Preliminary Evaluation of Removing Spent Nuclear Fuel from Nuclear Power Plant Sites - Oyster Creek Site Visit

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Integrated Waste Management (DOE-IWM) continues to conduct evaluations of removing spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from nuclear power plant sites. The 15 sites included in the evaluation to date have nuclear power reactors that have been permanently shut down and the sites have been decommissioned or are undergoing decommissioning. The 15 sites are Maine Yankee, Yankee Rowe, Connecticut Yankee, Humboldt Bay, Big Rock Point, Rancho Seco, Trojan, La Crosse, Zion, Crystal River, Kewaunee, San Onofre, Vermont Yankee, Fort Calhoun, and Oyster Creek.The Oyster Creek site is located in Forked River, New Jersey, about 9 miles south of Toms River, New Jersey. Oyster Creek does not have direct rail access. Truck-to-rail transload locations in Lakehurst and Freehold, New Jersey have been used for shipments of transformers to and from Oyster Creek. Access to these locations is provided via heavy haul truck transport. Barge access to Oyster Creek is available at two locations at the southern end of the site. Barge transport has been used for shipments of transformers to and from the site. Barge transport was also used for shipments of steam generators and a reactor vessel to the cancelled Forked River Nuclear Power Plant, adjacent to the Oyster Creek site.Oyster Creek permanently ceased power operations on September 17, 2018 and fuel was removed from the reactor vessel on September 25, 2018. Planning for the Oyster Creek site visit has begun and is conducted in three stages. In the first stage, data and documents that are applicable to Oyster Creek are collected. In the second stage, questions are developed based on the data and documents collected during the first stage. These questions are submitted to the Oyster Creek site approximately one month before the site visit. The third stage involves establishing specific schedules and participants. Participants will likely include tribal and state representatives, staff from the Council of State Governments - Eastern Regional Conference, and the Federal Railroad Administration. The site visit is tentatively expected to occur in April or May of 2019.