The owners of the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant say they still plan to stick to a deal they reached with New Jersey officials to shut the nation's oldest nuclear power plant down 10 years early.

Chicago-based Exelon Corp. says it will not take advantage of a ruling Thursday by a federal judge that the Vermont Yankee nuke plant can stay open despite state efforts to shut it down. That ruling said Vermont's primary concern with the plant was safety -- something that is the sole responsibility of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The New Jersey Sierra Club says the Vermont ruling could let Exelon scrap its deal to close Oyster Creek early, instead letting it operate until 2029.

But a spokeswoman says Exelon plans to honor the deal.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM