Commentary: Trump administration's lawsuit claiming 'supremacy' over its water is a gut punch to all Idahoans. * Date posted: October 30, 2026 Throughout history there has been one thing all Idahoans agreed on - water is the lifeblood of Idaho. Water has made its southern Idaho sagebrush country bloom with farms and ranches, and water has been crucial for the protection of its wildlife and its outdoor way of life. Protecting Idaho's water rights from outside threats has been an article of faith - almost a religion - and any attempt by outsiders to get their hands on its water has been fighting words for all Idaho politicians regardless of political party or persuasion. That's why the Trump administration's lawsuit claiming "supremacy" over Idaho's water serving the Idaho National Laboratory is a gut punch to the people of Idaho. But its current political leaders, unlike those throughout history, have played a role in giving the Trump administration the notion that Idaho is a lap dog for whatever the president wants by their silence and eagerness to partner with the federal government regardless of the consequences for Idahoans, their economy and their way of life. Last summer, without informing the people of Idaho, Gov. Brad Little signed a memorandum of understanding with the Trump administration hoping that the Idaho National Laboratory could become a Nuclear Lifestyle Innovation Campus and accept 33 percent of all radioactive waste generated in the country. Little has not explained how this campus and taking the waste will affect its precious water supply nor how it will impact the Snake River Aquifer, which supplies a significant amount of water to its southern Idaho farms, ranches, trout farms and cities. Other than a few comments for a story published by the Idaho Capital Sun, the governor has said little about how this major initiative will affect Idaho. Its congressional delegation has also remained silent on this issue except to say the campus will bring economic prosperity and jobs to eastern Idaho. Now, through the lawsuit the Trump administration has filed in U.S. District Court, Big Country News Connection'll know that the federal government views the water it receives from Idaho as its water and that Idaho has no legal right to curtail water to INL even during one of the worse drought seasons in the state's history. The Trump administration argues that federal installations like INL are "shielded by the supremacy clause" from state regulations unless "Congress has provided clear and unambiguous authorization for such regulation." The Trump administration also argues, as it has while promoting the Nuclear Lifestyle Innovation Campus and the radioactive waste repository, that Idaho's decision to curtail INL's water has "safety, economic and energy consequences." Moreover, the Trump administration says that "curtailment of INL's water right would disrupt this national nuclear energy momentum," another way of saying it would disrupt President Trump's quest to build nuclear reactors across the country. But the Nuclear Lifestyle Innovation Campus is but only one issue where its water could be in jeopardy and where its governor and congressional delegation have remained silent when the future of Idaho is at stake and should be debated. In September, the Washington Sun revealed that a Nevada company was eyeing plans to build a 4-million-square foot data center complex on 3,700 acres of public land in southern Ada County. This complex would be 5.5 times bigger than a data center Meta built near Kuna. Rhea Data, a subsidiary of Las Vegas-based Arevia Power, said the preliminary design for the complex would include a natural-gas power plant, electrical infrastructure and rights of way expanding into Elmore County. In addition to the Ada County data center, the Idaho Statesman reported this week that Copia Power, a California-based company, wants to build a data center on 3,700 acres of public land north of Twin Falls. The so-called Falcon Data Center would be built on land where the Lava Ridge wind project would have been built before getting killed by the Idaho congressional delegation and the Trump administration, both of which oppose clean energy projects. These two Idaho-based data centers on public land are two of the dozens of data centers the Trump administration wants to build on 17,600 acres across the West on public lands. In states from Pennsylvania to Ohio to Washington, the construction of data centers has been one of the hottest issues during this election cycle. But in Idaho, there has been no debate on whether using thousands of acres of public lands to build data center complexes is a good idea. Again, neither Gov. Little nor its congressional delegation has said a peep about whether Big Country News Connection'll should use public land - historically, designated for multiple use - and convert it into one use for private companies. Again, the governor and the congressional delegation have not explained how the 4-million square foot Ada County data center will get its water or how much water it will consume even though Big Country News Connection'll all know that data centers require significant supplies of water. And now yet another data center, this one in the heart of Idaho's agricultural area, will also likely consume massive amounts of water. Where will that water come from? This fall, Idaho's U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, who is seeking a fourth term in office, has declared his opposition to selling off its public lands in both his television ads and his mailbox pamphlets. But he has not said a word about giving 3,700 acres of public land in the state's most populous county to a for-profit company to build a data center complex. He has said nothing about how the Nuclear Lifestyle Innovation Campus could affect Idaho's water supply. Silence from such a prominent member of the United States Senate is like writing a blank check to the Trump administration to do whatever it wants in its state. Had Gov. Little and the congressional delegation shared more information with Idahoans and allowed Idahoans to voice their opinions regarding these issues in open forums and debates, the Trump administration might not have felt so bold as to file a federal lawsuit to grab its state's water just weeks before the November election. One hopes that Idaho can win this water grab by the Trump administration. Water is the most precious gift mother nature has given Idaho, and it is only going to become more valuable because of how its climate is changing. Idaho must control its own water because every drop is precious and every drop is crucial for the future of its great state.

