Washington, D.C. – Congressman Jon Runyan (R-NJ), issued the following statement regarding the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) decision to undertake a special inspection of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant.

“I welcome an NRC special inspection into the emergency actions taken at Oyster Creek during Hurricane Sandy. Oyster Creek was not far from the eye of the storm, so this can be used as a learning experience to help prepare nuclear facilities around the country for future natural disasters. While I am confident the staff at Oyster Creek acted competently I look forward to the outcome of the inspection.”

On Monday October 29th, the facility issued an “alert” when Oyster Creek employees encountered a six feet increase of the sea level within the intake system. Around the same time the plant experienced a power disruption causing the diesel generators to activate. On Wednesday October 31st, Oyster Creek’s plant operator, Exelon, declared the “alert” over when the sea level subsided to normal levels.