The nation's oldest nuclear plant, Oyster Creek Generating Station in New Jersey, is set to close its doors for good this fall, company officials announced Friday.

The closure of Oyster Creek, in the Forked River section of Lacey Township, has long been planned, but the shut down date of October is ahead of schedule.

Exelon Generation said it will work with state and local officials to plan for long-term decommissioning of the facility, which opened in 1969 off Route 9. Some of the plant's 500 employees will stay on after it closes to oversee its decommissioning, Exelon said.

Oyster Creek was previously set to close by December 2019 under terms of an agreement with former Gov. Chris Christie's administration.

After agreeing in 2010 to close in 2019 -- a decade earlier than its license required -- the state dropped demands that Exelon build one or more cooling towers to replace its current technology.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted the Oyster Creek station a new 20-year license in April 2009, rejecting concerns by opponents centered on corrosion to a metal enclosure that keeps super-heated radioactive steam within a containment building.

Exelon had applied a strong coating material to the liner and removed a sand bed at the base of the reactor that was found to hold moisture that caused the corrosion.

Oyster Creek went online Dec. 1, 1969, the same day as the Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station near Oswego, N.Y. But Oyster Creek's original license was granted first, technically making it the nation's oldest still-operating commercial nuclear station.

The state's two other nuclear power stations -- Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station and Salem Nuclear Power Plant -- are on the same site in Lower Alloways Creek Township, Salem County.

The Associated Press contributed to this report Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.