In 2006, the NRC amended Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s (PG&E’s) operating license for Diablo Canyon Unit 1 to set a deadline of 2009 for PG&E to test the integrity of the pressure vessel that holds the highly radioactive core. Diane Curran, attorney for Mothers for Peace, said: “The test is important for protection of public health and safety because it will show whether years of radiation exposure have weakened the steel vessel to the point where it may crack or shatter during an accident, thereby exposing the core and risking a catastrophic meltdown.”  

Despite the importance of the test, and in disregard of previous indications of embrittlement, the NRC has repeatedly postponed the deadline, and has now set it for 2025, more than 15 years late. Moreover, the agency granted each extension without public notice or the offer of a hearing.   

 “NRC’s decision to shut out the public on this major threat to public safety is appalling and unlawful,” said Hallie Templeton, Legal Director for Friends of the Earth. “An open and public process is absolutely essential when surrounding communities and the environment are at risk of a nuclear meltdown.”  

The lawsuit is the next step groups are taking to advance their September 14, 2023 petition to NRC, which seeks an immediate shut-down of Unit 1 until the long-delayed inspections and testing of the pressure vessel are completed and a public hearing occurs. In October 2023, the NRC denied the request for a public hearing and referred the remaining requests to NRC’s Executive Director of Operations. 

This is the second NRC lawsuit brought by the organizations this year. The first challenges the NRC’s March 2023 decision to indefinitely extend the term of the operating licenses for Unit 1 and Unit 2 without a safety or environmental review or a public hearing. Oral argument in that matter is scheduled for January 10 in Pasadena. Linda Seeley, spokesperson for Mothers for Peace, denounced the unlimited extension as hazardous to public safety and the environment and promised: “We will keep fighting to ensure that the NRC and PG&E abide by the law.” 

Communications contact: Brittany Miller, bmiller@foe.org, (202) 222-0746 

The post Environmental Groups Sue Nuclear Regulatory Commission for Denying Hearing on Delayed Diablo Canyon Inspections appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

Friends of the Earth initiated its lawsuit in April against PG&E and others to prevent breach of contract. The case comes amid PG&E reneging on the 2016 contract in response to state legislation that passed in 2022 providing financial incentives and preserving the option of operating Diablo Canyon for five additional years. Instead of planning for retirement, PG&E has stated intentions to extend Diablo Canyon’s operations for 20 more years – far exceeding the legislation’s potential extension.

“We are deeply disappointed in today’s outcome,” said Hallie Templeton, Legal Director for Friends of the Earth. “Diablo Canyon’s operations are extremely dangerous, environmentally harmful and put all of California at risk of a devastating accident. We continue to strongly believe in our case and are considering appealing the unwarranted dismissal. One thing is clear: the fight to shutter Diablo Canyon is not over, and this is not our only iron in the fire.”

Friends of the Earth currently has another active legal challenge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for decisions related to Diablo Canyon’s extension.  

Communications contact: Brittany Miller, bmiller@foe.org, (202) 222-0746

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Friends of the Earth initiated its lawsuit in April against PG&E and others to prevent breach of contract. The case comes amid PG&E reneging on the 2016 contract in response to state legislation that passed in 2022 providing financial incentives and preserving the option of operating Diablo Canyon for five additional years. Instead of planning for retirement, PG&E has stated its intentions to extend Diablo Canyon’s operations for 20 more years – far exceeding the legislation’s potential extension.

“We are very pleased with today’s hearing and feel confident in our common-sense legal arguments that aim to prevent PG&E and others from further breaching our contract,” said Hallie Templeton, Legal Director for Friends of the Earth. “This formal agreement to finally retire Diablo Canyon’s extremely dangerous and potentially devastating operations is still in force. We are optimistic that the Court will reject the defendants’ shallow attempts to dismiss our case.” 

