$20.5M Amazon’s Data Centers Settlement, They Are Linked to Poisoned Wells in Eastern Oregon, Here’s What the $20.5M Settlement Means for Residents

For decades, tens of thousands of people in Morrow and Umatilla counties in northeastern Oregon have drawn their drinking water from wells sunk into the Lower Umatilla Basin — and for decades, that water has been getting worse. The Oregon Health Authority since 2024 found that at least 634 domestic drinking water wells in the area contain unsafe levels of nitrate, some with nearly 10 times the federal limit for safe drinking water, and more than 420 show elevated levels that could lead to long-term health problems.

Now, Amazon has become the first company in that saga to pay for it. On March 31, 2026, Hagens Berman and its co-counsel, Bliven Law Firm and Heenan & Cook, announced a $20.5 million settlement with Amazon Data Services Inc. over allegations that its data center operations contributed to nitrate contamination affecting Morrow and Umatilla counties. Amazon Data Services denies these allegations.

The settlement still needs court approval — but it marks the first time a major tech company has agreed to pay damages connected to public health threats allegedly worsened by its data centers.

Field	Detail
Settlement Amount	$20,500,000
Defendant	Amazon Data Services, Inc.
Case	Pearson v. Port of Morrow, U.S. District Court, District of Oregon, Pendleton Division
Filed	February 2024
Total Defendants	17 (including 10 previously unnamed)
Affected Area	Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area (LUBGWMA), 562 sq. miles
Affected Residents	~45,000 who rely on well water in Morrow and Umatilla counties
Settlement Status	Preliminary approval motion filed March 31, 2026 — awaiting court hearing
Do Residents Need to Act Now?	No — a settlement website will be established after court approval
Plaintiff Attorneys	Hagens Berman, Bliven Law Firm, Heenan & Cook
Amazon’s Position	Settled to avoid litigation costs; denies contributing to contamination

Where things stand right now:

• A motion for preliminary approval of the settlement was filed March 31, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, Pendleton Division.
• Residents do not need to take any action at this time. If the court grants preliminary approval of the settlement, a settlement website will be established by a court-appointed settlement administrator, and eligible residents will be notified with further information.
• The lawsuit against the remaining defendants — the Port of Morrow, Lamb Weston, Madison Ranches, Threemile Canyon Farms, Portland General Electric, and Columbia River Processing — continues.

How Amazon’s Data Centers Ended Up in the Middle of an Ongoing Water Crisis

The story starts not with Amazon, but with a port and a decades-old industrial system. The pollution is in part a byproduct of fertilizer-laden wastewater collected from industrial food processors and data centers at the Port of Morrow that is then sent out to area farms to be spread across fields.

The port’s wastewater, which an Oregon Capital Chronicle investigation found was overapplied in the winter for years, allowed excess nitrate to seep into groundwater that well-users in the area depend on.

Amazon enters the picture as a major consumer of that same industrial water system. The nitrate-loaded wastewater ends up at Amazon’s data center facilities at the port, where the water is used to cool computer servers running around the clock. The water heats up and condenses as it cools the computers, further elevating the concentration of nitrate it holds before also being end-use applied to area farm fields.

Amazon, which opened its first data center in Morrow County in 2011, now operates 13 such facilities in and around the basin. The lawsuit alleged that millions of gallons of wastewater from these operations contributed to nitrate pollution in the groundwater across the management area.

Amazon disputes that characterization. An Amazon spokesperson said the company chose to settle early to avoid a lengthy legal battle and to “focus our time and resources on supporting the community rather than on litigation.”

Related article: 3 Million Georgia Licensing Boards SCRA Settlement: Are You Eligible to Claim?

Who Has Been Drinking This Water — and What Nitrates Actually Do to the Human Body

Many of those who rely on wells in the affected areas of Morrow and Umatilla counties are low-income and Latino. Overexposure to nitrates over time is harmful to infants and can lead to cancer and thyroid disease in people of all ages.

The human cost is not abstract. Nella Parks, an organizer with Oregon Rural Action, said: “We have stood at people’s doorsteps as they realize nitrate may have caused their miscarriages or cancers. People can’t sell or refinance their homes. They are stuck and sick.”

Plaintiff Michael Pearson discovered just how long he had been exposed. He told Oregon’s Governor Tina Kotek at a 2023 community meeting in Boardman that he had been drinking his well water for 30 years, unaware until 2022 when Oregon Rural Action helped him test his well, that it contained more than four times the safe limit of nitrates set by federal authorities. “When we bought the place, they didn’t say a darn thing about nitrate,” he said.

