Regulators have drafted a positive environmental impact statement related to a new reactor PSEG is considering at the Artificial Island complex in New Jersey.
PSEG applied for an early site permit for Salem unit 4 in 2010. On Friday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Army Corps of Engineers announced a public comment period for the permit's EIS. It finds that no environmental issues would preclude the agency from issuing the permit and that there are no environmentally preferable sites nearby, according to an NRC release.
The ESP will also require a safety review, in addition to approval from the Army Corps to conduct activities regulated under the Clean Water Act. The ESP is a preliminary step, and PSEG has not yet chosen a reactor technology or applied for a combined license to build and operate the unit. Nonetheless, the utility recently entered negotiations for a land swap with the Army Corps that could open up an additional 631 acres on the island that currently hosts three operating reactors at the Salem and Hope Creek nuclear plants.