Leah Feldon
Director of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
Leah Feldon's department received Governor Tina Kotek's request of 9 October 2026 to freeze air and water permits for new or expanded data centres until 1 July 2027, using powers it already holds rather than a new law.
Last refreshed: 18 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Timeline for Leah Feldon
Mentioned in: Kotek seeks pause on data-centre permits
Data Centres: Boom and BacklashBackground
Leah Feldon has led the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality since February 2023, when the Environmental Quality Commission chose her as director by a unanimous vote. She had been interim director since September 2022. Her career at the department began in 2005 in its Office of Compliance and Enforcement, which she went on to manage from 2009; she became deputy director in 2016.
The governor's letter of 9 October 2026 is addressed to her. It asks the department to stop processing and issuing discharge permits for new or enlarged data centres until July 2027, relying on the discretion the department already has. Her department issues every permit at stake: NPDES and WPCF permits for water, and ACDP and Title V permits for air.
Oregon's record on data-centre water sits behind the request. Amazon agreed a $20.5m settlement over nitrate pollution linked to its Boardman data-centre campus.
Who is the director of Oregon DEQ?
What did Governor Kotek ask Leah Feldon to do?
Which permits would Oregon's data centre pause cover?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 18 October 2026. Editorial standards.