To: The Honorable Senator Robert Smith, Chairman, NJ Senate Environment Committee, its Committee Members and Staff

RE: S4423 (Smith, B/Scutari) - Authorizes BPU to provide site approval for small modular reactors (SMR); authorizes operators of small modular reactors to store spent nuclear fuel on site.

May 22, 2025 - Please accept these comments on behalf of Clean Water Action and member group GRAMMES (Grandmothers, Mothers, and More for Energy Safety), the lead organizations in a coalition of environmental and civic groups that fought the relicensing of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant in Lacey Township and secured its early closure and decommissioning. We continue to monitor on-site activity and safety measures taken regarding the highly radioactive spent fuel that remains behind.

We ask that the Senate Environment Committee not vote (S4423) out of committee at this time. It is premature to give this authorization to the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) without first seeking an independent scientific review of the technology and understanding the full consequences of considering on site storage of highly radioactive spent fuel in additional multiple locations throughout the state.

In the state’s attempts to grapple with growing electrical energy demand (and rates) as well as meet the statutory goal of 100% clean energy by 2035, all renewable energy options must be advanced first and foremost. SMRs are not a quick fix solution for the huge energy demands anticipated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) centers.

We would argue that there is no responsible future for the development of additional nuclear power in NJ given the fact that the nuclear waste disposal problem still has not been resolved after over 80 years of study. The Garden State is already home to over 3,000 metric tons of highly radioactive waste stored at various sites including, the defunct Oyster Creek plant, and the Salem/Hope Creek nuclear facility in Salem County (Source: Nuclear Energy Institute). While these facilities were built 50+ years ago at a time when few lived nearby, the most densely populated state in the nation is much more developed now making the siting of SMRs much more difficult due to proximity to larger and sensitive populations, security concerns, challenge of transporting highly radioactive materials, etc.

All nuclear plants emit levels of radiation, and scientists have found that continuous exposure, regardless of how low is detrimental to human health, particularly to the most vulnerable, pregnant women, fetuses, babies, and children. It should be noted that the Radiation Public Health Project researchers using data from the Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) found that infant mortality rates fell in the vicinity around Oyster Creek after the plant closed. A similar occurrence happened in the area around Indian Point in New York.

Considering serious security and health risks, the fallacy that nuclear is “green” (it certainly is not “renewable” like wind and solar), cost, and length of time to execute, it is incumbent upon this committee to ensure that any question of a future for SMR’s in NJ must be thoroughly and scientifically vetted by independent experts, and certainly before considering future sites.

It is with these concerns in mind that Clean Water Action and GRAMMES urges the Senate Environment Committee to vote NO on S4423 or at least hold the bill for future consideration after additional research is undertaken and public is more fully engaged in this policy and siting issue. We would welcome the opportunity to meet and discuss S4423 at your earliest convenience.

Amy Goldsmith, NJ State Director Clean Water Action
Email: agoldsmith@cleanwater.org or cell 732-895-2502

Janet Tauro, NJ Board Chair, Clean Water Action and GRAMMES leader
Email: janettauro007@gmail.com