Holtec Request for Oral Argument Denied

A federal judge denied Holtec’s plea for oral arguments in a lawsuit the company filed against Lacey Township in September this week.

The company’s request for a temporary restraining order allowing it to resume a dry run and practice demonstrations for its spent fuel campaign at the shuttered Oyster Creek power plant will be decided without oral argument, Judge Michael Shipp wrote in a filing late Wednesday. 

If Shipp grants the order, Holtec will soon be able to begin work at the New Jersey plant. If not, the company may need to put plans on hold as it duels the township in court.

Holtec acquired the plant from Exelon to decommission last summer.

Holtec is seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction blocking the Township of Lacey Planning Board from incorporating radiological safety into its decision over whether the company’s plans to expand spent fuel storage space for the shuttered Oyster Creek power plant in New Jersey meet local zoning codes — something outside their governing powers. 

Holtec lawyers declined to comment on the ruling.