Holtec Sues Lacey Over Denial To Expand Cask Storage

LACEY, NJ — Holtec International filed two lawsuits Sept. 16 against Lacey Township to overturn a decision the Planning Board made about cask storage in the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant.

Holtec International, which is decommissioning the shuttered power plant, sought to add 34 storage casks of spent nuclear fuel to the site. The Planning Board rejected their proposal Aug. 24, expressing concerns that the radioactive waste would never leave Lacey.

The Planning Board has previously approved 48 storage modules, last allowing expansion in 2010. The steal and concrete casks contain spent fuel rods that have powered the plant since it began operating in 1969. The rods can take years to cool off in the plant's spent fuel cooling pool.

A Holtec lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Trenton, contends the board interfered with the federal government's authority. Richard W. Hunt, Holtec's attorney, claims Lacey officials interfered with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's role in governing concerns of radiological safety of nuclear power plants.

An attorney for the Planning Board did not return comment to Patch.

A second lawsuit, brought in Ocean County Superior Court, says the board's decision showed "an active display of bias" against Holtec. The company claims the board violated the state's Municipal Land Use Law and several local and state regulations.

Holtec acquired Oyster Creek in July 2019, a year after the plant shut down. Lacey officials and citizens have raised concerns throughout the process about safety and transparency.

Related articles:

• Oyster Creek Won't Become Repository For Other States: Officials (Aug. 20)
• Lacey Postpones Oyster Creek Nuclear Waste Hearing To Fit Crowd (Aug. 11)
• Oyster Creek License Transfer Approved Amid Questions Of Process (June 26, 2019)

Click here to get Patch email notifications on this or other local news articles or get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our app. Download here. Follow Lacey Patch on Facebook. Have a news tip? Email josh.bakan@patch.com.