Emma Wallace For years, environmental activists and local officials have worked to clean up the Hackensack River after centuries of contamination from industrial and sewage discharges. However, they may now have more contamination issues to worry about. On the evening of September 11, the Equinix data center in Secaucus spilled about 5,500 gallons of diesel fuel into a small stream of the Hackensack River. According to state officials, it was caused by a computer glitch in Equinix’s software that the company was made aware of that Friday night. Cleanup efforts are currently underway and expected to continue for several days. Read on to learn more about this massive data center spill.
About the Spill
Secaucus has been home to Equinix data centers for nearly two decades without a reported spill of this scale. That streak was broken when a computer error reportedly triggered the release of diesel fuel, sending it into Anderson Creek, according to Bill Sheehan of Hackensack Riverkeeper, who spoke with CBS News. Equinix representatives have reportedly said the company detected the spill Friday, stopped the release, and immediately contacted state and local officials.
According to local officials, the spill was reported September 12 and originated from a storage tank at the Equinix data center.
Clean Harbors, a provider of environmental and industrial cleanup services, was called in by Equinix to start remediating the leak before it could flow further down the river. As of September 15, the NJDEP has stated the fuel was contained in the creek before it could reach the Hackensack River.
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However, Bill told the Gothamist that he finds it difficult to believe the spill did not contaminate the Hackensack River. “ The tributaries are the capillary system of the whole ecosystem,” Bill told the Gothamist. “All the water that runs off of our land goes into the creeks first, and then runs through the creeks out into the river.”
Around 3,500 gallons of diesel fuel have been recovered from Anderson Creek, according to Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli. There have been no reports of damage to wildlife or the surrounding habitat. The NJDEP also said there have been no impacts to drinking water supplies.
The Battle of Data Centers
The spill comes as more municipalities across New Jersey are adopting restrictions on data centers and their expansion. According to environmental advocates, at least 90 communities have passed some form of restrictions on data centers.
Bordering Secaucus is Jersey City, where the City Council recently voted to prohibit new artificial intelligence data centers in the city’s industrial district and approved a ban on standalone data centers. Nearby communities are also adopting similar restrictions, such as Bayonne’s citywide ban on constructing new data centers.
Secaucus, meanwhile, does not currently have a data-center-specific ban or restrictions in its zoning code. Mayor Michael Gonnelli has been a public advocate of data centers and stated in the town newsletter that they are “good for the town.” He called them “as important as grocery stores and gas stations” and “the backbone of everything we do digitally.”
See more: NJ Assembly Approves Bill to Protect Utility Customers from Footing AI Data Center Usage
The Bergen County Girl has reached out to the NJDEP for further information and will update this piece when we hear back.
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