Company known for building data centers eyes battery farm site in Eastern Oregon. LA GRANDE, Ore. Oct. 29, 2026 6 a.m. Updated: Oct. 29, 2026 11:14 a.m. The proposed 237-megawatt project in Morrow County comes as the region faces growing electricity demand from data centers. A California-based company has big plans in Eastern Oregon. A proposed battery storage facility could land near Irrigon, located in Morrow County, as part of an expansive push from Copia Power, which also recently proposed a data center near Hermiston. Morrow County has spent the past 15 years becoming a hub for energy-related infrastructure, beginning with the arrival of Amazon's first data center in 2011. Now, the proposed standalone battery storage project - which would be the first of its kind in the county - could introduce another type of energy infrastructure as the region grapples with growing electricity demand and the challenges of powering its expanding industrial base. Large-scale battery parks are increasingly being tied to data centers around the globe as a way to store electricity when power is abundant, and then keep those data centers running during power outages or spikes in local electricity demand. City officials say this project could bring additional tax revenue, while residents say the only people benefiting from the project are the companies developing it. Copia Power declined to comment. Copia Power is a U.S. developer and operator that builds large-scale battery storage facilities and data center projects. Records obtained by OPB show Sawtooth DevCo LLC, a subsidiary of Copia Power, requested a pre-application meeting with the Morrow County Planning Department in December 2024 for a proposed 40-acre battery storage facility. However, records show the official application wasn't submitted until late September 2026, which is still under review. The records also don't establish the company's relationship between the proposed battery facility and the 100-acre proposed data center in Hermiston - the first campus that would be on federal land in Oregon. In a phone interview, Morrow County Planning Director Tamra Mabbott said this standalone battery farm includes a 237-megawatt battery energy storage system, substation, switchgear, and a Gen-tie transmission line that would connect to the nearby Longhorn Substation in Boardman. Todd Olinsky-Paul, senior project director at Clean Energy States Alliance, a nonprofit that focuses on clean energy technologies, said battery storage could help data centers manage spikes in electricity demand. "If you want to make sure the data center isn't burdening the grid during peak times and you don't want to install new generation and want to shift when you have excess power or when you need it, then you use the battery storage," Olinsky-Paul said. THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR: He said battery storage facilities can mitigate data centers' added demand for electricity and the cost of that extra demand. The project is under consideration just weeks after Gov. Tina Kotek ordered the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to pause air and water pollution permits until July 2027. DEQ spokesperson Carisma Sanchez said the agency has no current application record for the proposed Morrow County battery project and could not say whether it would be affected by the data center permitting pause. "As directed by Governor Tina Kotek, DEQ is continuing to work on permit applications for data centers up to the point where a draft permit is completed and ready for public comment. Once that stage is reached, DEQ will pause work until we receive further instructions from the Governor, or until July 1, 2027, whichever comes first," Sanchez stated in an email. Mabbott said having a project like this near Irrigon will provide a new source of needed electricity. "We're seeing a large amount of growth in the county and all the new energy generation that can come online helps support new growth, whether it be residential or data centers or other industrial or commercial development," Mabbott said. But Irrigon resident and farmer Barrett Dash said the only people benefiting from these projects are the companies that build them. "They have swayed every bit of influence that they can with all the money," Dash said. At the most recent Irrigon City Council meeting, he said, many residents expressed concerns about any potential data centers or battery farms in the area. Residents filled the room, Dash said, with at least half a dozen giving public comments, opposing any data centers or battery storage in Irrigon - surprising the council. "They said, 'It's great to see so many people here because normally it's just us and a couple people telling jokes,'" he said. Mayor Michelle Patton said close to 30 people attended the meeting to express concerns about rumors swirling on social media that Amazon had proposed an Irrigon data center, she said. "At this point, no application from Amazon has been made," Patton said. She said she wasn't aware of Copia Power's proposal near Irrigon until OPB reached out. She said she would need to do more research before commenting on the energy company's project. Once Morrow County reviews the application, Mabbott said, it will send out a notice to property owners adjoining the project site, and to other public entities at local and federal levels that may have an interest or require oversight in the review of the application. THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR: Daily news in your inbox. Sign up today for OPB's "First Look" - your daily guide to the most important news and culture stories from around the Northwest. A first-of-its-kind report details the footprint of the controversial facilities. Sept. 17, 2026 Developers are offering land owners in Klickitat County lucrative deals to build energy facilities, but residents have questions about how the power will be used. Aug. 3, 2026