New Jersey S 683: Requires owners of multiple dwellings with at least nine units to provide certain maintenance services; permits municipalities to require ownersof multiple dwellings with six to eight units to provide these services.*

Bill Text

S683 

SENATE, No. 683 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

� 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Senator BOB SMITH

District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)

Senator NICHOLAS P. SCUTARI

District 22 (Somerset and Union)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senators Amato, McKeon and Greenstein

SYNOPSIS

���� Authorizes BPU to provide site approval for small 
modular reactors; authorizes operators of small modular reactors to store spent 
nuclear fuel on-site.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT 

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative 
Counsel.

��

An Act concerning the construction and operation of small 
modular reactors and supplementing P.L.1977, c.146 (C.52:27F-1 et seq.).

���� Be It 
Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of 
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.� As used in this act:

���� "Board" means the 
Board of Public Utilities.

���� "Department" means 
the Department of Environmental Protection.

���� "Small modular reactor" 
means a nuclear fission reactor that: (1) has a rated electric generating 
capacity of no more than 300 megawatts; (2) is capable of being constructed and 
operated either alone or in combination with one or more similar reactors if 
additional reactors are or become necessary at a single site; and (3) is 
required to be licensed by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

���� "Spent nuclear fuel" 
means fuel that has been withdrawn from a nuclear reactor following 
irradiation, the constituent elements of which have not been separated by 
reprocessing.

���� 2.� a.� Notwithstanding the 
provisions of section 13 of P.L.1977, c.146 (C.52:27F-15) or any other law, 
rule, or regulation to the contrary, the board, in consultation with the 
department, shall have the sole authority to provide State site approval for the 
construction of a small modular reactor.

���� b.� The board may only provide 
site approval to a small modular reactor if the site is located in a 
municipality in which a nuclear energy facility has previously been 
constructed.

���� c.� The board�s site approval 
pursuant to this section shall preempt and supersede all municipal and county 
ordinances, resolutions, and other decisions to the contrary.

���� d.� The provisions of this 
section shall not be construed to exempt the construction or operation of a 
small modular reactor from the provisions of any other law, including, but not 
limited to, the provisions of the "State Uniform Construction Code 
Act," P.L. 1975, c. 217 (C. 52:27D-119 et seq.) and the rules and 
regulations adopted pursuant thereto, including the requirement for plan review 
by the Department of Community Affairs, municipal zoning or site approval 
requirements, the provisions of the "Radiation Protection Act," 
P.L.1958, c.116 (C.26:2D-1 et seq.) and the rules and regulations adopted 
pursuant thereto, including the requirement to submit a description of the 
facility and radiological monitoring plan to the department, air or water 
pollution control laws, or the provisions of the "Coastal Area Facility 
Review Act," P.L.1973, c.185 (C.13:19-1 et seq.).

���� 3.� Notwithstanding the 
provisions of any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, until the 
development of a national high-level radioactive waste repository pursuant to 
the federal "Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982," 42 U.S.C. s.10101 et 
seq., the operator of a small modular reactor may store any spent nuclear fuel 
created by the reactor in on-site, provided that the storage method is safe, 
conforms to standards established by the United States Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, and will effectively remove danger to life and the environment from 
the radioactive waste material.

���� 4.� No later than one year 
after the effective date of this act, the board, in cooperation with the New 
Jersey Economic Development Authority, shall develop an incentive program to 
provide financial support for the construction of one or more small modular 
reactors in the State.

���� 5.� The board shall, in 
accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 
(C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations to implement this act.� The 
rules and regulations shall include criteria for decommissioning, environmental 
monitoring, and emergency preparedness with respect to small modular reactors.� 
The rules and regulations shall not be construed to supersede the authority of 
the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

���� 6.� This act shall take effect 
immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill would provide that 
the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) is the sole State agency authorized to 
provide site approval for the construction of a small modular reactor (SMR) in 
the State.� The bill would also authorize the operator of a small modular 
reactor to store any spent nuclear fuel generated by the reactor on-site.

���� As defined by the bill, 
"small modular reactor" means a nuclear fission reactor that: (1) has 
a rated electric