New Jersey has established a panel of state officials to provide additional oversight of decommissioning at the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) announced Wednesday.
The Oyster Creek Safety Advisory Panel “will enhance existing oversight to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and provide assurances to the public that the proper protocols for the decommissioning are in place,” Murphy said in a press release. “Providing the public with an opportunity to participate in the robust public input process is critical to ensuring transparency during the decommissioning process.”
The panel is chaired by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Catherine McCabe. Its other members are the heads of the New Jersey State Police, Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, and Board of Public Utilities, or designated officials at those agencies.
Power company Exelon shut down the single-reactor plant in September 2018. Following approval by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for transfer of Oyster Creek’s licenses, Exelon in July sold the plant to New Jersey energy technology specialist Holtec International for decommissioning, site restoration, and spent fuel management.
Holtec says it can complete decommissioning within a decade at a cost of $885 million. The company, though, has faced claims from local union officials regarding cost-cutting efforts in decommissioning, the Asbury Park Press reported last week.
The Department of Environmental Protection is charged with assessing Holtec’s adherence with a January 2018 state administrative consent order on decommissioning, the press release says. The oversight panel will aid in that effort. It will meet no less than two times each year, McCabe stated.
