Salem 4 – New Nuclear Plant Being Pursued for Artificial Island

Overview

For years PSE&G has been seeking approvals from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to construct a new nuclear power plant on Artificial Island, right next to the two existing nuclear plants:

    Salem Nuclear Generating Station & 
    Hope Creek.

There are many dangers to constructing this new power plant.  It would be constructed on wetlands, in the floodplain, in a reach of river that will be subject to increasing flood risks with the onslaught of sea level rise and climate change.  

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network has proactively opposed NRC licensing.

The US Army Corps of Engineers has sought to enter into a land swap with PSE&G that would give them the lands they need for Salem 4, while giving the Army Corps a new area in Logan Township and Oldmans Township, NJ to construct a confined disposal facility for the dumping of dredge spoils. 

In This Proposed Land Swap:

 the Army Corps would be the recipient of 354 acres of land located in Oldmans Township, Salem County and Logan Township, Gloucester County, NJ; and 
    PSE&G would, in exchange, be the recipient of 631 acres (94 acres of CDF and 537 acres of coastal wetlands) on Artificial Island. 

July 15 the Army Corps issued an Environmental Assessment of the land swap that ignores the reality that it paves the way for construction of Salem 4, and does not well consider the implications of the CDF on New Jersey communities or the River.  See the Delaware Riverkeeper Networks’ comments listed below.

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network wrote its first letter to the Army Corps opposing this idea way back in 2010 when it was still just an idea. Now we are leading the challenge to the idea as the Army Corps begins to work to press it to fruition.

Delaware Riverkeeper Network has remained in opposition to the landswap that would provide the property needed for this project to advance. To date, the land swap did not advance.

In 2020, New Jersey put forth a proposal to build a Windport project on the very same site.  If that project were to advance the landswap would not advance apparently displacing the opportunity for Salem 4.  The Delaware Riverkeeper Network is proud that our opposition to landswap helped to prevent it from advancing and bringing us to a point where the project may be unable to advance due to a lack of the needed proposed site.