Should the Court allow the litigation to move forward, it will help determine what rights and obligations continue to bind the parties to the 2016 contract.  Friends of the Earth is represented by attorneys at Briscoe Ivester & Bazel LLP.  The organization also has another active legal challenge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for decisions related to Diablo Canyon’s extension.  

Communications contact: Brittany Miller, bmiller@foe.org, (202) 222-0746

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In 2016, Friends of the Earth entered into a contract with PG&E to retire Diablo Canyon. This was in exchange for Friends of the Earth dropping a separate legal challenge over environmental and public safety concerns associated with the power plant’s continued operations. Diablo Canyon – California’s last remaining nuclear plant – is located in San Luis Obispo near at least three seismic fault lines, which puts the entire state at risk of a devastating accident. It also operates on an outdated cooling system that puts marine life and water quality at significant risk of harm. 

In September 2022, the California legislature passed SB846, which provided financial incentives and supported state-level actions toward extending the outdated power plant for an additional five years. Friends of the Earth’s new lawsuit follows recent actions by PG&E that indicate an intent to breach the 2016 contract. These include applying to the U.S. Department of Energy for funding to aid Diablo’s extended operations and securing approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to continue operating Diablo Canyon beyond the expiration of current operating licenses while NRC considers PG&E’s forthcoming license renewal applications.  

“Contracts simply don’t vanish into thin air,” said Hallie Templeton, Legal Director for Friends of the Earth. “Yet ever since California passed legislation supporting Diablo Canyon’s extension, PG&E has been acting as if our contract has disappeared. Setting aside the agreement to retire Diablo, there are myriad legal prerequisites for extending operations of a nuclear power plant, including federal decisions that states cannot dictate. We hope our litigation can push PG&E to reconsider its potential breach and uphold its obligations, including preparing for the agreed-upon retirement.”  

Friend of the Earth is represented by attorneys at Briscoe Ivester & Bazel LLP. The 2016 contract between Friends of the Earth. PG&E, and other entities can be accessed here.  

Communications contact: Brittany Miller, bmiller@foe.org, (202) 222-0746

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In its March 2 decision, the NRC exempted PG&E from regulations that required a license renewal review by the NRC before the reactors could operate beyond their operating license expiration dates.   

The decision is unprecedented. The NRC has never approved an exemption for a license renewal applicant that would allow it to operate a nuclear reactor past its 40-year limit without a comprehensive safety and environmental review. The NRC’s own rules recognize that continued operation of a reactor past the 40-year statutory limit poses safety risks that are different from operational risks during the facility’s first 40 years in operation and require a separate review. 

But the NRC, in its bow to PG&E, completely ignored its own rules, with far-reaching implications for all its safety standards. 

“This decision is frightening because it casts aside the serious safety and environmental issues raised by operating Diablo Canyon past its expiration dates without a comprehensive safety and environmental review,” said Diane Curran, lead attorney for San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace. “The NRC calls the exemption a mere ‘administrative’ decision, as if it were choosing paper clip sizes. There is nothing ‘administrative’ about allowing this aging reactor duo to continue running for days, months or years when each day of operation poses the risk of an accident that could devastate the entire state and beyond. ”  

“Public safety concerns were blatantly ignored by the NRC over this politically motivated and reckless decision to bend the law for PG&E,” said EWG President and California resident Ken Cook. “A federal agency responsible for protecting public safety is now simply serving as the consigliere for the nuclear industry.” 

“The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is contorting its rules and procedures in granting this exemption to Pacific Gas and Electric,” said Hallie Templeton, legal director for Friends of the Earth. “Nearly five years ago, Pacific Gas and Electric withdrew its license, and the NRC closed the renewal process. The NRC cannot simply invent new rules just because the State of California is having second thoughts about the decision.” 

“This is an ominous warning sign for how independent the NRC will be in evaluating the earthquake risk and the overall operational integrity of the Diablo Canyon reactors,” said Templeton. “We will consider all available means to ensure that they are held to the letter of the law on this and future decisions and do not put people and the environment at risk.” 

