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Case File · Morrow & Umatilla Counties, Oregon
Pearson v. Port of Morrow, filed in U.S. District Court on behalf of residents above at least 634 domestic wells testing above federal nitrate limits. Amazon settled March 31, 2026 without admitting liability. Sixteen defendants remain. The Lower Umatilla Basin is the sole water source for approximately 45,000 residents.
Cited post-settlement corridor read: 36/100 — operational, but now legally and politically expensive to expand.
$20.5M
Settlement
634+
Wells Affected
16
Remaining Defendants
~45,000
Basin Residents
13+
Amazon DCs
36/100
RealClear Score
Morrow & Umatilla Counties, OR · 1990s — 2026
Thirty years of state acknowledgment, then a data-center boom, then the lawsuit.
1990s — 2011
State first acknowledges Lower Umatilla Basin contamination
Oregon state agencies acknowledge the need for Lower Umatilla Basin cleanup more than 30 years prior to 2026, per reporting by OPB and The Fern. The contamination predates data-center construction and reflects a mix of agricultural and industrial contributors.
2011
Amazon opens first Morrow County data center
Amazon Web Services opens its first Morrow County data center in Boardman, drawn by cheap hydropower, Columbia River proximity, and available industrial land. The Lower Umatilla Basin aquifer supplies the region.
2017+
Amazon expands into Umatilla County (Hermiston)
Amazon expands data-center capacity into Hermiston in Umatilla County. Over the next several years, the company operates 13 facilities in and around the Lower Umatilla Basin per OPB reporting.
2024
Oregon Health Authority identifies nitrate crisis
The Oregon Health Authority formally identifies the nitrate contamination crisis in Morrow County. At least 634 domestic wells test above federal safety limits, with some wells measuring nearly ten times the federal nitrate limit.
2024 — 2025
Pearson v. Port of Morrow filed
Michael Pearson, Michael and Virginia Brandt, and James and Silvia Suter file a class-action complaint in U.S. District Court, represented by Steve Berman. The complaint names the Port of Morrow, Amazon, and additional industrial and agricultural defendants. It seeks class-action status for tens of thousands of residents.
2025
Hermiston annexes 800 acres for more data centers
The Hermiston City Council votes in 2025 to annex 800 acres of land specifically to attract additional data-center investment. The annexation proceeds despite the known contamination posture and pending litigation against existing operators.
March 31, 2026
Amazon settles for $20.5 million
Amazon announces a $20.5 million settlement with plaintiffs. The settlement funds construction of private wells and public water-treatment projects. Amazon denies contributing to the contamination and says it settled to “focus our time and resources on supporting the community rather than on litigation.”
April 2026 — Ongoing
16 defendants remain in active litigation
The Amazon settlement leaves 16 other defendants in active litigation, including Lamb Weston, Madison Ranches, and Threemile Canyon Farms. Attorney Steve Berman stated: “We appreciate Amazon taking the first step toward solving the nitrate pollution problem, but the work is far from over.”
The Parties Who Shaped This Settlement
Amazon’s settlement is a plaintiff-firm template for every comparable data-center corridor.
Amazon Web Services
Defendant — 13+ Morrow/Umatilla data centers
Documented Record
Agreed March 31, 2026 to a $20.5 million settlement in Pearson v. Port of Morrow. Denies any contribution to nitrate contamination; stated it settled to “focus our time and resources on supporting the community rather than on litigation.”
A settle-and-deny posture preserves Amazon’s ability to operate existing capacity but creates a financial precedent that plaintiff-firm economics will extend to additional jurisdictions with similar cooling-water-return patterns.
Steve Berman
Lead Plaintiff Attorney (Hagens Berman)
Documented Record
Represents plaintiffs in Pearson v. Port of Morrow. Stated on the settlement announcement: “We appreciate Amazon taking the first step toward solving the nitrate pollution problem, but the work is far from over.”
The ‘first step’ framing signals continued litigation against remaining defendants. Berman’s firm has a documented track record of class-action environmental litigation and will likely extend the theory to comparable data-center corridors.
