Politics & Government

Residents Hammer State Officials Over Oyster Creek Evacuation Plans

Officials who think the evacuation plan would work are 'simply crazy,' one woman said

Could state officials get the word out and evacuate people if there was an emergency at the Oyster Creek Generating Station during a natural disaster?

Not likely, said a number of residents who attended the state Department of Environmental Protection's annual public hearing on the state's Radiological Emergency Response Plan.

"I don't think any of you have our best interests at heart," one woman said.   "I think you were told what to do and they run the show. You should represent us. If you think it's going to be an orderly exit, you're simply crazy. if anything happens at Oyster Creek, I would want to be as far away from the plant as possible."

Residents' concerns about the evacuation plan and the notification systems have only been heightened since Superstorm Sandy slammed into Ocean County last Oct. 29.

Joy Havey said she rode out the storm in her Bayville home.

"That was okay, until I heard of the alert at Oyster Creek," she said. "I couldn't get out of my driveway."

Oyster Creek and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a "Level 2" alert during the storm, when the water level in the intake structure dropped, said Judith Carluccio.

Had there been a more serious event at Oyster Creek, Sandy's rising flood waters would have made it impossible for people to leave their homes,
she said.

But Paul Baldauf, director of the DEP's Division of Environmental Safety and health, said the circumstances of the Oct. 29 alert had to be "put into context."

The intake structure is located 20 feet below the level of the plant. Oyster Creek was offline for routine maintenance even before Sandy hit, he said.

"The plant was itself was never in any imminent danger," Baldauf said. ""That was never the case."

Residents also questioned how residents in the 10-mile evacuation zone could be notified of an emergency at Oyster Creek if the power was out.

"As far as Oct. 29, that didn't work out," said Patricia Barndt.

If power and phone lines were out, police and fire personnel would go street to street with loudspeakers, said Jerry S. Renner, a member of the New Jersey State Police Emergency Management Section.

Come back to Patch later for an expanded version of this story.


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