Clean-up work is underway in the New Jersey Meadowlands after several thousand gallons of diesel fuel spilled from a data center into a creek in Secaucus.
According to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, about 5,000 gallons of fuel spilled from a storage tank at the Equinix Data Center and flowed into Anderson Creek. Equinix said in a statement the leak was detected on Friday evening.
The creek is a tributary of the Hackensack River, which winds through the Meadowlands and empties into Newark Bay. Larry Hajna, a spokesperson for the state DEP, said the creek is small and narrow in the area of the spill and that the fuel was contained before it reached the river.
Bill Sheehan, the Hackensack Riverkeeper, was leading a boat tour of the river on Saturday afternoon when he saw contractors laying down a boom across the creek to contain the spill. Sheehan, who has been advocating for the river for decades, said he finds it hard to believe the spill remains contained in the creek.
“ The tributaries are the capillary system of the whole ecosystem,” Sheehan said. “All the water that runs off of our land goes into the creeks first, and then runs through the creeks out into the river.”
Equinix said it hired the contractor Clean Harbors to do the remediation work. Hajna said crews will be working on the scene for several days this week.
Sheehan said he has seen some of the work done so far, watching vacuum trucks at the scene yesterday suck up a mixture of fuel and water from the creek to be treated and disposed of elsewhere.
Equinix said it would conduct a full investigation into the spill and is committed to resolving the situation quickly.
Clean up work is underway in the New Jersey Meadowlands after several thousand gallons of diesel fuel spilled from a data center into a creek in Secaucus.
Hajna said he didn’t have information on any potential fines or enforcement action state authorities may take against Equinix because of the spill. Sheehan said he hopes the state will pursue a natural resource damages claim against the company, which if successful, would have Equinix compensate for the spill by paying for further environmental restoration in the area.
Sheehan compared the situation to a barge spill on the Hackensack River in 1994, when 310,000 gallons of caustic soda filled the river. In that case, Sheehan said, the state’s natural resource damages claim led to dedicated funding for a major restoration project of Lincoln Park in Jersey City.
“ The money came from the polluter across the river that spilled their barge,” Sheehan said. “This time it was a data center close to the river that spilled its oil. I think we should get a damage fund for that.”
Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli said he’s upset the spill happened, and he supports Sheehan’s push for a natural resource damages claim.
“ I want to go after them as best we can,” Gonnelli said.
The spill comes as the Hackensack River is on the precipice of a major cleanup effort, after being placed on the federal Superfund list in 2022.
“ It's a slap in the face to all the work that's been going on,” Sheehan said.
The spill has become another flashpoint in the debate over data center development. Close to 100 cities and towns across New Jersey have enacted local bans on new data centers.
Gonnelli said the Equinix data center in Secaucus has been operating for 25 years without any issues before this spill. He demurred when asked if he would support a local ban on new data centers in Secaucus, and instead said such policy is better handled at the state level.
Sheehan acknowledged that data centers have been in the Meadowlands for decades without causing problems. But he said he’s been increasingly concerned by the industry’s recent growth.
“ The benefit of having high-speed internet is a good thing,” Sheehan said. “But at the same time, we don't want to pay for it by destroying our natural resources.”
Garden State activists have for months called on Gov. Mikie Sherrill to place a moratorium on data center development in New Jersey.
“Leaving this to individual towns doesn’t make any sense,” Ben Dziobek, executive director of Climate Revolution Action Network, said in a statement. “Data centers create problems that don’t stop at municipal boundaries, whether it’s pollution or straining the grid and driving up everyone’s electric bills.”
Sherrill’s office declined to comment and referred Gothamist to the DEP.
This story has been updated to reflect the response from the governor's office.
