Block the Drain! DATA CENTER Protest & Visibility Rally

We will rally after our IWC monthly meeting on 6/14 at the northwest corner of Brookwood & Huffman Ave. in Hillsboro to demonstrate against Data Center corporate welfare in Washington County and across the state. Please bring your signs to Block the Drain! and join us. Also PLEASE Sign the Data Center Moratorium Petition Here: https://tinyurl.com/WC-Data-Center-Moratorium and share it on your social networks. "Dear Washington County Commissioners, We support a moratorium on data center development in Washington County. The unchecked proliferation of data centers is already causing, and will continue to cause, irrevocable public harm to our communities across economic, social, and environmental fronts. Despite consuming vast public resources, these developments may actually result in a net financial loss for Washington County residents. We are seeing residential electricity rates rise by nearly 50% while data centers pay less than half the rate per kilowatt-hour that households do, forcing families to subsidize corporate infrastructure like the $200 million Hillsboro substation. Furthermore, the environmental toll is staggering, with large-scale facilities consuming as much as 4.5 million gallons of water per day and creating heat islands that warm land by up to 16 degrees. We need to understand the full economic, social, and environmental costs of data centers before any more are built in Washington County. The health of our communities, our schools, and our environment depends on your decisive action now." Why is this important? "The unchecked proliferation of data centers is already causing irrevocable public harm to our communities across economic, social, and environmental fronts. We need to stand together because state and county leaders continue to incentivize and approve these projects without a full accounting of their true costs. This is a matter of fairness for every resident. While our residential electricity rates have risen by nearly 50%, data centers continue paying less than half the rate per kilowatt-hour that we do. This gap forces our families and small businesses to subsidize infrastructure like the $200 million Hillsboro substation. Our schools are paying the price, too. In 2024 alone, the Hillsboro School District lost $128 million due to data center tax abatements. These facilities generate among the lowest number of permanent jobs per acre of any industry, yet they are being gifted enormous tax breaks. This is not economic development—it’s a giveaway. Beyond the money, the environmental toll is staggering. Large-scale facilities can consume as much as 4.5 million gallons of water per day, straining our supplies and driving expensive new infrastructure costs that will be passed on to you. We recently defeated Senator Sollman’s SB 1586 to protect our farmland, but that was only one battle. We need you to join us in calling for an immediate moratorium to hold our elected leaders accountable, ensure corporations pay their fair share, and safeguard our world-class farmland from irreversible destruction."

• Against Pollution & land use “Block the Drain! DATA CENTER Protest & Visibility Rally” Machine-labelled, not yet reviewed
• Against Schools & curriculum “Block the Drain! DATA CENTER Protest & Visibility Rally” Machine-labelled, not yet reviewed
• For Taxes & public spending “Block the Drain! DATA CENTER Protest & Visibility Rally” Machine-labelled, not yet reviewed

No firsthand reports yet. Were you there? Add yours.

Discussion

Public. Don't post anything you wouldn't want police, employers or counter-protesters to read. Move sensitive planning to Signal.

No posts yet. Start the conversation.

Log in to reply