A public meeting will be held on the safe operation and closure of Oyster Creek Generating Station on Nov. 5 in Toms River.
The meeting, which was announced by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Ocean County Administration Building.
Members of the Oyster Creek Safety Advisory Panel will be available to discuss plant-related matters. The panel was created to assist the DEP with the evaluation of the safe operation and cessation of operations at Oyster Creek, a news release said.
The panel consists of DEP Commissioner Bob Martin, Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness Director Edward Dickson and independent consultant Adam Cohen.
The closure of Oyster Creek was announced in December 2010. The nuclear plant will cease operation in 2019, 10 years before its operating license expires. Prior to closing down, a decommissioning plan has to be established.
The public will be included in the decommissioning process as several meetings are to be held by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the vicinity of the nuclear plant. Paul Baldauf, Director of the DEP, noted that the Nov. 5 meeting is not a part of that process.
"The purpose of this meeting is to provide the public an opportunity to speak to the Panel and communicate any concerns regarding the operation of Oyster Creek and the cessation of operations in 2019," he said.
The public meeting will be held similarly to a “town” meeting, according to Tammy Morin, Nuclear Engineer of the Bureau of Nuclear Engineering at the DEP. The public will have the opportunity to provide comments for the panel to consider, she said. Questions may also be asked.
At this time, there is no confirmation that a formal presentation will be held at the meeting.
The Ocean County Administration Building is located at 101 Hooper Avenue in Toms River. The meeting will be held in room 119.
For additional information, contact Paul Baldauf, Director of DEP, at 609-633-7964 or email paul.baldauf@dep.state.nj.us.
Nuclear energy is the truest green energy and is really what we should be looking at. its insane that people dont realize france gets 80% of its energy from nuclear.