Lacey Officials Want To Discuss Lawsuits With Holtec CEO

LACEY, NJ — The Lacey Township Committee discussed meeting with the Holtec International CEO to try and resolve issues the company brought forth in two lawsuits against the township. Several committee members felt optimistic that a meeting with CEO Dr. Kris Singh might convince Holtec to take a step back from its legal action.

Holtec, which is decommissioning the shuttered Oyster Creek power plant, filed two lawsuits Sept. 16 against Lacey Township to overturn an Aug. 24 Planning Board Decision. The board rejected Holtec's proposal Aug. 24 to add 34 storage casks of spent nuclear fuel to the site. Read more: Holtec Sues Lacey Over Denial To Expand Cask Storage

The steal and concrete casks at the power plant 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.

Holtec acquired the shuttered power plant in July 2019 from Exelon Generation. Exelon communicated more consistently with Lacey officials than Holtec has, according to Township Committeeman Mark Dykoff, a member of the Planning Board.

"It’s been a little different with Holtec," Dykoff said at Thursday's township meeting. "When Exelon left and Holtec took over, there was not — I guess for lack of a better term — a liaison, a political liaison, which we used to have with Exelon."

The Planning Board last approved expansion of cask storage at Oyster Creek in 2010. Exelon representatives met with Lacey officials before their formal proposal to the Planning Board. Holtec didn't do that this summer, according to Dykoff.

Dykoff proposed that the mayor and Township Committee send a formal letter to Holtec to set up a meeting with Singh. He would also like the 9th District state representatives — Senator Christopher Connors, Assemblyman Brian Rumpf and Assemblywoman DiAnne Gove — to participate.

Committeeman Timothy McDonald considers the Holtec CEO "a very reasonable man" based off their past conversations.

"For some reason, I’ve got a funny feeling that Dr. Singh truly doesn’t know what’s going on," McDonald said. " … I think if we can get with Dr. Singh, sit down in a room, I think we can possibly work this out."

Holtec filed a federal lawsuit against Lacey contending that the Planning Board interfered with the federal government's authority. A second lawsuit, brought in Ocean County Superior Court, says the board's decision showed "an active display of bias" against Holtec.

As far as resolving the county lawsuit, McDonald says Holtec would need to come back to the Planning Board with a different application. But he believes things could go differently if Lacey officials discuss the federal lawsuit with Singh.

"The federal lawsuit, as to who’s got jurisdiction," McDonald said, "I think if we get in front of Dr. Singh, I truly believe we can work that out and save us some money."

Watch Thursday's Township meeting below:

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