Michael Pearson
Lead Plaintiff
Documented Record
Named lead plaintiff in Pearson v. Port of Morrow alongside Michael and Virginia Brandt and James and Silvia Suter. The class seeks recovery for tens of thousands of residents in Morrow and Umatilla counties.
The four-household named plaintiff group is a typical class-certification pattern. Their willingness to sit for multi-year litigation while relying on bottled water is a strong credibility signal for further class certification.
Oregon Health Authority
State regulator
Documented Record
Formally identified the nitrate contamination crisis in 2024. State agencies had acknowledged the area needed cleanup over 30 years prior, per OPB and Food and Environment Reporting Network coverage.
A state public-health identification is the procedural trigger for both private litigation and tighter Oregon DEQ oversight of industrial water discharge. It is the leading indicator The cited review surfaces for any new applicant post-2024.
Hermiston City Council
City of Hermiston, Umatilla County
Documented Record
Voted in 2025 to annex 800 acres specifically to attract additional data-center investment, per OPB reporting.
The 800-acre annexation during a known contamination crisis signals continued municipal-level economic-development priority despite regional litigation risk. That divergence between city and state posture is the policy seam plaintiff firms exploit.
Lamb Weston / Madison Ranches / Threemile Canyon Farms
Co-defendants
Documented Record
Remain named defendants in Pearson v. Port of Morrow following Amazon’s March 31, 2026 settlement. Each has independent agricultural operations in the basin.
Their continued litigation posture means discovery and trial proceedings will continue to produce public-record disclosures about basin contamination contributors — each disclosure is a political asset for opposition to new data-center or agricultural industrial capacity.
The Key Differentiator
Regional Aquifer, Not Municipal Supply
The Lower Umatilla Basin is the sole water source for approximately 45,000 residents. When data-center cooling water returns to a regional aquifer, any nitrate signal gets attributed across every industrial user. Closed-loop cooling is not optional in this class of basin.
30-Year State Acknowledgment Record
Oregon state agencies acknowledged basin contamination more than 30 years before the 2024 OHA identification. A 30-year documented record of state-acknowledged problem is a pre-built plaintiff exhibit list.
Class Certification Favorable Facts
634+ wells above federal limit in a defined geography with commonality of water source is a textbook pattern for class certification. The four-household named-plaintiff structure is Berman’s proven template.
Settle-and-Deny Has Financial Precedent
Amazon’s $20.5M settlement without admission of liability creates a ceiling and a template. Plaintiff firms can now model expected recoveries in comparable Oregon, Washington, and Arizona basins.
City-State Posture Divergence
Hermiston’s 2025 annexation of 800 acres for more data centers during an active OHA-identified crisis is the exact divergence between municipal economic-development priority and state public-health posture that plaintiff firms monitor.
Sixteen-Defendant Trial Ahead
With 16 defendants remaining post-Amazon, discovery and depositions will produce years of public-record disclosures about basin contamination contributors. Each disclosure becomes a political input to every future data-center hearing in the basin.
The Pre-Filing Research
Before Pearson was filed. Before the settlement. Before the 800-acre Hermiston annexation.
Corridor Analysis
Port of Morrow / Lower Umatilla Basin
Morrow & Umatilla Counties, OR — 13+ Amazon data centers, regional aquifer
Material Constraints
Recommendation
ELEVATED LEGAL RISK. The Pearson settlement does not admit Amazon liability but establishes a plaintiff playbook. Future data-center applications in Morrow or Umatilla must assume a litigation overlay: discovery-driven disclosure of cooling-water disposal pathways, plaintiff-firm monitoring, and Oregon DEQ posture hardened by the 2024 identification. Closed-loop, zero-evaporation cooling is now the political floor, not the differentiator.
This Is Entitlement Research
RealClear maps aquifer-scale litigation risk, state-regulator posture, and the city-state divergence patterns plaintiff firms exploit.
Cited research summary · Not legal advice · Verify independently before making investment decisions
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