Modifies certain CAFRA permit review requirements for nuclear facilities.

S3870

SENATE, No. 3870

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 10, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� NICHOLAS P. SCUTARI

District 22 (Somerset and Union)

Senator� PAUL A. SARLO

District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)

Assemblyman� CODY D. MILLER

District 4 (Atlantic, Camden and Gloucester)

Assemblyman� WAYNE P. DEANGELO

District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)

Assemblyman� JERRY WALKER

District 31 (Hudson)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senators O'Scanlon, Diegnan, Tiver, Assemblymen Egan,
Karabinchak and Angelozzi

SYNOPSIS

���� Modifies certain CAFRA permit review requirements for
nuclear facilities.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning nuclear facility permitting and amending
P.L.1973, c.185.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� Section 11 of P.L.1973,
c.185 (C.13:19-11) is amended to read as follows:

���� 11.� Notwithstanding the
applicant's compliance with the criteria listed in section 10 of P.L.1973,
c.185 (C.13:19-10), if the commissioner finds that the proposed development
would violate or tend to violate the purpose and intent of
[
this act
]

P.L.1973,
c.185
as specified in section 2 of P.L.1973, c.185 (C.13:19-2), or that the
proposed development would materially contribute to an already serious and
unacceptable level of environmental degradation or resource exhaustion, the
commissioner may deny the permit application, or the commissioner may issue a
permit subject to such conditions as the commissioner finds reasonably
necessary to promote the public health, safety and welfare, to protect public
and private property, wildlife and marine fisheries, and to preserve, protect
and enhance the natural environment.� The construction and operation of a
nuclear electricity generating facility shall, however, not be approved by the
commissioner unless the commissioner finds that the proposed method for
the
storage or
disposal of radioactive waste material to be produced or
generated by the facility will be safe, conforms to standards established by
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
,
and will effectively remove danger to
life and the environment from such waste material.�

(cf: �P.L.1993, c.190, s.12)

���� 2. This act shall take effect
immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill would modify the
permit review process under the Coastal Area Facility Review Act, to include
that the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection is to
determine whether a nuclear energy generation facility�s method for the storage
or disposal of radioactive waste material that is produced or generated by the
facility is safe, conforms to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission standards, and removes
danger to life and the environment from such waste material.

���� The regional electric grid is
facing unprecedented load growth driven by rising demand and constraints on new
supply entry that risks grid reliability for New Jersey ratepayers.� Current
low capacity has resulted in record-high capacity market clearing prices, which
are being passed on to ratepayers and exacerbating the State�s energy
affordability crisis.� A reliable, resilient, and affordable energy system is
critical to the future of the State�s economy and the health, safety, and
prosperity of all its citizens.

���� Nuclear energy is a
zero-emission and highly reliable source of baseload energy, and nuclear power
plants maintain the highest capacity factor of any electric generation
resource, averaging over 92 percent, with some advanced nuclear reactors
reaching a capacity factor of 98 percent, which means that they can produce
their maximum power output nearly continuously.� Likewise, nuclear power plants
possess the highest effective load carrying capacity of any electric generating
resource, rated at 98 percent in the summer and 96 percent in the winter,
meaning that they are almost always capable of delivering power to the grid,
regardless of weather and other external factors.� Nuclear energy resources
display inherent operational reliability, fuel security, and proven physical
resilience to extreme weather events that outpace intermittent generation
sources.

���� In New Jersey, overall nuclear
energy contributions have declined following the permanent shutdown of the
Oyster Creek single-reactor nuclear power plant in 2018, which was the nation�s
oldest operating nuclear power reactor at the time.� Newer advanced nuclear
reactors, however, are designed to be even safer, more cost-efficient, and more
environmentally sustainable than previous generations of nuclear reactors.�
Advanced nuclear reactors provide firm baseload power that perfectly
complements intermittent renewable energy resources while strengthening energy
security and affordability and offering high-paying jobs and significant
regional economic benefits.

���� For decades, New Jersey has
operated under a statutory restriction that acts as a de facto moratorium,
prohibiting the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection from
approving certain permits for new nuclear facilities pending federal approval
of a permanent high-level was repository.� Extensive operational history across
the United States has proven on-site dry cask storage to be highly secure and
effective, and in light of the current energy crisis and the rapid
commercialization of advanced nuclear technologies, this legacy restriction now
serves as an obsolete and artificial barrier to deploying necessary baseload
energy infrastructure.

���� The Legislature therefore
determines that it is in the public interest of the residents of New Jersey to
remove outdated statutory barriers and promote the construction and operation
of advanced nuclear reactors in the State as a vital source zero-emission
source of reliable and affordable baseload energy.