Environmental groups in New Jersey lost their bid to force PSEG Nuclear to build two expensive cooling towers for the company's Salem Unit 1 and Unit 2 reactors in Hancocks Bridge, N.J., as the state's department of environmental protection granted the company a five-year permit to continue with their current open-loop cooling system that draws 3 billion gallons of water per day from the Delaware River.
The Sierra Club was among those attempting to force the company to build the towers, which was viewed by industry observers as an attempt to force economic hardship on the company in order to force closure of the power plants that have been in operation from 1976 (Unit 1) and 1981 (Unit 2).
The groups claimed the huge intake of water killed intolerable numbers of fish and other marine life from the river system. The new permit, however, includes mitigation mandates, requiring PSEG to conduct marine life surveys and to restore wetlands in the region that includes the artificial islands on which three reactors (including Hope Creek Unit 1) were built.
Hope Creek, which is also operated by PSEG Nuclear, has a cooling tower, which allows it to operate without the same massive draw on the river as the Salem plant.