1. United States
2. Ariz.
3. Letter

I urge you to oppose H.R. 655, The Dalles Watershed Development Act, which would transfer up to 150 acres of Mt. Hood National Forest to the city of The Dalles for reservoir expansion. This bill, which has already passed the House, would give away public lands for free to benefit Google's massive data center operations while threatening water quality and aquatic ecosystems. Google operates five data centers in The Dalles with a sixth opening in 2026. In 2024 alone, these facilities consumed 434 million gallons of water, representing one-third of The Dalles' entire water supply. Rather than addressing this unsustainable corporate water consumption, H.R. 655 would expand the reservoir on public lands without U.S. Forest Service oversight and without any compensation to taxpayers. The environmental consequences are serious. The Dalles obtains 85% of its water from Mt. Hood National Forest watersheds. When the reservoir's source river has run dry in the past, the downstream Hood and Columbia Rivers received less cold mountain runoff. This creates warm water conditions that harm coho salmon, Chinook salmon, and steelhead by making it difficult for them to breathe. Warm water also triggers algal and bacterial blooms that degrade water quality for both wildlife and human communities. This legislation sets a dangerous precedent by transferring public lands managed for the benefit of all Americans to a municipality serving the interests of a single profitable corporation. Google reported over $80 billion in profits in 2023 and can afford to invest in water-efficient cooling technologies or locate facilities where water is more abundant. I ask you to oppose H.R. 655 and protect Mt. Hood National Forest. Public lands should not be given away to subsidize corporate operations that strain local water resources and harm salmon populations critical to the Pacific Northwest ecosystem and economy.