The plant, owned by Virginia-based Dominion Energy, will start work on the spent fuel storage facility first, spokesman Karl Neddenien said.

When complete, the new storage facility will feature a concrete foundation with 49 prefabricated concrete modules housing steel canisters sealing the plant's spent fuel inside. The Connecticut Siting Council last month approved the facility, which is meant to hold the fuel until a permanent storage site is ready at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

Neddenien said the storage project should be ready by the spring of 2005, when Millstone is scheduled to refuel. The plant is undertaking the construction at its own expense, and will not divulge the cost, he said.

Waterford First Selectman Paul Eccard said the town is satisfied that the plant will not be taking spent fuel from other plants.

"What's needed to support [power] generation is what that site is permitted for," he said. The town had initially approved 19 storage modules out of 234 that Dominion requested.

Dominion later modified its request to 135 modules. The Siting Council took into account Dominion's request for relicensing and extending the life of the plant in granting permission for the 49 modules, Eccard said. The relicensing request is still pending before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Neddenien said construction on the security projects will begin next week and the first week in July, and are a result of the federal government's efforts to strengthen nuclear plant security in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. An on-site firing practice range, new security observatories and new observation cameras will be installed as part of the work, he said.