The Local Politics of Closing Nuclear Power Plants 

  
New York and New Jersey both have aging plants






  

    

      
By Anna Sale

      
Published: Mar 15, 2011

    

    

                   
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Indian Point Nuclear Plant
  Photo:Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonythemisfit/

            
          
    

          

      

	While nuclear power has enjoyed a resurgence of bipartisan support in Washington — like in this 2009 op-ed from Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Lindsay Graham (R-SC) — the local politics around nuclear energy have remained charged. In both New Jersey and New York, leaders have been looking for exit plans for their decades-old nuclear plants.





		New Jersey's Oyster Creek Plant



		After a long and political fight in New Jersey, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted a 20-year operating license for Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in April 2009. Just as then-Governor Jon Corzine was leaving office later that year, he signed off on a plan to require the installation of cooling towers at the plant, a demand of environmentalists worried about the plant’s impact on surrounding waterways. As he prepared to take office, Chris Christie accused Corzine of “last-minute politics” by waiting until just before leaving office.



		The state’s position changed when Christie took office. The Christie administration brokered a deal with Excelon Corp, who runs the plant. No expensive cooling towers would be required, but the plant would close ten years into its 20-year license, no later than December 19, 2019.



		At the time, Christie touted the agreement as a conservation victory for nearby Barnegut Bay.



		"Barnegat Bay is one of my top environmental priorities. After years of inaction and the Bay's declining ecological health, we finally have a comprehensive plan that will prevent further degradation of the Bay and begin the restoration of this incredible New Jersey resource,” Christie said in a press release.



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          More Nuclear News        

        
                

          

	 



	Japan's nuclear plant leak has moved many to consider what would happen in New York should seismic activity occur near the Indian Point nuclear plant in Buchanan, which is about 45 miles from Times Square. The company that owns it, Entergy, said its facility is secure in the face of seismic motion.



	"The reactor itself is an incredibly strong vessel," said the plant's spokesman, Jerry Nappi. "It's a tank that's 10 feet-by-10 feet-by-40 feet. And that reactor vessel sits inside the containment dome. That containment dome is one of the strongest structures built by men."



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	“Obviously the tragedy unfolding in Japan would cause anyone to pause,” Senate Energy Committee spokesman Bill Wicker said. “I think everyone here pro- nuclear, anti-nuclear and in between, probably wants to see what can be learned. This is an ongoing emergency.”



	That echoes Senator Joe Lieberman’s (CT-I) comments on Sunday, that a reconsideration, not an all-out rejection, of nuclear power is warranted. “I don’t want to stop the building of nuclear power plants,” Lieberman told CBS’ Face the Nation.



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