Clean Water Action and its Garden State chapter, the New Jersey Environmental Federation, together with other local groups, applauded last week’s announcement that the Oyster Creek nuclear plant in Lacey Township will close in nine years.
“Getting Exelon [the plant’s owner] to take Oyster Creek offline in nine years is validation that this plant should never have been relicensed for 20 years,” said Janet Tauro of Grandmothers, Mothers and More (GRAMMES), a grassroots organization that was part of the coalition that fought the plant’s relicensing several years ago.
“All of the money that Exelon poured into attorneys, a public relations machine, and glitzy, misleading advertising campaigns could not change the unalterable fact that this plant was not designed to safely operate beyond its retirement date,” Tauro said.
Several years ago, Exelon received permission from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission to continue operating Oyster Creek, which opened in 1969, through 2029. The company announced last week that it will retire the facility in 2019.
Peggi Sturmfels, program organizer for the New Jersey Environmental Federation (NJEF), the New Jersey Chapter of Clean Water Action, called the early shutdown “a win for the long-term health of Barnegat Bay” and noted that cooling tower litigation and federal regulation would likely have taken longer with an uncertain result.
“Gov. Chris Christie’s leadership here with its emphasis on our call for a safety review board with penalty for inaction provides a model that should be replicated at all nuclear plants, whatever their age,” she said.
Lynn Thorp, national programs coordinator for Clean Water Action, pointed to water protection concerns as a key consideration at Oyster Creek and other plants nationwide.
“Nuclear plants, especially older ones like Oyster Creek, pose serious water problems. In addition to leaks, these plants consume and waste large quantities of water in the cooling process,” Thorp said.
“Throughout the entire nuclear cycle, from mining and processing into fuel, to plant operations and the still-unsolved waste management challenges, this technology places our water at risk and adds to the already-staggering costs,” she added.
Amy Goldsmith, state director of the New Jersey Environmental Federation, said the planned closure of Oyster Creek opens up new avenues for the state to pursue green technology.
“We now have more tools at our disposal to save the Barnegat Bay and prevent future public and ecological harm from radiation, fish kills, and thermal pollution,” Goldsmith said.
She noted that even though the plant will shut down, a majority of the work force will be employed through a decommissioning phase that could last a decade, and the security and management of the tons of accumulated radioactive nuclear waste will continue forever.
“We will continue our work as advocates with the administration and all stakeholders to restore the bay, and ensure a just transition for workers,” Goldsmith said.