Rep. Watson Coleman, State Senator Zwicker Call On NJ DEP to Pause Sentinel Data Center in South Brunswick

Rep. Watson Coleman, State Senator Zwicker Call On NJ DEP to Pause Sentinel Data Center in South Brunswick

Ewing, NJ (November 9, 2026) - Today, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) and State Senator Andrew Zwicker (District 16 - Hillsborough) announced a letter to Commissioner Ed Potosnak of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection demanding a pause on the permitting of the Sentinel Data Center in South Brunswick.

The letter highlights potential gaps in the environmental study of the project that could lead to adverse environmental and health impacts on the surrounding communities.

The letter reads, in part:

We respectfully request that DEP not issue the permit in its current form. Before any final decision, DEP must independently recalculate the Sentinel Data Center facility's potential to emit and properly classify the facility to account for emergency operation and the full planned buildout; publish its health risk assessment inputs and its review of them; add enforceable limits on non-emergency use; and give the public an opportunity to review and comment on that information. We are not asking DEP to prejudge the application.

We are asking for a complete, transparent review that protects public health and gives residents confidence that the law will be enforced.

Congresswoman Watson Coleman introduced the Data Center Community Impact Act, legislation that would authorize a federal study on the environmental, economic, and public health impacts of data centers, with a focus on communities of color and low-income communities. Watson Coleman is also an original cosponsor of the AI Data Center Moratorium Act.

Senator Zwicker is a primary sponsor of NJ S4659, which would require the DEP to conduct a study and submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature concerning the environmental impacts of data center development in the State and prohibit the construction of new data centers until the study is complete.

Last month, State Senator Zwicker, along with Assemblymembers Frieman and Drulis, secured from the state an extension on the public comment period for the Sentinel Data Center project.

A copy of the letter can be found here.