A proposed 400,000-square-foot artificial intelligence (AI) data center may be coming to the former Greymark Office site on Route 22 in Bridgewater, and New Jersey has no framework in place to handle it.

At a July 9 Township Council meeting, residents raised serious concerns about what a facility of this scale would mean for the community. Based on a comparable facility in Vineland, the project is projected to consume 60 megawatts of power, the equivalent of running 30,000 homes. It would draw an estimated one million gallons of water every day. And it would run around the clock, with cooling fans and diesel generators creating continuous noise.

Council members are researching state legislation that may require data centers to cover their own power costs and related infrastructure, but no formal zoning rules currently exist to meaningfully limit a project like this. As Council President Joan Geiger said, "if there's vacant land, it could happen."

Geiger called the issue "probably number one on my concern list." Vice President Andrew Bucko said he shared residents' "concerns with the impact to the environment, specifically the water system and just clean air in general." Councilwoman Ridwana Isla noted that speakers at a recent statewide planning and zoning training described New Jersey as simply not ready for AI data centers at the local level.

No formal application has been filed yet. That is the window to act.

We urge the Bridgewater Township Council to pass a data center ordinance now, with clear standards for power limits, water use, noise, and required environmental review before any application can advance. We also call on the New Jersey Legislature to require mandatory public hearings and environmental assessments for AI data center projects statewide.

Sign this petition to demand Bridgewater acts before this decision gets made without the community's input.