| New
Jersey Reaches $1 Million Settlement with Owner of Oyster
Creek Nuclear Power Plant Regarding Fish Kill Caused by
Thermal Discharge
Payments Will
Fund Environmental Projects
TRENTON - Attorney General
Peter C. Harvey and Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today announced that
the State has reached twin settlements totaling $1 million
with AmerGen Energy Company, LLC (AmerGen), the owner and
operator of the Oyster Creek Generating Station, to resolve
criminal and civil actions against the company in connection
with a thermal discharge that violated its water pollution
discharge permit and caused at least 5,876 fish to die from
heat shock. More than two-thirds of AmerGen's $1 million
settlement payment will be used to fund environmental projects.
"This settlement should send a clear
message that New Jersey will hold polluters and those who
damage our natural resources accountable for their actions,"
said Governor James E. McGreevey. "Although AmerGen
caused critical damage to New Jersey's marine life and water
resources, I am pleased that the company has agreed to fund
environmental projects important to the community most affected,
including improvements to the park and educational facilities
at the Lighthouse Center in Waretown."
The fish kill occurred on September 23,
2002 when AmerGen shut down a transformer to perform maintenance
work. The transformer provides power to the plant's three
thermal dilution pumps, which serve to lower the temperature
of water heated within the plant before it is discharged
into Oyster Creek. The State alleged that the fish kill
occurred because the company violated specific requirements
concerning operation of the pumps contained in its water
pollution discharge permit, issued by DEP.
"This is a fair and appropriate settlement
to address the company's permit violations," said Attorney
General Harvey. "We conducted a thorough investigation
that uncovered weaknesses in the company's procedures and
training relative to compliance with its water pollution
permit. The $1 million in payments required under this settlement
will provide the company with a strong incentive to maintain
compliance going forward and will send a strong message
to others as well."
"AmerGen's permit violations inflicted
serious damage to marine life, and revealed a disregard
for environmental safeguards," said DEP Commissioner
Campbell. "The successful enforcement and settlement
of AmerGen's water pollution discharge permit violations
illustrate the McGreevey Administration's commitment to
the protection of marine life and water resources."
AmerGen will pay $500,000 under a civil
settlement agreement with DEP and $500,000 under a settlement
agreement with the Division of Criminal Justice. AmerGen's
settlement with the Division of Criminal Justice consists
of a $250,000 penalty to be paid to the Clean Water Enforcement
Fund to support enforcement activities of the Division's
Environmental Crimes Bureau and $250,000 for the Lighthouse
Center for Natural Resource Education in Waretown. The civil
settlement includes an additional $52,088 to be used to
improve the Lighthouse Center.
Under the civil settlement, AmerGen will
pay an administrative penalty of $190,000 in addition to
funds for natural resource damages and environmental projects.
AmerGen will submit $182,912 to settle the State's demand
for reimbursement for damage to natural resources. These
funds will be used to restore injured natural resources
or habitat in the Barnegat Bay area.
The company also will pay $75,000 under
the civil settlement for the purchase of two EMM-550 Environmental
Monitoring Modules to be used by the Barnegat Bay Estuary
Program. The modules will monitor water temperature, conductivity,
pH, dissolved oxygen and turbidity at specific locations
in the Barnegat Bay estuary. The modules will increase public
understanding of water quality in Barnegat Bay by automatically
transmitting continuous data to be posted in real time on
the Internet.
The environmental monitors will be placed
at sites in Manahawkin and Waretown where U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS) equipment is currently set up. The monitors
will operate in conjunction with USGS equipment in an effort
to conserve resources. Both module sites are located near
important submerged aquatic vegetation beds and vital resource
species of fish and shellfish.
AmerGen's $302,088 payment to the Lighthouse
Center, under the two settlements, will be used to make
physical improvements to the Lighthouse Center property,
which is located adjacent to Barnegat Bay. The Lighthouse
Center is a 95-acre, multipurpose environmental educational
facility that is owned by the State and used by the public
and various environmental organizations. The improvements
may include the rehabilitation of an existing fishing pier,
reconstruction of water control structures to enhance fisheries
habitat, lagoon dredging to improve access to the site by
boaters, and other general site upgrades.
AmerGen's water pollution discharge permit
includes provisions that are intended to protect marine
life from exposure to harmful thermal release by regulating
thermal dilution pumps. One provision prohibits maintenance
work that impacts the dilution pumps from the start of June
through the end of September. A second stipulates that at
least one of the plant's dilution pumps must be in operation
at any time when the water temperature of Oyster Creek at
the Route 9 bridge exceeds 87 degrees Fahrenheit.
The State alleged that AmerGen violated
the conditions of its permit by shutting down the pumps
during September, when it was prohibited to do so, and failing
to monitor the temperature in the creek. AmerGen also allegedly
violated a requirement that it notify DEP within two hours
of the discovery of the fish kill. Although AmerGen employees
discovered dead fish within an hour of the time at which
the pumps were taken out of service, the company allegedly
failed to contact DEP until five hours after the discovery.
A thorough investigation by the Division
of Criminal Justice revealed that the company failed to
implement adequate procedures to ensure that employees fully
appreciated the connection between their actions and the
requirements of the plant's water pollution permit. Investigators
also identified incidents of miscommunication at key points
leading to the discharge. AmerGen has voluntarily taken
steps to prevent the reoccurrence of water pollution permit
violations by improving its procedures and employee training.
The case was handled for the Division of
Criminal Justice by Supervising Deputy Attorney General
Edward Bonanno, head of the Environmental Crimes Bureau,
and Investigator Stephen Politowski. Deputy Attorney General
Charles Licata handled the civil case for the Division of
Law.
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