Residents seek tougher data center rules
Monroe Township residents expressed concerns about loopholes in the current data center ban ordinance and urged the Township Council to enact an 18-month moratorium. Residents highlighted environmental impacts, energy use, and noise, citing examples like Data One's high water usage in Vineland. Mayor Greg Wolfe indicated state legislators are discussing data centers but are not currently pursuing a statewide moratorium.
During a June 24 Monroe Township Council meeting, residents voiced significant concerns regarding the efficacy of the existing ordinance that bans data centers, alleging it contains loopholes. Linda Sullivan, a resident, specifically called for the Monroe Township Council to adopt an 18-month moratorium on data center construction, similar to one proposed in Sayreville, Middlesex County. She emphasized the severe environmental impact, energy consumption, and noise associated with hyperscale data centers, arguing they function as "industrial power and cooling plants" with regional consequences beyond municipal boundaries.
Sullivan accused Hexa Developers of a "bait and switch" by presenting a data center project as a warehouse. She also highlighted the immense water usage of data centers, citing a report that the Data One facility in Vineland, only one-third built, consumes 2.2 million gallons of water daily from the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer. This raised alarms given recent drought conditions and water restrictions in the area, questioning the municipality's capacity to regulate such impacts.
Monroe Township Mayor Greg Wolfe, who also serves as president of the Gloucester County Mayors Association, acknowledged discussions with state legislators regarding data centers. He noted that while some Gloucester County municipalities are now banning data centers, state legislators are currently not pursuing a statewide moratorium, despite the existence of at least five pieces of data center-related legislation.