PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill issued a historic fine to a data center company on Tuesday after their Vineland facility was found to have more than five dozen unpermitted natural gas generators.
DataOne in Vineland, Cumberland County, has been fined $1.07 million after the Department of Environmental Protection observed 62 natural gas generators on site on July 29.
DEP officials said DataOne had no permit and incurred the largest fine of its kind.
“Data centers will pay their fair share for energy, be accountable for their water and energy use, protect our environment, create good-paying union jobs and invest in communities,” Sherrill said in a statement. “New Jerseyans have my firm commitment, and today’s action is an example.”
Some environmental advocates, though, believe the Sherrill administration needs to do more.
“This is a good step forward that we’re taking action, but this is a reactive step,” said Ben Dziobek, executive director of the Climate Revolution Action Network.
“We need constant, proactive monitoring during construction of these hyperscale data centers, so the violations don’t even happen.”
The DEP said the generators weren’t there during a Dec. 2025 inspection and that DataOne was ordered to apply for and obtain the required permits or cease operating the generators. Dziobek is worried about the company getting those permits.
“All those chemicals are going to fall on the farmland in and around Vineland,” he said, adding that he has called for a three-year moratorium on data center development.
“That way, any legislation has time to be implemented and studied, so we can get the right laws in place.”
