated. An industrial property in Pendleton, floated by county commissioners as an alternative site, is too far away for use as a data center, he added.

Seth King, a Perkins Coie attorney, represented Amazon before the Umatilla County Board of Commissioners. He told commissioners the development would bring significant economic benefits, including new jobs and tax revenue, according to county documents.

Amazon’s existing data centers provide about 40 direct jobs that pay average annual salaries of $68,000, in addition to related vendor and construction jobs. Amazon and Vadata have been working with Blue Mountain Community College to recruit qualified employees, the company stated in documents submitted to Umatilla County.

In selecting the site, Amazon sought a flat, buildable property of at least 100 acres with access to highways, King said. The development must be located near high-voltage transmission lines of 115 kilovolts or more, he added. Hermiston Generating Plant will supply power for the data centers.

The data centers also require vast amounts of water – 400 gallons per minute, Footh said in testimony – for cooling, and a way to reuse the discharged water.

Mark Morgan, Hermiston’s assistant city manager, indicated in a letter that the development will not negatively affect the city’s water supply. The data centers would draw on water allotted to the Port of Umatilla.

The interstate interchange area is already home to a major Conagra Foods facility and distribution centers for UPS and FedEx.

Amazon’s rezoning request attracted some opposition from neighbors. Dan Burnam, a farmer in the area, said the property in question was farmed most recently five to seven years ago. He questioned why he is not allowed to drill a water well on his property, but Amazon will be able to drill a well using up to 5,000 gallons per day.