Diablo Canyon, Calif., nuclear power plant may store radioactive waste

The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, Calif. --Dec. 1

The public could have significantly more access to land surrounding Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant within two years if the state Coastal Commission approves plans to build a storage facility for the plant's highly radioactive waste.

Commission staff is recommending that plant owner Pacific Gas and Electric Co. be required to provide public access to three miles of coastline north of Diablo Canyon.

The commission will hold a hearing on the proposal when it meets Dec. 8 in San Francisco. PG&E officials declined to comment Tuesday, saying they would make their comments directly to the commission.

It is almost certain PG&E will oppose the new access requirements. The utility opposed similar conditions suggested by county planners and rejected a proposal to locate an underground neutrino research facility near the plant because of the additional public access it would entail.

"Clearly, we've had concerns about public access from a security and emergency planning perspective," said Jeff Lewis, plant spokesman.

PG&E needs the approval of the commission to build an above-ground storage facility behind the plant for used reactor fuel assemblies. The facility would consist of a thick concrete slab upon which as many as 138 steel-and-concrete storage casks would be mounted. Inside them would be placed the highly radioactive spent-fuel rods.

The San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace and other environmental groups appealed the county's approval of the project for a variety of safety reasons. Their main concern is that the dry-cask facility will become a de facto permanent nuclear waste dump because it is unknown if a national storage facility at Yucca Mountain in Nevada will ever be built.

Mothers for Peace spokeswoman Rochelle Becker said she is disappointed that the commission staff did not try to limit the amount of waste that could be stored at the site. Other states, including Connecticut, Minnesota and Wisconsin, have successfully placed limits on the number of casks allowed, pending the establishment of the national storage facility in Nevada.

State law requires that additional coastal access be created to offset any loss of access caused by a development project. Commission staff is recommending these new requirements:

--Access to three miles of bluffs from Monta–a de Oro State Park south to Crowbar Creek, including three overlooks.

--Access to at least one beach in the 3-mile area, most likely Point Buchon Beach near the state park's southern boundary.

--More frequent hikes on the Pecho Coast Trail on the southern portion of the Diablo Canyon lands. The utility currently provides two popular docent-led hikes per week, but the trail's management plan allows daily hikes.

Staff is also recommending that PG&E consider providing additional amenities that would enhance the increased public access. Examples of this include improvements to the historic Point San Luis Lighthouse, which is part of the Pecho Coast Trail, and trail extensions from Monta–a de Oro.

If the commission adopts the plan, PG&E would have six months to prepare an access plan that would have to be approved by commission executive director Peter Douglas and two years to implement it, said Tom Luster, a commission staff analyst. The plan would contain details about how and what type of access the public would get.

For example, the staff recommendations do not require that people visiting the new access corridor be accompanied by a docent as they are on the Pecho Coast Trail. It would be up to PG&E to justify that sort of requirement, Luster said.

Coastal Commission planners say the new access should not pose a security risk. The proposed trail does not go near the 760-acre security area that surrounds the plant.

"We think this access requirement will work, but we would be willing to work with PG&E to address specific security concerns," Luster said.

The commission's approval of the storage facility is the final regulatory hurdle PG&E must overcome. The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission already has approved the project.

Any access requirements or other conditions placed on the project by the commission would be final. A lawsuit would be the only way the commission's actions could be overturned, Luster said.

PG&E needs to build the storage facility because pools at the plant, where the fuel is currently stored, will be full in 2006. The utility has applied to the NRC for permission to install temporary storage racks in the pools that would create an additional two years of storage.

The temporary racks are an option if the Coastal Commission or lawsuits delay the dry-cask facility, Lewis said. If that project proceeds without delay, the temporary rack option would be dropped.

 

-----

To see more of The Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sanluisobispo.com .

(c) 2004, The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, Calif. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com. PCG,