In a policy and organizing blitz this week, the co-owners of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station released a voluminous new report this week about the logistics of relocating the plant’s spent fuel and formed a new stakeholders group focused on the federal government.
Action for Spent Fuel Solutions Now, spearheaded by Southern California Edison (SCE) and San Diego Gas and Electric, will advocate for the federal government to create “a new organizational framework [for spent fuel disposal] with autonomy and reliable funding, support consolidated interim storage, start a new repository program, and invest in spent fuel transportation readiness,” according to a Monday statement from SCE.
Orange and San Diego Counties as well as the city of Riverside are also founding members, according to the press release.
Also on Monday, SCE announced Monday that it had completed a new three-part study that recommended strategies for relocating spent fuel from San Onofre. The report lists federally-licensed commercial interim storage sites among the possible destinations for spent fuel from the power plant. With Yucca Mountain all but off the table for the near future and no other federal-owned repository available, commercial disposal could be the fastest ticket off the California coast for SONGS’ spent fuel.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is currently reviewing environmental impact statements for two proposed commercial interim storage sites: Holtec International’s in southeastern New Mexico and Interim Storage Partners’ in west Texas. The agency has previously said that process won’t be done until July.
