New Jersey becomes second state this year to lift its nuclear moratorium New Jersey has become the sixth state in the last decade, and the second this year, to fully repeal its moratorium on building new nuclear power stations. Governor Mikie Sherrill signed legislation ending an outdated radioactive-waste-disposal law that had blocked new projects. The Democrat, who campaigned last year on expanding nuclear power in the state, called the prohibitions obsolete. The law, enacted in the 1970s, required new projects to point to a method of radioactive waste disposal that did not exist at the time. It tied construction permits to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission establishing disposal methods, a condition Sherrill described as an "outdated standard that cannot be met." The legislation now allows projects to use safe, cutting-edge storage methods, which have been used thousands of times in over 35 states for the last 40 years with a 100% safety record. The Hope Creek Generating Station, located along the Delaware River in New Jersey, and the Salem Nuclear Power Plant, both owned by PSEG, are central to this shift. Combined, these facilities produce 40% of New Jersey’s electricity and 80% of its carbon-free power. The state’s moratorium, one of the nation’s earliest, was enacted when the U.S. was expanding its reactor fleet without a plan for radioactive waste. At the time, lawmakers amended the Coastal Area Facility Review Act to require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to establish disposal methods before new construction could proceed. Federal efforts to address nuclear waste have been stalled since the 1980s, when Yucca Mountain in Nevada was designated as the first permanent repository. Work began in the 2000s under President George W.#new_jersey #salem_nuclear_power_plant #governor_mikie_sherrill #hope_creek_generating_station #pseg
