Laguna takes stand on San Onofre
Laguna Beach will back San Clemente’s appeals to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to ensure that San Onofre doesn’t replicate last year’s disaster in Fukushima, Japan.
The City Council on Tuesday voted 4 to 1 to send a letter to the commission requesting the resolution of public concerns before any consideration is given to extending San Onofre’s operating license due to expire in 2022.
The letter had been requested by San Clemente Mayor Lori Donchak, but the action might be moot.
“Southern California Edison has not made a decision on whether we’ll apply for renewal,” said Edison spokesman Christopher Abel.
The majority of 14 speakers at Tuesday’s meeting would be delighted if Edison immediately dismantled the plant, let alone opted not to renew the license.
Abel verified that 4,000 tons of high-level, radioactive waste are stored there.
“There is no way the plant should be storing waste material,” said Kathleen Jepson-Bernier.
The regulatory commission is looking for off-site storage, but to date all of the country’s 104 nuclear power plants store waste material on-site, Abel said.
“This is an old plant, and we need to shut it down right now,” said Marni Magda. “California is sitting on a powder keg of nuclear plants on earthquake faults.”
–Barbara Diamond, @CoastlinePilot, Coastline Pilot
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