newjerseynewsroom.com

BY DENA MOTTOLA JABORSKA

A coalition of environmental groups, fishing interests, and members of the public concerned about the health of Barnegat Bay and the Jersey Shore's livelihood are all calling on Exelon, the owner of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, to stop harming the Bay with continued operation of antiquated "once-through cooling" technology.

Continued mass destruction of marine life and water pollution caused by the Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant is threatening our entire Jersey Shore economy. We cannot allow the greed of one company, Exelon, to put a natural resource at risk that generates $4 billion dollars annually for our state. This permit is right on the money, and we're calling on NJDEP Commissioner Martin to understand this and adopt the permit.

On January 7th, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection issued a draft Clean Water Act permit that requires the company to install a closed loop cooling system on the plant. This technology upgrade would greatly reduce the major effects of the plant on the Barnegat Bay including its massive intake of over 1.4 billion gallons of water a day. Billions of fish and shellfish - like blue crabs, striped bass and flounder - are killed each year, along with their eggs and larvae. And each year endangered sea turtles become stuck on intake screens, and many have been injured or killed by the plant. The water that is returned to the Bay is over 40 degrees hotter than it came in, harming the overall ecology of the Bay and hurting marine life.

"This issue is a test of the whether the Department and the Christie Administration intend to give Barnegat Bay any chance at all to recover. If they allow 2.8 percent of the volume of the bay to be strained of life every day, the decline of the bay can only continue," stated William DeCamp, Chairman of Save Barnegat Bay.

"The Barnegat Bay is suffering multiple problems, and the plant is one of them. No one single fix will bring the Bay back to life. We need to act on them all," stated Helen Henderson, Atlantic Coast Project Manager for the American Littoral Society. "Multiple federal and state agencies including the USEPA, the National Marine Fisheries Service, two different divisions of the NJDEP (the Land Use and Water Quality Divisions), and the Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program have concluded that closed loop cooling is both cost effective and necessary at the plant to limit impacts on the Bay."

The economic benefit of upgrading the plant greatly overshadows the projected cost to Exelon Corporation. The Shore area generates $4 billion in economic activity every year and supports 70,000 jobs. Recreational and commercial fishing and tourism are the largest revenue generators.

"For the past 40 years, since the development of the Oyster Creek Power Plant we have seen a drastic decline in our clam and crab harvest in the Barnegat Bay. The state's commercial fishermen and seafood lovers for too long have paid the price for the profit of this power plant," said Scot Mackey of the Garden State Seafood Association.

"The Barnegat Bay serves as a nursery for the fish species that are valuable to our sport including striped bass, bluefish, fluke, weakfish and winter flounder. These species are incredibly important to the recreational sector and its attendant industries such as marinas, bait and tackle stores, boat dealers and others," stated Sharon McKenna, Operations Manager for the Jersey Coast Anglers Association. "Jersey Coast is not opposed to the Oyster Creek plant. Jersey Coast is, however, opposed to the impact that the current water intake system is having on Barnegat Bay."

Construction of cooling towers would cost a small fraction of Exelon Corporation's annual profits. The upgrade would cost the company an estimated $50 to $300 million, according to the Jeffries Consulting Company, a small fraction of the company's annual profits (less than 2%). Exelon earned over $4.43 billion in profit in the last quarter of last year alone. Over the 10 years that the company has owned and operated the plant, the plant has earned more than $1 billion in profit. Yet, Exelon Corporation has threatened to close the plant if the water permit is finalized, arguing it would be uneconomical to run the plant if the investment in a closed loop system is required.

"Exelon claims to be a good and responsible corporate neighbor. But their threat to close the plant if they're forced to upgrade it pulls the mask off that sham and shows they're just trying to pit workers against the citizens, environmental groups and fishermen who want the Bay protected. The Bay belongs to us all, and Exelon must be a better steward of this resource they so recklessly abuse," said Paula Gotsch of GRAMMES (Grandmothers, Mothers & More for Energy Safety).

"Sometimes, you've just got to give up some of those corporate profits for the greater good, and right now, the greater good is Barnegat Bay and all the fishermen who depend on a healthy bay for their livelihood and all the business people who depend on tourism," said John Hall, a 41 year member of the United Steel Workers 943.

"This is not about closing the Oyster Creek Plant it is about saving the Bay. Barnegat Bay is in serious trouble and the largest single source of the Bay's pollution problems comes from overheated water coming out of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station," said Jeff Tittel, Director of the NJ Sierra Club. "We need to require cooling towers in order to protect the Bay and save this jewel of New Jersey and the thousands of jobs that the Bay provides to our economy."

The NJDEP will be taking comment on the draft permit through March 15th and it will make a decision to adopt the permit or not soon after. While the draft permit calls for the right remedy for the Bay, it must be strengthened. The draft would allow Exelon as much as 10 years to install a closed loop cooling system. Construction of a closed loop cooling system sooner would have the added benefit of bringing an estimated 300 new ‘green' construction jobs to New Jersey at a time when unemployment is the highest its been in 15 years.

"The draft permit is long over due. To allow another 10 years for the installation of cooling towers is unacceptable. Barnegat Bay has waited long enough and it is on the brink. The permit must be strengthened by requiring cooling towers be operational within a few years. This will have the added benefit of creating good jobs for New Jersey now," said Cindy Zipf, Executive Director of Clean Ocean Action.

"Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, within the Pinelands National Reserve, is a continuous threat to Barnegat Bay. In keeping with the ecological and cultural value of our country's first National Reserve, Oyster Creek must install cooling towers in a proper location or cease operation," said Jaclyn Rhoades, Director for Conservation Policy, the Pinelands Preservation Alliance.

"Experts not on Exelon's payroll like Rutgers' scientists agree: Barnegat Bay is dying due in part to this plant's antiquated cooling system. From fishermen and environmentalists to Governor Corzine's DEP and Governor Christie himself, diverse interests have noted how flawed this system is. Exelon's profits and scare tactics can't deny cooling towers are a positive hat trick -- good for the fishing and tourism industry, good for the environment, and good for jobs," said David Pringle, Campaign Director of the New Jersey Environmental Federation.

SOURCE: ENVIRONMENT NEW JERSEY