Data Center Spilled 5,000 Gallons Of Diesel Fuel Into River Tributary

A New Jersey data center spilled roughly a small tanker truck’s worth of diesel fuel into a nearby creek Friday.

An estimated 5,000 gallons of No. 2 diesel fuel discharged from a storage tank at an Equinix data center in Secaucus, New Jersey, Friday, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The spill has been contained, and DEP said it does not yet know how much of the discharged fuel entered nearby Anderson Creek, a small tributary of the Hackensack River. The agency told the DCNF the spill has not impacted the Hackensack River, no wildlife impacts have been reported and there are no drinking water intakes in the area.

Bill Sheehan, executive director of Hackensack Riverkeeper, said he was told a computer glitch caused the spill, according to CBS News New York.

“The computer was calling for oil,” Sheehan told the outlet.

At current New Jersey retail prices, 5,000 gallons of diesel would be worth roughly $31,000, based on American Automobile Association (AAA) fuel-price data.

Cleanup is being performed by a contractor for Equinix, and crews are expected to remain at the site for several days, DEP told the DCNF. The agency said it did not have information on potential enforcement actions at this time.

Equinix said it detected the leak Friday evening and hired environmental services company Clean Harbors to conduct remediation work. The company plans to investigate the spill and said it is committed to resolving the situation quickly.

“On the evening of Friday, September 11, Equinix operations detected a fuel leak from a storage tank outside our NY2 facility in Secaucus, NJ. The leak was stopped and we immediately engaged Clean Harbors to begin remediation efforts. We also contacted the Secaucus Fire Department, who responded promptly and subsequently notified the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and Hudson Regional Health Commission,” an Equinix spokesperson told the DCNF.

“The NJDEP has confirmed there has been no impact to the Hackensack River. We are working closely with those agencies, local officials, and community stakeholders to ensure a thorough remediation while also conducting a full investigation to determine the root cause and prevent recurrence,” the spokesperson added. “Equinix has been operating in Secaucus for more than two decades and takes our responsibility to the community seriously. We remain committed to resolving this quickly, transparently, and responsibly.”

The diesel spill comes amid a broader fight over data center development in New Jersey, where close to 100 cities and towns have enacted local bans on new facilities, according to Gothamist.

Garden State activists have pushed Democratic New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill to impose a statewide moratorium on data center development, according to the Jersey Vindicator

The opposition comes as the artificial intelligence boom drives a rapid expansion of data centers and their energy needs. U.S. data centers are projected to require an additional 15 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day for electricity by 2035, according to BloombergNEF outlook.

The spill comes as diesel prices have surged amid disruptions to global oil and refined-fuel supplies. The national average price of diesel blew past $6 per gallon for the first time earlier in September as the Iran war squeezed global fuel supplies and disrupted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Diesel prices had already reached a record $5.85 per gallon earlier in September, surpassing the previous highs recorded during the 2022 energy crunch following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Diesel averaged about $3.72 per gallon in February, when the Iran war began, according to former AAA.

The fuel’s importance extends far beyond motorists who own diesel vehicles. Trucks haul food from farms and distribution centers to grocery stores, deliver packages to homes and businesses and move construction materials and other goods throughout the economy.

The spill follows other infrastructure problems emerging alongside the rapid expansion of AI data centers, a leak traced to a Bitcoin mining site in El Reno, Oklahoma, wasted more than three million gallons of water and forced schools and businesses to close.

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