ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to sketch out some of the issues confronting communities involved in a plant closure, noting differences in the consequences of shutdowns for traditional communities and those developed as energy resource entities. Although plant shutdowns have been studied rather extensively, these studies are generally case studies of a single shutdown frequently focusing on the financial impacts for the worker and his/her family. An attempt to summarize the literature on closures in energy resource communities with the relevant issues in the decommissioning of facilities is not an easy task, largely due to the paucity of references. A final dimension to the shutdown timing problem is its relationship to other community commitments or "problems". Whether the company involved in a shutdown is locally owned operation, a multiplant national organization, or an international enterprise will make a difference to company efforts and involvement at the community level, commitment to local concerns, and the availability of personnel in accessing governmental assistance programs.