Fellow plaintiffs James and Silvia Suter found their situation equally stark. They tested their well water to discover it had nearly four times the EPA’s safe limit for nitrate — nearly five times higher than when they bought their home in 1999. When they researched options, they learned they’d need to drill a new well at least 300 feet down to hit less contaminated water, at a cost of $24,000.

What the $20.5 Million Will Actually Buy — and Who Gets the Money

This settlement does not pay residents directly in the way most class action payouts work. Instead, the money funds infrastructure. The $20.5 million settlement will fund projects to improve the quality of drinking water and related infrastructure in the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area, including public drinking water treatment infrastructure and improved private wells that can access cleaner water.

Amazon’s $20.5 million will be allocated into two primary funds for any resident in the Basin Groundwater Area after covering attorney fees. The first fund targets private well projects that tap deeper, less contaminated water. The second supports public water treatment infrastructure serving the broader community — renters included.

Attorneys’ fees will come out of the $20.5 million before distribution. Typically courts award 25% to 30% of such settlements to the lawyers. The remainder goes toward the two infrastructure funds.

Amazon Is Just One Piece — The Bigger Fight Continues

Amazon settling does not close the case. Amazon is one of 17 total defendants in Pearson v. Port of Morrow, including 10 previously unnamed ones.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys say they will continue to prosecute the case against the main polluters — the Port of Morrow, Lamb Weston, Madison Ranches, Threemile Canyon Farms, Portland General Electric, and Columbia River Processing.

The full lawsuit seeks an order mandating that the defendants establish a state-backed groundwater remediation and cleanup program, a program to monitor the health of residents exposed to the contaminated water, and ensure that residents are diagnosed and treated in a timely fashion for any illnesses caused by the nitrate contamination.

The state itself has moved slowly. The suit was filed 10 months after Governor Tina Kotek first visited Boardman residents and promised swift action, and nearly two years after the Morrow County Commission declared an emergency over the contamination — an emergency declaration that came more than 30 years after the state first acknowledged the area’s water supply needed to be cleaned up.

Oregon Rural Action, the nonprofit that helped many residents test their wells in the first place, called Amazon’s payment a first step while pressing for more. Organizers urged Amazon to slow their expansion in the region and invest in treating their wastewater so no further harm is done.

Steve Berman, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, put it plainly: “The parties that contributed to this problem have a responsibility to come forward and help resolve these issues.”

What Residents in the Basin Should Do Right Now

If you live in Morrow or Umatilla County and rely on well water, here is what the current state of the settlement means for you practically:

Don’t file anything yet. Residents do not need to take any action at this time. A settlement website will be established by a court-appointed settlement administrator after the court grants preliminary approval, and eligible residents will be notified with further information.

Get your well tested if you haven’t. Oregon Rural Action helped many residents discover contamination they didn’t know about. Contact them or your county health department to arrange a test. Knowing your nitrate levels now positions you to make decisions about water safety regardless of how the lawsuit proceeds.

Watch for court notices. Once the court schedules a public comment hearing on the Amazon settlement, residents in the Basin will have the right to appear and be heard. Check the Hagens Berman case page at hbsslaw.com for updates.

Understand this money goes to infrastructure, not individual checks. The $20.5 million funds well drilling and public water treatment projects — not direct payments to residents. The broader lawsuit still seeks health monitoring, remediation programs, and accountability from the remaining defendants.

The Timeline of a Crisis That Has Been Building for Decades

Milestone	Date
State First Acknowledges Water Supply Needs Cleanup	~1990s
Suter Family Buys Home — Well Tests Fine	1999
Oregon Capital Chronicle Publishes Investigation into Port’s Wastewater Overapplication	May 2022
Oregon Rural Action Helps Residents Test Wells	2022
Morrow County Commission Declares Water Contamination Emergency	~2023
Governor Kotek Visits Boardman, Promises Swift Action	May 2023
Pearson v. Port of Morrow Filed, U.S. District Court	February 2024
Oregon Health Authority Confirms 634+ Wells Exceed Safe Nitrate Levels	2024
Amazon Data Services Named as Defendant	2024–2025
Oregon Judge Recommends Allowing Claims to Continue	February 2025
Additional Defendants (Portland General Electric, Columbia River Processing) Added	December 2025
Amazon $20.5M Settlement Announced	March 31, 2026
Preliminary Approval Motion Filed	March 31, 2026
Court Approval Hearing	TBD
Expected Resident Notification	TBD — after court preliminary approval

Sources & References

• Hagens Berman Law Firm Settlement Announcement (primary source): hbsslaw.com
• Oregon Public Broadcasting / Oregon Capital Chronicle reporting: opb.org
• EPA Nitrate in Drinking Water: epa.gov

Last Updated: April 3, 2026

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Legal claims and outcomes depend on specific facts and applicable law. For advice regarding a particular situation, consult a qualified attorney.