Major safety and environmental risks will only increase if Diablo Canyon’s twin reactors continue running past their expiration dates. First, the reactors are sited on a web of earthquake fault-lines. A recent New York Times article detailed how similar the fault-lines are beneath Diablo to those that caused the recent 7.8 earthquake that has killed roughly 50,000 people in Turkey and Syria combined.  

Furthermore, the NRC is proposing to let Diablo Canyon continue operating without environmental review of the significant adverse effects on the marine environment from the plant’s once-through cooling, or OTC, system. PG&E was due to replace the OTC system with cooling towers in 2024 and 2025, but now will be allowed to abandon that effort without an environmental risk evaluation. 

The groups that opposed the exemption are considering next steps, including seeking federal court action over the NRC’s clearly unlawful and dangerous decision.   

Background: CEC rubberstamps dangerous plan to keep Diablo Running 

• The decision by the NRC comes just days after the California Energy Commission, or CEC,  backed the ill-conceived plan by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration, the state legislature and PG&E to keep Diablo Canyon operating.
• On February 28, the CEC approved recommendations made by Commission staff to extend the operating life of the aging plant beyond 2030. In a statement, the CEC claimed the facility needs to continue running to prevent energy supply shortages during extreme weather events.
• The plant that rests along the central coast of California in San Luis Obispo supplies less than 9 percent of the state’s electricity, while nearly 35 percent comes from renewable sources like solar, wind and hydropower, according to the CEC. At one point last May, the state generated 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, demonstrating the enormous gains renewables have made in California’s energy supply.
• Fearing backlash from voters following last summer’s record heatwaves that raised the specter of rolling blackouts, the state legislature – at Newsom’s urging — reversed the California Public Utilities Commission, or CPUC’s, 2018 approval of a previous decision by PG&E to shutter both reactors by 2025. PG&E had reached the shutdown decision in a carefully crafted 2018 settlement with local environmental organizations and labor unions. But the legislature approved Senate Bill 846, which cleared a path to keep the plant operating until at least 2030. It also provided PG&E a $1.4 billion taxpayer-funded loan to cover costs to keep the aging nuclear power facility running.
• Continued operation of Diablo Canyon is not a given. Under the new law, the CEC is required to determine whether an extension of the plant’s operating license is needed to supply enough energy to the state’s electric grid. The CPUC must agree that it is needed.  
• In January, the CPUC began the rulemaking process to consider Newsom’s and the legislature’s proposal to extend Diablo Canyon’s life. To date, however, the CPUC has not held any public hearings on the matter. San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace has called on the CPUC to hold hearings and receive testimony directly from independent experts as to why both reactors should close by 2025.

Sabrina Venskus, attorney for San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace, noted that “there are conspicuous holes in the CEC’s analysis.” Considering the significant safety and environmental risks posed by extending the operating license terms for this aging and earthquake-prone nuclear plant, Venskus asserted that the CEC’s claim that Diablo Canyon is needed past 2024 and 2025 deserves careful, rigorous, and transparent review in the upcoming Public Utilities Commission, or PUC, rulemaking (R.23-01-007). Venskus urged the PUC not to limit itself to the less rigorous processes of taking written public comments and holding workshops. 

Communications contact: Brittany Miller, Friends of the Earth, bmiller@foe.org, (202) 222-0746 

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The Staff’s decision affirmed recent arguments in the petition by San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace (SLOMFP), Friends of the Earth (FoE), and Environmental Working Group (EWG) that resuming review of PG&E’s withdrawn license renewal application would be unlawful. The organizations demanded that the five Commissioners at the top of the NRC deny PG&E’s October 31, 2022, request to resume review of the application.

The decision is important because it prevents PG&E from making an end-run around NRC regulations that requires the company to file a new and up-to-date license renewal application. PG&E had admitted that the application was severely outdated and could not be updated or completed until late 2023 – a year before the Unit 1 license term expires. It now appears that PG&E may have to close Diablo Canyon when its licenses expire in the fall 2024 (Unit 1) and spring 2025 (Unit 2) and keep them closed unless and until the NRC approves a new license renewal application.

