1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

Please oppose any blanket moratorium on data centers in Washington. I saw the recent coverage portraying opposition as representing “over 400 Washingtonians.” What I actually saw locally was a very small group of protesters. A handful of vocal opponents should not be treated as evidence of broad public opposition to an entire industry. Walla Walla needs economic growth. As of August, the county had approximately 27,200 payroll jobs—only 100 more than a year earlier, an increase of just 0.4%. Meanwhile, nearby Franklin County grew 2.6% and Benton County 1.6%, with Pasco, Kennewick, and Richland among Washington’s fastest-growing cities. The proposed Attalia data center project could bring 120–150 permanent jobs, hundreds of construction jobs, and billions of dollars in private investment. Amazon is already advertising Attalia-area technical positions paying roughly $33–$58 per hour and has stated the project would pay its full local property-tax obligation. Water use, power demand, noise, infrastructure, and environmental impacts should absolutely be scrutinized. That is precisely what permitting and SEPA review are designed to do. The project has not even completed that process. If specific impacts are identified, regulate them. Set enforceable water, noise, power, and infrastructure requirements and require the developer to pay its fair share of associated costs. But imposing a blanket moratorium on an entire industry before project-specific environmental review is completed is not evidence-based policymaking. Walla Walla cannot complain about stagnant economic growth while simultaneously rejecting billions of dollars in potential investment and well-paying technical jobs. Please support rigorous review, enforceable environmental protections, and responsible development—not a blanket data-center moratorium driven by generalized fear of the industry.