Help Protect Barnegat Bay and the Jersey Shore

We need your help in protecting Barnegat Bay, a critical ecosystem on New Jersey's coastline. Over 500,000 people live within the Barnegat Bay watershed year round, with double that number due to summer. The Barnegat Bay estuary covers 42 miles of shoreline and is home to crabs, fish, birds, and other wildlife. The continued economic and environmental health of the watershed and estuary is dependent on the continued health of its waters.

To our great dismay, Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant, the oldest plant in the country (40 years) recently received a license renewal that allows it to operate for another 20 years without cooling towers. This means that every day the plant will be allowed to send 1.4 billion gallons of superheated discharge water into the bay, release harmful chemicals, and cause fish kills - a clear violation of the federal Clean Water Act.

The cooling towers can help stop the destruction of Barnegat Bay. Every "new" nuclear power plant in the country is now being required to use this well-established technology, and numerous other plants have already made the switch.

NJEF has been pressuring the Corzine Administration to comply with the federal Clean Water Act by requiring cooling towers at Oyster Creek. Cooling towers would reduce the amount of water used by 95%, thereby reducing the economic and environmental impacts on Barnegat Bay.

Current Action 

This Monday, December 10, New Jersey's Senate Environment Committee is voting on S3041-legislation that will require alternative cooling methods (cooling towers) at Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant. This will help protect the health of Barnegat Bay-one of New Jersey's most vital economic and environmental resources.

Take action now to urge members of the Committee to vote yes on this legislation. 

Why Vote YES for S3041?

Problem: Currently, the plants open-loop system allows it to withdraw over 1.4 billion gallons of water every day.

• The system then discharges water mixed with biocides back into the water-destroying fish larvae, fish eggs, plankton and other living organisms.
• The intake of such large volumes of water in this way affects over 80% of the volume of water in the Barnegat Bay estuary every month.

Solution: Installing cooling towers at Oyster Creek will prevent the continuing destruction of marine life and the coastal environment.

• This will help to protect thousands of businesses that depend on the health of the bay and create an additional 300 construction jobs, doubling the workforce at the plant for 2-3 years.
• It will require Exelon, not taxpayers, to pay for cooling towers. Exelon is the world's 2nd most profitable energy company - the cost to install the towers represents about only 5% of the company's $3 billion profit from this plant alone.

Take Action!

Please contact the members of the Senate Environment Committee. Tell them to pass S3041 which requires cooling towers at Oyster Creek. This will help lessen the harmful environmental and economic impacts the aging plant has on Barnegat Bay.

Additinoal Background Information

Vote Yes to Protect Barnegat Bay and the Jersey Shore