The NRC also acknowledged that PG&E had requested an exemption from regulations that would require the reactors to shut down in 2024 and 2025 unless the licenses had been renewed by then. But the NRC postponed a decision on the exemptions until March.

Diane Curran, an attorney for SLOMFP, said that “PG&E does not have any legal options for keeping the Diablo Canyon reactors running continuously past their license expiration dates.” Curran praised the NRC Staff decision as “a correct and faithful application of NRC regulations and policy for fair, efficient and transparent decision-making.” Further, she said it was reasonable to expect that the Staff would also deny PG&E’s exemption requests. “The NRC has no authority to grant an exemption that would extend the license terms past their 40-year limit, other than to renew those licenses. And the renewal process is likely to take years.”

Hallie Templeton, Legal Director at Friends of the Earth, said: “We are pleased to see the NRC using common sense and following the law when it comes to extending operations at Diablo Canyon. Requiring PG&E to submit an updated and complete relicensing application will help ensure that the NRC has sufficient information to reach a determination. We will continue to watch this issue closely and make certain that government officials as well as PG&E fulfill all their legal mandates and obligations. When it comes to deadly and dangerous nuclear power, cutting corners is simply not an option.”

Caroline Leary, an attorney for EWG, said that “It’s not too late for the California Legislature to re-direct the billion dollars slated for revival of these unsafe and uneconomical reactors to the support of safe and renewable alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power, energy efficiency and load management. PG&E may not be familiar with hearing ‘no’ from its captive regulators in California, but it’s clear the professional staff at the NRC takes its oversight role and the safety of the communities surrounding Diablo Canyon seriously.”

Contacts:
Alex Formuzis, EWG: alex@ewg.org
Diane Curran, Mothers for Peace: 240-393-9285 dcurran@harmoncurran.com
Brittany Miller, Friends of the Earth: bmiller@foe.org

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If the NRC is not able to finish reviewing PG&E’s license renewal application by the Diablo Canyon license expiration dates, it will have no alternative but to require the reactors to close until the review is finished.
 
According to Diane Curran, attorney for SLOMFP, federal law gives the NRC only one means of extending the Diablo Canyon reactor licenses: renewal. “The Atomic Energy Act unequivocally limits Diablo Canyon to 40 years of operation unless and until the NRC renews the licenses,” she asserted. “The NRC has no other legal means of extending the operating life of the reactors.” 
 
PG&E has conceded it will take more than a year to update the application.

Curran noted that PG&E is fatally handicapped by having allowed its license renewal application to lapse since about 2016, when it entered the settlement agreement to close the reactors. In fact, she said, “PG&E itself has admitted to the NRC that it will take more than a year to update the 2009 license renewal application. And then, the NRC must review the updated application for compliance with safety and environmental laws. The NRC doesn’t have enough time to make a decision before the operating licenses expire.” 
 
The irregularity of PG&E’s unlawful request to restore its 2009 license renewal application after the NRC approved that withdrawal in 2018 reveals the lengths to which PG&E will go to expedite the license renewal process.
 
“We are dismayed that the NRC is entertaining PG&E’s outrageous and unlawful request to extend the life of Diablo Canyon,” said Hallie Templeton, Legal Director for FOE.  “Dusting off a decades-old, withdrawn application to keep a deadly nuclear power plant running is bad enough. Worse, it is not clear how PG&E can reverse years of weakened preventative maintenance and safety upgrades. We urge the NRC to closely follow the law by requiring a complete and updated application before considering this dangerous extension.” 
 
The last Environmental Impact Statement prepared by the NRC to address the specific environmental risks of Diablo Canyon was issued in 1973 during construction.
 
Revival of Diablo Canyon License Application Pushed by Governor Newsom Without Forethought.
 
