Protests on Wyoming's December federal lease sale are due Wednesday. Umatilla has declared an emergency over Oregon's pause on data center permits. And water users along the Yellowstone have two Water Court deadlines coming up.
Oregon
The Umatilla City Council declared an emergency on Oct. 20, citing "the threat of widespread financial loss" from Gov. Tina Kotek's pause on state permits for new data centers, OPB reported. City staff estimate the city will lose more than $2.5 million a year in tax payments and $12 million in planned water infrastructure work. Hermiston City Manager Mark Morgan put the cost to Hermiston residents at about $550 million in lost future local fee revenue. Morrow County Commissioner Gus Peterson called the pause "executive overreach."
Kotek's Oct. 9 letter directs the Department of Environmental Quality to stop issuing air and water pollution permits for new or expanding data centers until July 2027. It also halts city and county wastewater permit changes meant to serve them, according to OPB. Amazon Web Services, which runs more than a dozen data centers in Morrow and Umatilla counties, said the directive came "without meaningful stakeholder engagement." Oregon Rural Action, which published the letter, wants new state laws on water, electricity, transparency, and nondisclosure agreements. The Legislature takes up data center rules in January.
The Energy Facility Siting Council meets Nov. 19 and 20. The Department of Energy expects to bring the council its recommendations on the termination request for the Boardman Coal Plant site, along with two rule changes on compliance and carbon offset payments, according to the department's project updates. Comment on both rules closed Sept. 25. The department also plans to issue a draft final order in November on an amendment to the Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility East.
Wyoming
Protests on the Bureau of Land Management's Dec. 9 Wyoming oil and gas lease sale are due Wednesday, Oct. 28. The sale offers 172 parcels covering about 249,573 acres and will be held online through Efficient Markets, BLM said. Parcel maps and protest instructions are on BLM's ePlanning page for the fourth-quarter sale.
Montana and the Dakotas
BLM's Montana-Dakotas office scheduled an online sale of 20 parcels totaling 3,388 acres for Tuesday, Oct. 27, according to its August notice. Results will be in next week's edition. Next up is a January 2027 sale of as many as 60 parcels covering 18,565 acres. The first comment window closed Sept. 24; a formal sale notice and protest period come next.
The Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation holds its next hearing Thursday, Dec. 10, at 9 a.m. in its Billings hearing room, 2535 St. Johns Ave., with a business meeting the day before at 2 p.m. Applications for that hearing are due by noon Thursday, Nov. 5, according to the board. The docket will post on the board's dockets and orders page.
Two Montana Water Court deadlines are coming for water users along the Yellowstone. Objections to the interlocutory decree for Basin 43D, the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone, are due Nov. 23; that decree covers 597 water right claims, according to the court's notice. Objections for Basin 43Q, the Yellowstone between the Clarks Fork and the Bighorn, are due Dec. 22 and cover 836 claims, per its notice. Objections must be on Water Court forms and received at PO Box 1389, Bozeman, MT 59771.
Further out
The Forest Service is preparing an environmental impact statement for the Bear Lodge rare earth mine proposed on the Black Hills National Forest near Sundance, Wyoming. Comment on the scope closed Aug. 28. The agency will not publish a draft and expects the complete statement in late 2027, according to its Federal Register notice.
