West Richland’s council made data centers a permitted use in February 2025. The Planning Commission hearing ran five minutes and the council hearing one minute; both agendas were posted ahead of time and no member of the public spoke. Bloom moved and Smart seconded, all seven members were present, and Mayor Brent Gerry signed. Community…
data center
Corrections and updates, October 2026 For “The […]
In Washington, the state Department of Ecology (Ecology) decides who may pump groundwater beyond 5,000 gallons a day. A new permit can’t take water that impairs an older right, and the state Supreme Court has held that even small impairment is not allowed. If a city sells the water instead, the city’s own water right…
No data center application has been filed in West Richland, but the decisions that would let one be built without another council vote are already made. On February 18, 2025 the council unanimously made data centers a permitted use in two zones at the request of landowner Frank Tiegs LLC, after a one-minute public hearing…