Amazon to pay $20.5 milion in settlement over pollution in class action lawsuit

Amazon has settled a class action lawsuit over worsening nitrate pollution linked to its data centers in Eastern Oregon, despite denying the allegations. 

The $20.5 million settlement is the first time a Big Tech company has agreed to pay damages for public health threats allegedly worsened by its data centers, according to Rolling Stone. 

Amazon is one of multiple defendants, along with several large agricultural operators, utility services, and the Port of Morrow, which oversees the county's wastewater system, cited for nitrate pollution in the Lower Umatilla Basin — the sole source of drinking water for as many as 45,000 residents who rely on well water. 

Attorney Steve Berman brought the case on behalf of six Eastern Oregon residents. Experts have linked nitrate exposure, even in small amounts, to increased risks of cancer and debilitating effects in newborns. 

According to Rolling Stone, samples from the basin have shown a steady increase in nitrates since the early 1990s. Amazon opened its first data center in Morrow County in 2011 and now operates 13 in the area. 

While the pollution predates Amazon's data centers, experts say the annual discharge of tens of millions of gallons of water used to cool server equipment accelerates the movement of existing nitrates through the soil and into the basin, increasing the nitrate concentration in that water.

Amazon, while denying any wrongdoing, is the first party to settle. According to court filings, the company said it opted for this settlement to avoid the burdens of litigation.

"Communities in Eastern Oregon have faced groundwater quality issues for decades — long before we opened our data centers," an Amazon spokesperson told Rolling Stone. "Our data centers draw from the same water supply as other local residents; we don't add nitrates to that water, and the water we return represents a very small fraction of the region's overall system."

The settlement still needs court approval, but if granted, the funds will be used for private well projects that draw from deeper aquifers or public water treatment, and $30,000 will be allocated for one-time payments of $5,000 to the six plaintiffs for their role in achieving the settlement.

"We appreciate Amazon taking the first step toward solving the nitrate pollution problem, but the work is far from over," said Berman, according to Rolling Stone.

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"It seems like a drop in the bucket," added a resident who retired early due to health issues she attributes to nitrate poisoning. 

Commenters on a post of the settlement announcement to the social platform X by Athena Coalition (@athenaforall) agreed, and then some. 

"And this is exactly why we need to regulate data centers *before* people start getting sick," stated the post's caption. 

"Shut them down," another added. 

"Why would they ever stop if cheap fines is all that ever happens," one more said.

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