A panel of Nuclear Regulatory Commission judges has granted hearings on four of five protests filed by the San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace against license renewal of Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.
The ruling does not stop the license renewal process. However, it will take at least a year for the panel of three judges, called an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, to issue final rulings, said Victor Dricks, NRC spokesman.
“Within the next two months, the board will issue a scheduling order which will lay out what happens next,” he said.
Kory Raftery, spokesman for plant owner, Pacific Gas and Electric Co., said the utility is aware of the 119-page ruling and is reviewing it to decide whether to file an appeal.
“License renewal is a long and rigorous process with many opportunities for public involvement,” he said. “We will continue to comply fully with the renewal process.”
Jane Swanson, spokeswoman for Mothers for Peace, said the group is pleased that the board found the bulk of their protests, called contentions, to be valid. It is unlikely that the board will deny PG&E’s license renewal application; however, it may require that the utility take additional steps to safeguard the plant.
“Our goal, with the services of our attorney in Washington D.C., Diane Curran, is to ensure that safety issues pertaining to both the reactors and the radioactive wastes at Diablo Canyon are fully studied before the NRC considers PG&E’s application for license renewal,” Swanson said.
The board granted hearings on a broad range of issues regarding license renewal and the continuing operation of the plant. It also narrowed the scope of several of the contentions. They are: • The adequacy of the analysis by PG&E of the earthquake risks to the plant by the recently discovered Shoreline Fault, just offshore of the plant.
• The adequacy of PG&E’s environmental analysis on the effects of airborne contamination from the plant’s spent fuel pools caused by an earthquake.
• The adequacy of the analysis by PG&E on the cost-effectiveness of measures to mitigate the environmental impacts of a terrorist attack on the plant during the license renewal period.
• The ability of PG&E to manage the effects of aging on the plant given ongoing problems documented by NRC inspectors at the plant of identifying and solving problems.
The board rejected a fifth contention of Mothers for Peace which also dealt with the environmental impacts of a terrorist attack on the plant.
Preparation of an environmental analysis covering license renewal as well as a safety report will continue. PG&E and Mothers for Peace will have opportunities to file additional exhibits in support of their respective cases.
These filings and other proceedings may require that local hearings of the board be held. The process will culminate with final hearings in San Luis Obispo on each of the four valid contentions. No dates for those hearings have been set.
“Based on the experience of the last six years, the board typically has taken one day to hear each contention submitted,” Dricks said. “It will be a year or two before the final hearings occur.”
In November, PG&E applied to renew the licenses of Diablo Canyon’s two reactors for an additional 20 years. If granted, the extended licenses would expire in 2044 and 2045.
Reach David Sneed at 781-7930.
SanLuisObispo.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. See our full terms of service here.
Here are some rules of the road:
You should also know that The Tribune does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at webmaster@thetribunenews.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the username of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to webmaster@thetribunenews.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
Be the first to know what's going on in San Luis Obispo County. Just tell us how you want to find out — we'll take care of the rest.
Sign up for breaking news alerts from SanLuisObispo.com and get the latest news sent to your cell phone via text message.
By signing up for alerts from this site, you are signing up for a program that may include up to 5 SMS text alert(s) per alert category per day. There is no service fee charged per month but your carrier's standard text messaging and other charges may apply. You may stop this subscription service at any time by sending the text message "STOP" to 72737. You must be at least thirteen (13) years of age to use our alert services. If you are between 13 and 17 years old, you agree that you have received parental permission both to complete the registration process and to receive SMS content on your cell phone. For help, send the text message "HELP" to 72737. This service will work with ATT, Verizon, Sprint, Nextel, Alltell, US Cellular, Cincinnati Bell, Boost, Virgin Mobile USA, Celluar South, Telos, Centennial, East Kentucky Network, Cellcom, Immix and Rural Celluar.
E-mail »
Twitter »
Facebook »
iTribune »
Subscribe »
RSS »
About comments
Reader comments on SanLuisObispo.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Tribune. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.