5,000 gallons of diesel leaked from a data center into a New Jersey creek. So crews rushed to contain it before it reached the river

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection said about 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel escaped a storage tank at the Equinix Data Center in Secaucus and ran into Anderson Creek. That creek feeds the Hackensack River in the Meadowlands, where cleanup work is now underway.

According to Gothamist, Equinix said in a statement that workers found the leak on Friday evening. The company said it brought in Clean Harbors to handle the cleanup.

DEP spokesperson Larry Hajna said the creek is small and narrow near the spill site and that the fuel was stopped before it reached the river. He said crews are expected to stay on scene for several days this week.

Officials said the fuel was stopped short of the Hackensack River

Hackensack Riverkeeper Bill Sheehan said he was running a Saturday afternoon boat tour when he spotted contractors stretching a boom across the creek. Sheehan said he has spent decades pressing for better care of the river.

Sheehan 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.”

Sheehan said he later watched vacuum trucks pull a mix of fuel and water from the creek so it could be treated and hauled away.

Equinix said it would run a full investigation and is committed to resolving the situation quickly. Hajna said he did not have information on any potential fines or other enforcement steps the state might take against Equinix.

Sheehan said he wants the state to file a natural resource damages claim so the company would pay for extra restoration nearby if the claim succeeds. He pointed to a 1994 barge spill on the Hackensack River that released 310,000 gallons of caustic soda. Sheehan said that earlier claim helped pay for a major restoration 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 is upset the spill happened and that he backs Sheehan’s call for a damages claim. “I want to go after them as best we can,” Gonnelli said.

The river was added to the federal Superfund list in 2022 and is heading into a large cleanup. “It’s a slap in the face to all the work that’s been going on,” Sheehan said.

Nearly 100 New Jersey cities and towns have banned new data centers. Gonnelli said the Equinix site in Secaucus had run for 25 years with no prior problems. Asked about a local ban, he declined to take a position, saying the issue belongs at the state level.

Sheehan said data centers have operated in the Meadowlands for decades without issue, but recent growth has left him more worried. “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.”

Activists in the state have asked Gov. Mikie Sherrill for months to pause new data center projects. This debate over data centers’ impact has even reached the national political stage, as former President Trump recently criticized communities opposed to them.

“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.”