Last week, the Monroe Township Council voted to ban the construction of new AI data centers. The vote came after strong community mobilization in opposition to the aggressive, profit-driven industry.

In response, local activists issued the following statements:

“These two wins in Monroe Township – first, stopping a change in the redevelopment plan that would have opened the door for a data center, and then enacting a ban on data centers in the municipality – are a testament to the power of grassroots organizing and citizen engagement. The people of Monroe Township showed up and spoke up for their farms, their lakes, their open spaces, and for the future of the Pinelands which could be endangered by data center proliferation. Throughout South Jersey, people are collaborating and standing in solidarity to stop data centers in our region.” – Kate Delany, South New Jersey organizer for Food & Water Watch 

“Rural South Jersey communities are right now in the fight against data center development applications. In our communities, we have had to pull together to research, comprehend, organize and spend hours of time attending public hearings to defend our towns. And we’re doing it right now. So much movement at the municipal level in NJ has come in recent days. Many towns are moving to ban the data center as a use. Monroe Township now has its own ban in place. We are hoping that these bans have legal teeth, and this is why we continue to hope the state can support local governments in ways that are possible to protect communities from the detrimental impacts that this industrial development will surely bring.” – E. Janene Geiss, lifelong Monroe Township resident

“Monroe Township’s prohibition on data centers is a win because to us it show local government CAN step in and intervene despite the redevelopment loopholes we’ve experienced and argued against in Cumberland County.” – Matt Williams, Chair of Sustain SJ

“This data center fight matters because this is our future and our children’s future. It is crucial that every one of us step and protect our most fragile resources and ecosystems. Monroe Township’s prohibition today is just one small, positive step in this big fight across the region. I applaud Monroe Township’s council for listening to the people and protecting their community and those surrounding it.” – Casey Palmer of South Jersey Progressive Democrats and SJ Food & Water Watch volunteer

Communities through New Jersey and across the country are increasingly mobilizing to resist the out-of-control outbreak of new AI data center construction on account of numerous inherent hazards and harms from the industry, including: 

• Enormous and unsustainable consumption of power and water resources, already resulting in skyrocketing utility bills for families and small businesses.
• Dangerous new demand for fossil fuels, posing heightened risks of air and water pollution for impacted communities and a grave threat to our global climate.
• A host of other societal threats, from national economic catastrophe, to loss of critical farmland, to unrelenting noise pollution, to threats to children and democracy.