Oyster Creek License Transfer Approved Amid Questions Of Process

LACEY, NJ — The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved Holtec Decommissioning International's acquisition of Lacey's Oyster Creek Nuclear Generation Station. The step, which the NRC announced Thursday, marks progress in the decommissioning process that has raised questions among residents and organizations.

Holtec intends to decommission the plant in only eight years by using a new cask design that can hold hotter fuel in storage and by removing spent fuel from the cooling pool sooner. Exelon Generation, the plant's previous owner, originally planned to let the power plant sit for 60 years before decommissioning the reactor and structures.

The casks will cool the fuel in only about two years, according to NRC spokesperson Neil Sheehan. Previously, the cooling process has required five years before the fuel could be transferred, he said. The Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station, which ceased operations in 2014, was decommissioned through the same type of casks.

"These casks are designed to withstand flooding, earthquakes, tornados, wind-propelled missiles," Sheehan told Patch. "They’re designed to withstand all of that."

The NRC issued an exemption to Vermont Yankee owner Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (ENO) in 2017 to allow for the new loading pattern. That has allowed the fuel to be transferred two years later, Sheehan said.

Oyster Creek ceased operations last year after operating since Dec. 23, 1969. Exelon Generation agreed last July to transfer the nuclear facilities to Holtec, pending NRC approval. The NRC said Thursday that the transfer met the NRC's regulatory, legal, technical and financial requirements.

The New Jersey Sierra Club, an environmental organization, expressed concerns about the process.

"The public is concerned about Holtec’s plan to move still-hot nuclear waste out of water pools and into dry cask storage in half the usual time of about 5 years," Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said in a statement.

Sheehan, however, says the NRC has inspected the casks to ensure they'll withstand outside phenomena such as natural disasters. The NRC will continue tests on the dry-cask storage facilities.

The NRC will continue releasing inspection results at least quarterly. But the frequency of tests on the dry casks will depend on decommissioning activity, Sheehan said.

"Whenever there’s a major activity going on there — whether they’re loading dry casks, if they’re doing work to remove a major component — we may have an inspector there. It’s really dependent on the work."

The NRC denied two requests June 18 for an adjudicatory hearing challenging the license transfer.

Congressman Andy Kim said in April that residents have raised concerns to him about Oyster Creek's decommissioning process. Read more: Andy Kim: NRC Should Listen To Lacey's Concerns On Nuclear Plant

"The residents of Lacey have been incredible in terms of their level of vigilance on this," said Kim, who represents Lacey. "The depth of knowledge they have of what's going on and what I'm hearing from their questions — the level of depth is really great."

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