Data Center Spills 5,500 Gallons Of Diesel Into Secaucus Creek

SECAUCUS, NJ — There was a very large diesel fuel spill Friday night from a Secaucus data center that is currently under construction and being expanded.

The fuel spill occurred Friday evening from Equinix data center, located on Hartz Way. Approximately 5,500 gallons of diesel fuel spilled out of a storage tank that was being kept on site.

The fuel spilled into Anderson Creek, which is a small creek that runs past Harmon Cove Towers and into the Hackensack River. Because the fuel was spilling into the Hackensack River, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection was notified and they are assisting with clean-up efforts, Mayor Mike Gonnelli said Monday morning.

Equinix hired private contractors to stop the oil from spreading and to clean it up.

Clean-up equipment was visible in Anderson Creek Sunday evening and is still there Monday, as clean up is ongoing.

“Contractors are working to remove oil and water and it probably will be continuing into the week,” DEP spokesman Larry Hajna told NJ.com. “Wildlife was not impacted as far as I know."

Gonnelli said town administrator Gary Jeffas spoke to the NJ DEP Monday morning and got an update from them on the clean-up:

"They've removed 3,500 gallons of fuel from Anderson Creek so far," Gonnelli said he was told. "It never hit the river. it stayed in the creek."

The diesel fuel tanks are used to power generators at the Equinix data center site while construction is done there.

Gonnelli said he assumes Equinix may have to pay a fine. He said the data company immediately started cleaning up the fuel spill Friday and they want to resolve the problem.

Data centers have become extremely controversial in Secaucus and across the nation. There are currently about 10 data centers in Secaucus, and two more are under construction, including the Equinix site on Hartz Way and a very large CoreSite data center planned for County Road. This will be the second CoreSite data center in town; there is already an existing CoreSite data center on Enterprise Avenue.

The second CoreSite facility would be built across from Louis Street on County Avenue.

Many other New Jersey towns have banned data centers.

So far, Secaucus has taken no steps to stop the data centers.

Gonnelli said the Equinix data center has existed for more than 25 years at its current location on Hartz Way, and that they are only now just expanding. The Burlington Coat Factory store that used to be there was in front of the Equinix data center; the data center was in the back.

NJ Gov. Mikie Sherrill proposed a plan where data centers would have to report how much water and electricity they use. Data centers pay for their electricity, but their massive demand for electricity gets spread across the entire power grid, which indirectly increases electric costs for homes and small-business owners.

Data Centers Are One Reason New Jersey Electric Bills Have Gotten So High (June 2026)