Trenton, NJ – Today, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill announced a four-point plan to bring new regulations to the rapidly expanding AI data center industry in the state.

In response, Food & Water Watch’s New Jersey State Director Matt Smith issued the following statement:

“Governor Sherrill’s half-hearted attempt to rein in the increasingly out-of-control data center industry is entirely inadequate. The only proper solution to addressing this emerging statewide crisis is to put a full moratorium on the construction of any new AI data centers, in order to give communities and state officials the time needed to sufficiently consider and address the wide range of inherent hazards these monstrous facilities bring. It is ultimately a question of if – not how- the data center industry can ever operate in a sustainable, responsible manner in New Jersey.”

Data center opposition has been growing in New Jersey. Last week, representatives of 60 organizations sent a letter to Governor Sherrill calling for a 3-year moratorium on data centers over 20MW in NJ. A recent Stockton University Poll found that 56% of voters would support a ban on data centers in their own municipality.

Meanwhile, in the absence of statewide action from the governor, communities throughout the state have increasingly been taking their own action to halt new data center development.

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