NJ A4528

Amends the Coastal Area Facility Review Act (CAFRA) to allow the DEP Commissioner to approve nuclear electricity generating facilities if radioactive waste storage or disposal methods are deemed safe, rather than requiring a permanent federal disposal solution.

Adds "storage" as an acceptable method alongside "disposal" for radioactive waste, effectively removing a de facto moratorium on new nuclear facility permits that has been in place for decades.

Nuclear facilities must still demonstrate that waste handling conforms to Nuclear Regulatory Commission standards and effectively removes danger to life and the environment.

Intended to address grid reliability concerns and record-high capacity market clearing prices being passed to ratepayers, citing nuclear's 92%+ capacity factor and zero-emission baseload power.

Follows the 2018 shutdown of Oyster Creek, New Jersey's last oldest operating reactor, and aims to enable deployment of newer advanced nuclear reactor technologies.