NJ S3870

Amends New Jersey's Coastal Area Facility Review Act (CAFRA) to allow the DEP Commissioner to approve nuclear facility permits if radioactive waste storage or disposal methods are safe and conform to Nuclear Regulatory Commission standards

Removes the existing de facto moratorium that prohibited approval of new nuclear facilities pending federal approval of a permanent high-level waste repository

Recognizes on-site dry cask storage as a proven secure method for radioactive waste, eliminating this as a barrier to new nuclear construction

Addresses New Jersey's energy reliability concerns, citing record-high capacity market prices and grid constraints following the 2018 shutdown of Oyster Creek nuclear plant

Supports deployment of advanced nuclear reactors, which achieve capacity factors over 92% (some reaching 98%) and provide zero-emission baseload power