March 3, 2010
DEP Hearings on Oyster Creek
On Wednesday February 24th and Wednesday March 3rd, members of the NJ Energy Coalition attended two rounds of Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) hearings on the draft water discharge permit for the Oyster Creek Generating Station. The first was held at the Lacey Township Municipal Building in Lacey Twp, NJ and the second at the DEP offices in Trenton, NJ. Members of the local public and industry stakeholders were on hand to provide testimony on the issue and reiterate the important role that Oyster Creek plays in fueling the local and regional economy, providing hundreds of well paying jobs, ensuring the reliability of our energy grid and contributing to the low carbon energy production of the state.
The draft DEP permit that was released on January 7, 2010 requires Oyster Creek to convert to a closed-cycle cooling system and install cooling towers on site by 2017. The draft permit was under review at the DEP under Governor Corzine for the last four years, but no action was taken until the last days of his administration. The DEP has previously considered and rejected closed cycle cooling at Oyster Creek on three different occasions. This current draft permit is only one step in the permitting process, but it is the first step in a line of action that could one day result in the closure of Oyster Creek. The construction of cooling towers at the facility is severely cost prohibitive. Should Exelon Generation, the plant’s owner, be forced to build cooling towers they would have no alternative but to shut down the facility.
Robert Marshall and Richard Mroz provided testimony on behalf of the Coalition at each hearing respectively, along with the Coalition's distinguished New Jerseyans Dr. Fred Abbate and the Honorable Thomas Pankok. Representatives from the Nuclear Energy Institute, NJ SEED, NJ Business and Industry Association, the Southern New Jersey Development Council and the NJ Chamber of Commerce also provided testimony in support of Oyster Creek's continued operation. Links to a number of the testimonies are provided below for your information:
Letter from William Skaff - Nuclear Energy Institute
Testimony of William Skaff - Nuclear Energy Institute
Testimony of Rick Sands - URS Corporation
Testimony of Paul Harmon - Normandeau Associates, Inc.
Testimony of Robert Marshall - NJ Energy Coalition
Testimony of Sara Bluhm - NJ Business and Industry Association
Testimony of Richard Mroz - NJ Energy Coalition
Testimony of Southern New Jersey Development Council