Lacey can tax nuclear waste casks at Oyster Creek, court rules

LACEY — Concrete and metal storage casks that hold decades worth of highly radioactive, used fuel rods from the former Oyster Creek nuclear plant can be taxed, New Jersey’s Tax Court ruled this week.

Exelon Generation and Oyster Creek Environmental Protection LLC, a subsidiary of Holtec, a Camden-based company that is decommissioning the power plant, sued Lacey Township. It argued that 67 nuclear waste storage casks on the Lacey property are not permanent structure and as temporary structures the casks are not subject to being taxed.

Lacey’s attorneys said that in the absence of somewhere to send the casks, they are on site permanently and should be taxed as permanent structures.

Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station started creating electricity in 1969. Since the 1970s, spent reactor fuel began accumulating on the Lacey property.

The spent fuel contains plutonium and other dangerously radioactive materials, which are the leftovers of splitting atoms of enriched uranium to power the reactor.

The nuclear power plant stopped operating in 2018, but the spent fuel from decades of operations remains on site within the thick casks. The casks acts as shields and prevent radiation in the fuel rods from exposing a person who stands close by.

Thirty-four of the concrete and steel structures in Lacey are 15 feet tall by 20 feet long and are 10 feet wide rectangular structures, according to court documents. Another 33 cylindrical casks are 20 feet tall and 12 feet wide, according to the court filings.

Each of these structures weighs about 200,000 pounds, according to the court documents. Of that, about 40,000 to 60,000 pounds is the spent fuel within.

For decades, Washington officials looked for permanent storage solutions for the fuel from Oyster Creek and other nuclear power plants across the country. Sites in Nevada, Utah, Texas and New Mexico have been considered, but plans were abandoned or have fates not yet determined due to ongoing court fights.

“How to dispose of spent nuclear fuel has been an issue for fifty years,” Tax Court Judge Mark Cimino wrote in his ruling. “While the debates and litigation rage on, the fuel continues to pile up at numerous sites across the nation.”

With no long-term storage site available, the casks have become permanent structures in Lacey since they cannot legally be moved at this time, Cimino wrote in his decision.

“History amply demonstrates that efforts to relocate the spent fuel have become mired in legal and political wrangling,” he wrote. “It is anyone’s guess as to when or if a disposal site will open.”

Lacey Mayor Pete Curatolo said the tax court ruling affirms the opinions of township leaders on the issue.

“This is a first step and there may be appeals, but this governing body will continue to work within the framework of the law and advocate for our resident taxpayers,” he said in a statement to the Asbury Park Press.

It was not immediately clear how much this could mean to Lacey’s coffers, but the Oyster Creek plant property was assessed at $110 million in 2018, a year before the tax lawsuit was filed. Court documents show Lacey billed Exelon for $2.3 million in taxes that year.

Janet Tauro, New Jersey chairperson for Clean Water Action, an environmental advocacy group, applauded the court ruling.

“This is a good court ruling, considering the vast amount of highly radioactive waste that has been left on the site,” she said. “It should be the company that pays taxes on it, and not the taxpayers.”

Amanda Oglesby is an Ocean County native who covers education and the environment. She has worked for the Press for more than 17 years. Reach her at @OglesbyAPP, aoglesby@gannettnj.com or 732-557-5701.