NJ DEP says DataOne installed and operated 62 natural-gas generators without required air permits; the company can seek a hearing within 20 days of receiving the order.
VINELAND, NJ – The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has assessed a $1,072,000 civil penalty against DataOne after inspectors found 62 large natural-gas generators installed and operating at its Vineland data center without required air permits.
The enforcement action, announced September 22, 2026, is the largest New Jersey has taken against a data center, according to the Sherrill administration. It follows a July 29 inspection at DataOne’s facility at 3963 South Lincoln Avenue in Cumberland County.
DEP’s five-page administrative order and penalty notice identifies the equipment as Caterpillar G3516H stationary reciprocating engines. Each has a rated output of 1,982 kilowatts, giving the 62 units a combined nameplate capacity of about 122.9 megawatts.
The agency said DataOne violated the New Jersey Air Pollution Control Act by installing each engine without a preconstruction permit and operating each one without a valid operating certificate. State rules classify a nonemergency stationary engine used to generate electricity as a significant source when its output is 37 kilowatts or greater. Each DataOne engine is more than 53 times that threshold.
The generators were not present during DEP’s previous inspection in December 2025, according to the state’s enforcement announcement republished by InsiderNJ. The order does not say when all 62 were installed, how many were running on July 29 or how long each had operated.
What the order requires
The order directs DataOne, within 45 days of receiving it, to submit the required permit and operating-certificate applications and obtain the state approvals. If the company does not submit the applications by that deadline, it must stop installing or operating the generators. DataOne must also answer any DEP request for additional application information within 14 calendar days unless the two sides agree to more time.
DataOne has 20 calendar days after receipt to request an administrative hearing. Without a timely request, the assessment becomes a final order on the 21st day and the penalty becomes due. Filing a hearing request does not automatically suspend the corrective requirements.
That means the $1.072 million is an assessed penalty, not necessarily a final or paid fine. The order is dated September 22, but the deadlines run from the date DataOne receives it, which the public document does not provide.
The public order states the total assessment but does not itemize the calculation. It also reserves DEP’s right to seek an additional penalty for any economic benefit DataOne gained from noncompliance and to pursue further enforcement for other violations.
Natural-gas engines emit carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and other combustion pollutants, DEP said. The federal Environmental Protection Agency says nitrogen dioxide forms when fuel burns and that high concentrations can irritate airways and aggravate asthma. The DataOne order does not report measured emissions or allege that local air exceeded a health standard. The violations cited are the installation and operation of equipment without the required state approvals.
“Today, we are taking action against Data One in Vineland for violating New Jersey pollution law with a $1.07 million fine, the largest in state history,” Gov. Mikie Sherrill said in a statement. “I said from the beginning that we are going to hold data centers accountable, period.”
DEP Commissioner Ed Potosnak called the case the state’s largest data-center enforcement action and said it may be among the largest of its kind nationally.
A power plan already in transition
The 62 Caterpillar generators were not DataOne’s original long-term power plan for the campus.
Public records in DEP’s facility document index show that DataOne submitted an air-permit application for Bergen natural-gas engines, revised that application several times and withdrew it on May 27, 2026. The company later said it planned to use Bloom Energy fuel cells for on-site power.
In August, the nonprofit newsroom Floodlight reported that thermal footage appeared to show at least 45 of the 62 Caterpillar generators operating in mid-August. Floodlight said maintenance records indicated the first units may have begun operating in October 2025, though the exact operating history remained unclear.
DataOne did not answer Floodlight’s questions about the generators at the time but said it “remains committed to meeting all applicable environmental and permitting requirements.” DEP’s September 22 announcement did not include a new statement from the company.
DataOne owns the site; Nebius is the tenant
DataOne owns and operates the Vineland facility. Nebius Group, an artificial-intelligence infrastructure company, is the tenant and plans to install and manage its servers and graphics-processing equipment, according to the project’s public information site.
Nebius has agreed to provide Microsoft with dedicated computing capacity from the Vineland data center. A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission values the five-year agreement at about $17.4 billion through 2031, with an option that could increase it to about $19.4 billion. Microsoft is a customer, not the facility’s owner or operator.
Nebius and DataOne say the completed project will use Bloom fuel cells, create about 200 permanent jobs and begin operating in 2027. Those are company projections, separate from the violations addressed in DEP’s order.
Broader state scrutiny
The case lands as New Jersey begins applying a broader set of rules to the fast-growing data-center industry. Sherrill announced a four-part policy plan in May, focused on energy costs, resource reporting, community benefits and labor standards.
In August, she signed a law requiring data-center owners and operators to file semiannual reports on energy use, water consumption and on-site or backup power. The new reporting law is part of that wider policy effort, but DataOne’s penalty arises under the state’s existing air-pollution law and permitting rules.
The next formal steps depend on when DataOne receives the order and whether it seeks a hearing. DEP can enforce the corrective terms while any challenge proceeds.