Decommissioning Of Oyster Creek Could Take Up To 60 Years

LACEY TOWNSHIP, NJ - The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission had no advance notice that the owners of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant here were planning to shut down the aging plant more than a year earlier, an NRC spokesperson said.

"It was a corporate decision," said NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan. "We learned about it this morning. We were planning for a permanent shutdown of the plant in late 2019. We will have to adjust our plans in response to the announcement."

Exelon spokesperson Suzanne D'Ambrosio said cost was a factor in deciding to close Oyster Creek early, but it was not the only factor.

"We had to consider what’s best for our employees, our community and our company," she said. "In the end, it just didn’t make sense to refuel the reactor for a one-year operating cycle. Our focus now is on supporting our employees and helping them transition into other roles at Exelon wherever possible."

But for Janet Tauro - Board Chairman of Clean Water Action and a coalition of environmental groups who have long called for Oyster Creek's closure - the company's announcement was not a surprise.

"I'm surprised it's lasted this long," Tauro said. "It's not a moment too soon."

Tauro and the coalition fought Oyster Creek's last relicensing, citing a corroding drywell, numerous unplanned shutdowns, also known as scrams and other issues as reasons not to relicense the plant.

Although the plant will cease operations in October, rather than December 2019, Oyster Creek will still have to follow a lengthy process to decommission the plant.

"Our regulations state that the decommissioning process for a nuclear power plant must be completed within 60 years," Sheehan said.

Exelon will have to submit a Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR) - a roadmap for how it plans to decommission Oyster Creek, he said.

Decommissioning options include immediate dismantlement, long-term storage (also known as SAFSTOR) or a hybrid approach, which would include some early dismantlement of structures, followed by some long-term storage, with the rest of the dismantlement taking place some time in the future, Sheehan said.

"We will review the PSDAR to ensure it complies with our decommissioning requirements," he said.

The NRC currently has two full-time resident inspectors assigned to Oyster Creek. There will be no need for full-time, on-site inspectors when the plant stops operating, Sheehan said.

But the NRC will keep a resident inspector on site for at least several months after the shutdown to monitor the transition from an operating plant to one entering the decommissioning phase, he said.

"We have had experience with other plants that have gone through this process," Sheehan said. "We have a good sense as to how the process will play out."

Oyster Creek is the oldest nuclear plant in the United States. It went online on Dec. 23, 1969.

Photo: Patricia A. Miller