Where can we store San Onofre's nuclear waste? California asked to help out

April 20 - McClatchy-Tribune Content Agency, LLC - Fred Swegles The Orange County Register

 

Supporters and critics of the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station are asking California's state government to step up and deliver something federal officials have failed to produce during the past four decades -- a safe, remote place to stash tons of radioactive waste.

The San Onofre power plant, about 2 miles south of San Clemente, is forced to store its own nuclear waste on-site -- on Orange County's doorstep -- for lack of a federal alternative.

At a meeting in San Juan Capistrano on Thursday night, members of Southern California Edison's Community Engagement Panel and critics of Edison agreed that it is time for California to pursue its own solution on removal of spent fuel.

The California Energy Commission can expect to hear about it at an April 27 workshop the commission will host in Sacramento to air nuclear issues, including those related to spent fuel storage.

The question of how to remove it and where to put it is at the forefront, since Edison shut down the plant in 2013 and is tasked with decommissioning and dismantling it during the next 20 years. All that may be left is a nuclear waste dump.

There is no government-approved place to send the waste, and a decades-old plan for a federal repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev., is unlikely now, said David Victor, chairman of the 18-member CEP.

"That option is not dead," he said, "but the odds of that option working ... have been diminished for a variety of political reasons, environmental reasons and a variety of other things."

Victor discussed a California solution and suggested asking Gov. Brown and the energy commission to lead efforts to identify sites that would be remote and secure for interim storage of nuclear waste sent from various plants. It could be one or more sites, inside or outside California, possibly involving the private sector, possibly involving multiple states, possibly on a military base or other government land, Victor said. The radioactive waste could be securely stored, away from population zones, until it can be moved to a permanent federal repository.

CEP members drafted a concept memo after discussing the topic with experts at an earlier meeting. The findings could be aired at the energy commission's workshop. Victor suggested that local communities around San Onofre adopt resolutions supporting a California strategy.

Ray Lutz, representing Citizens' Oversight Projects, said his group is sending a letter to the energy commission. He said his organization has been pushing the idea for a year or more.

"I'm really happy that some of you have come on board with this," he told the CEP. He said everyone concerned about nuclear waste should communicate to the state, and so should local elected officials.

Glenn Pascall, a CEP member representing the Sierra Club, supported the concept memo to be submitted.

"I loved its energized spirit," he said.

The Sierra Club, for more than 30 years, has advocated moving the waste away from sensitive sites, he said.

Contact the writer: fswegles@ocregister.com

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