Senator draws a line in San Onofre sandAug 14 - Brian Joseph The Orange County RegisterRestoring the site of the shuttered San Onofre nuclear power plant to "green field status" is expected to cost up to $4.1 billion, but could be accomplished in as little as 15 years, energy officials told state lawmakers Tuesday. A Southern California Edison executive, however, raised the ire of the chairman of the Senate energy committee when he suggested that a less-than-full restoration is possible. Testifying at the second in a series of informational hearings on the closure of San Onofre, Southern California Edison vice president Stephen Pickett said lease and easement agreements require the utility company to remove all of the buildings and return the land to its original condition when the nuclear plan is decommissioned. But he said the removal of underground structures that the public wouldn't be able to see may be unnecessary. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Pacoima, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications, which is holding the hearings, chafed at the Pickett's testimony, saying Southern California Edison is going to have to meet "a high threshold to convince us of anything other than (a full) green field" restoration. Padilla also offered Pickett a sharp rebuke when the executive said the utility was not convinced that the process of decommissioning of San Onofre required a citizen's advisory panel, as was established in the decommissioning of another power plant. "Just be aware," Padilla said, "that's something we're highly likely to insist on." Pickett said Southern California Edison is committed to keeping the public informed about the decommissioning of San Onofre and will proceed with a focus on safety. Tuesday's hearing, which also featured testimony from officials with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the California Public Utilities Commission, centered on the procedural steps involved in decommissioning a nuclear power plant. Pickett, the Southern California Edison representative, said the utility expects to submit its specific plans for decommissioning sometime in mid-2014. He and the others also testified that decommissioning will be paid for using a trust funded by tiny surcharges on ratepayers' kilowatt hours. More than $3 billion is already in the trust fund, although some of that money is invested in stocks and is subject to market fluctuations. Pickett said after the hearing that the idea of moving the money into more fixed investments is under discussion.. The Senate energy committee's next hearing on San Onofre is scheduled for Sept. 24. Padilla said Tuesday that the hearing will likely be held in Southern California. Contact the writer: bjoseph@ocregister.com http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=29630032 |