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Many of New Jersey’s power plants are degrading local waterways. They kill fish, larvae and other aquatic life like sea turtles in their cooling process.
One of the worst actors is the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant on the Jersey Shore.
The oldest operating nuclear power plant in the country, Oyster Creek has a long history of environmental and safety problems.
To make matters worse, the plant's water permit has been expired for more than three years. Until the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection issues a new permit, the plant can operate using its expired permit and continue to degrade the environment indefinitely.
Now it's time for Governor Corzine to step in.
Governor Corzine must require Exelon to install a closed cycle cooling system right away. This new technology will cut down on environmental degradation by more than 95 percent.
Help us urge Governor Corzine to take this critical step to clean up Oyster Creek.
How You Can Help
Please sign the petition asking Governor Corzine to step in and protect New Jersey’s aquatic life.
Brief Summary
When most people think of power plants, they think air pollution. But New Jersey’s power plants also have a long history of degrading our precious waterways, killing fish and sea turtles in the process. In fact, more than half of the power plants across the country take in billions of gallons of water and related aquatic life from nearby waterways every day.
One of the worst actors in New Jersey is the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant on the Jersey Shore.
The plant is located in Lacey Township on the Jersey Shore and is owned by Exelon, an energy company based in Chicago. Oyster Creek has a lengthy history of safety problems including corrosion of radiation containment structures, an outdated design, build-up of nuclear waste on-site, and an unworkable evacuation plan. The plant’s current operating license is set to end in 2009, but Exelon has applied for a license extension to continue the plant’s operation for another 20 years, putting the public at risk.
Oyster Creek is also degrading local waterways. For 38 years, the plant has used a once-through system that intakes and discharges 1.4 billion gallons of water from Forked River, Oyster Creek and Barnegat Bay every day.
Fish eggs and larvae flow through the plant’s intake grate and are killed in process of cooling the reactor. Larger types of aquatic life, such as striped bass, white perch, and endangered sea turtles, get pinned on the grate and often die from, or are seriously injured by, the rush of oncoming water. As a result, the Oyster Creek plant kills millions of fish and shellfish and tens of millions of larvae every year.
Fortunately, there is a simple solution. Power plants can install new technology called a closed-cycle cooling system. This type of system reduces water intake and discharge by over 95 percent because it draws water into the plant for cooling, re-circulates it and expels the heat through cooling towers.
But the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is letting Exelon off the hook. The Oyster Creek plant’s water permit has been expired for more than three years, yet NJDEP hasn’t issued a new permit requiring the installation of a closed cycle cooling system. Until the NJDEP takes action, the plant can operate using its expired permit and continue to degrade the environment indefinitely.
Now it's time for Governor Corzine to step in.
Governor Corzine must require Exelon to install a closed cycle cooling system right away. This new technology will cut down on environmental degradation by more than 95 percent.
Help us urge Governor Corzine to take this critical step to clean up Oyster Creek.
