Current Water
Pollution Permit Will Not Fix Problem, Should Be Strengthened
As the new home of NJPIRG's environmental work, Environment New Jersey can be contacted regarding this news release.
WARETOWN—NJPIRG,
coastal groups and local fisherman gathered at the edge of Oyster Creek today
to call on the state DEP to deny the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant's reapplication
for a thermal discharge permit based on its history of fish kills. The groups
said that the current permit was in violation of the Clean Water Act because
it failed to use best available technologies to conserve the livelihood of Oyster
Creek and the fish and wildlife by requiring better cooling systems.
"The Oyster Creek plant
has had a history of violating the law, and allowing its pollution to kill thousands
of fish in local waterways," said Doug O'Malley, NJPIRG's clean water advocate.
"Since it was built, its owners have dodged their responsibility and failed
to use available technologies to ensure no more fish are killed."
The current permit for cooling
water intake and thermal discharges has expired, and Oyster Creek is in the
process of renewing the five year permit. The permit is currently under review,
and a draft permit should be granted in the early spring.
The most recent fish kill
occurred in the fall of 2002, when due to an unexpected shutdown of the plant,
there was a huge dumping of heated water that pushed Oyster's Creek water temperature
over 100 degrees. Nearly 6,000 fish were killed in this accident, and the DEP
has said it plans to fine the plant more than $370,000 for violating its permit
and for natural resource damages. However, the plant's owner, Exelon, is lobbying
the DEP for a reduced fine.
"Heat in water can
be a deadly pollutant," said Kristen Milligan, Clean Ocean Action's staff
scientist. "In the past, due to this facility's discharge, thermal shock
has caused numerous fish kills by suddenly changing bay water temperature. The
discharge system doesn't support a healthy ecosystem and needs to be fixed to
a closed loop cycle."
Local fisherman and activists
have long noted the plant's dismal record and the extent of the discharge that
extends all the way into Barnegat Bay: "We are very concerned about unnatural
thermal pollution in the bay and the massive fish kills that occur when the
plant goes down," said William De Camp, head of Save Barnegat Bay.
"The current permitting
process is giving Oyster Creek a pass on its obligation to the Clean Water Act,"
O'Malley concluded. "The state needs tell the plant to upgrade its cooling
technology to close this checkered history of fish kills."
Read our white paper on this issue.
