Alex N. Gecan and Erik Larsen LACEY, N.J. — The nation’s oldest active nuclear power plant will shut down in October — more than a year ahead of schedule, officials announced. Exelon Generation, owner of the Oyster Creek plant in Lacey, made the surprise announcement Friday. The company cited costs and other issues. The accelerated timeline caught officials of the overseeing Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the town of Lacey off guard. Township Administrator Veronica Laureigh downplayed the immediate impact, though Lacey officials in recent months have stepped up efforts to plan for the loss of the plant, which supports about 500 jobs directly and pumps about $80 million into the local economy. "Even though they stopped operating, they're physically going to stop producing energy, they're still here for a minimum of 10 more years," Laureigh said. More:Court upholds Obama-era ban on uranium mining near Grand Canyon More:Nuclear waste stranded at Indian Point as feds search for permanent solution Some employees will stay on after the shutdown and work on decommissioning the plant, according to the announcement. The number of workers to be retained was not set forth in the announcement. "We will offer a position elsewhere in Exelon to every employee that wishes to stay with the company, and we thank our neighbors for the privilege of allowing us to serve New Jersey for almost 50 years," Exelon President Bryan Hanson wrote in the announcement. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was planning for a permanent shutdown of the Oyster Creek Generating Station in late 2019, said Neil Sheehan, a spokesman fort he agency. "We will have to adjust our oversight plans in response to Exelon’s announcement (Friday) that it intends to move the cessation of operations up to this October," he said. A resident inspector will remain at Oyster Creek for at least several months after the shutdown to monitor the transition, Sheehan said. Ocean County Freeholder John C. Bartlett Jr. said the radioactive waste that has accumulated on-site over the past 50 years of its operation will necessitate oversight and security for what he described as "an eternity." The plant's old radioactive fuel rods, entombed in concrete and steel, will remain guarded at the site of what will become the remnants of the former plant, until the federal government moves the radioactive material to a permanent grave, Bartlett said. Human beings, animals and the environment in general will need to be protected from exposure to the spent fuel rods for perhaps the next 250,000 years. Bartlett said the nuclear plant has real estate value of about $100 million but he did not think the plant's shutdown would result in an economic downturn for the county's economy. "The fact is, its value has been decreasing for many years, which is why it's being closed," Bartlett said. Environmental advocates said the announcement was good news for Barnegat Bay and blamed the plant for fish kills and algal blooms. The plant's cooling system draws water from the bay, then releases it back out. "It's really a '69 Chevy Nova in the age of the Tesla," said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. "There are serious problems in the plant." Oyster Creek went online Dec. 1, 1969, the same day as the Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station near Oswego, N.Y. But Oyster Creek's original license was granted first, making it the oldest of the nation's commercial nuclear reactors that are still operating. Contributing: Amanda Oglesby; the Associated Press
The world 's oldest active nuclear power plant is to shut down this year , a year ahead of schedule . The Oyster Creek facility in New Jersey was due to close at the end of 2019 but has become too costly to run , according to its operator , Exelon . The plant supports 500 jobs directly and adds about $ 80 m to the local economy . Concerns have been raised about safety , with environmental groups saying waste water from the plant has killed marine life . The facility 's spent fuel rods are expected to remain radioactive for 250,000 years .