Worried about radioactive waste in N.J. for the next 60 years? Now's the time to speak up

A hearing on the closing of the Oyster Creek Generating Station is planned for July 17 in Lacey Township. The plant will stop producing electricity on Sept. 17. (File Photo)

When operators of the Oyster Creek Generating Station in Ocean County shut down the nuclear reactor in two months, nearly 50 years of electricity production comes to an end.

But parts of the plant itself will remain standing for nearly 60 years longer before being demolished under the plan set forth by the plant's owner, Exelon.

"What we are talking about is a multi-decade undertaking," said Neil Sheehan, spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

And at the site, used radioactive nuclear fuel could remain indefinitely as the U.S. government struggles to find a permanent repository.

How do the neighbors who live near the plant in the Forked River section of Lacey Township feel about this? Federal officials want to find out.

The NRC has set a public meeting July 17, 6 p.m., at the Lacey Township Community Hall, 101 N. Main St., Forked River.

"This is a good opportunity for the public to learn more about what is planned for the plant," Sheehan said. "There may be information they have they want to bring it to our attention."

The NRC to wants to hear concerns from those who live near the nuclear plant and their feeling on Exelon's plan for the plant after it shuts down.

In May, Exelon submitted to the NRC what's called its Oyster Creek Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report which outlines Exelon's timeline for demolition of the plant after it stops producing electricity on its scheduled date of Sept. 17.

Available to the public on the NRC's website, federal officials are urging residents review the plan, especially the timeline and procedures Exelon has detailed in it.

Exelon plans to place the plant in long-term storage, a state known as SAFSTOR.

Federal law allows two avenues for plant decommissioning -- either demolish the plant soon after it shuts down or allow the plant to be mothballed like Exelon will do and the major demolition work is done decades from now.

Exelon says once the shutdown takes place, the spent fuel in the reactor core should be removed to a storage pool by the end of September. In future years those fuel rods will be placed in dry casks for on-site storage waiting removal.

According to Exelon's timeline, removal of major components of the plan won't begin until June of 2075. Some for the larger pieces of the plant may be barged out from the site to Barnegat Bay, requiring dredging parts of Oyster Creek.

But Exelon has hinted the process may not take the six decades it has originally estimated.

"Recently, Exelon Generation filed a post shutdown decommissioning activities report with the NRC, which lays out our current plan and timing for decommissioning the site. While the NRC allows nuclear operators up to 60 years to return a nuclear facility to previously existing conditions, the timeline could be significantly shorter," said Exelon Generation spokeswoman Maria Hudson.

The decommissioning is projected to cost $1.4 billion. To date, the NRC says, Exelon has $982.1 million in a decommissioning fund for Oyster Creek. Nuclear plant owners are required by law to pay into a decommissioning fund for their reactors.

At the July 17 meeting, NRC officials whose focus is on decommissioning of nuclear reactors will be there.

The real focus, Sheehan says, will be listening to resident concerns.

"The primary goal is to take public comment," he said.

Oyster Creek began producing power on Dec. 23, 1969. At full power, it produces about 625 megawatts of electricity. That's enough to power about 600,000 homes.

Officials had originally said the plant would close in late 2019, but changed that to this year.

It's one of four nuclear reactors in New Jersey. The other three -- Salem 1, Salem 2 and Hope Creek -- are operated by PSEG Nuclear in Lower Alloways Creek Township, Salem County. Together, at full power, they produce enough electricity for three million homes.

Bill Gallo Jr. may be reached at bgallo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Bill Gallo Jr. on Twitter @bgallojr. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips

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