PG&E’s scheme to extend Diablo Canyon’s operating life was quickly ignited during election season 2022 by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who persuaded the California State Legislature to pass SB 846 on September 1, 2022. SB 846 reversed a previous California Public Utilities Commission decision to approve a settlement between PG&E, labor unions, and environmental groups that would have shuttered the dangerous and controversial Diablo Canyon reactors on their license expiration dates in 2024 and 2025 and provided funding for a transition to renewables. SB 846 also provides PG&E with a $1.4 billion forgivable loan to revive PG&E’s abandoned 2009 application to renew the licenses.   
 
Hallie Templeton commented: “While the State Legislature acted hastily in passing SB 846, it did not give PG&E carte blanche to do as it wants.” She continued, “The Legislature reserved the right to rescind the subsidy and restore the shutdown dates if Diablo Canyon proves unsafe, too costly to run, or unnecessary due to the abundance of renewables.” It should be noted, that all of these issues are subject to NRC review before the reactor licenses can be renewed.  
 
If the NRC awards PG&E special privileges to obtain a renewal of its operating license, it would set a dangerous precedent that would undermine the integrity of the NRC and put millions of California residents in danger if a seismic event or equipment breakdown should occur.
 
SLOMFP spokesperson Jane Swanson stated: “The Legislature acted so quickly under pressure from the Governor, they didn’t think through the ramifications – nor did they hold any hearings on whether extended operation of Diablo Canyon is actually needed or whether the State can instead rely on the growing supply of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency.”
 
Extending Diablo Canyon’s Operation Would Hurt Development of Renewable Energy Sources.
 
Ken Cook, EWG’s President and Co-founder, commented, “We are extremely concerned about keeping the aging Diablo Canyon nuclear plant operating: it is costly to taxpayers, presents real safety hazards, and its operation hurts the state’s shift to safe, renewable energy.” Cook charged that “allowing Diablo Canyon to keep operating will only provide utilities like PG&E yet another excuse to slow-walk the transition to those renewable and far less expensive energy sources.”
 
What’s more, Cook said, “Closing Diablo on time would mitigate the transmission bottleneck, lower consumer costs, and enable the utility to achieve 55% renewable energy by 2031.” 
 
Linda Seeley, representing Mothers for Peace, said, “It cannot be overstated how significant the risks are if this plant continues to operate past its closure dates of 2024/2025. Living near a nuclear plant without safety upkeep or upgrades is like living next to a ticking time bomb.” She explained, “We just don’t have vital information about the condition of the embrittlement of Reactor 1, for example, and we don’t know the impact the seismic faults surrounding the plant could have if there were a rupture. The State Legislature has put us on a very dangerous path.”

To read the petition, click here.

Communications contacts:
Ileana Wachtel, wachtelileana@gmail.com, 310-702-4240
Brittany Miller, bmiller@foe.org, (202) 222-0746

The post Environmental Groups Blow the Whistle on State/PG&E Illegal Scheme to Keep Diablo Canyon Operating Past License Expiration Dates appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

Erich Pica, President of Friends of the Earth, issued the following statement in response:

Governor Newsom’s shameful proposal to keep Diablo Canyon open undermines almost 10 years of advocacy and agreement to responsibly retire the plant by 2025 and continue California’s clean energy transition. Allowing these nuclear power reactors to operate beyond 2025 exposes the surrounding communities and environment to serious risk while costing taxpayers and ratepayers potentially billions of dollars. Today may be a victory for Gov. Newsom, but it comes at a major cost to California and the fight against the climate crisis. Friends of the Earth will continue to campaign to ensure that PG&E retires the Diablo Canyon nuclear reactors in 2024 and 2025 as was agreed upon by the Joint Proposal.

Senate Bill 846 overrides the 2016 Joint Proposal which established that Diablo Canyon would retire in 2025. That proposal, which was negotiated by Friends of the Earth, NRDC, and Environment California was later endorsed by the legislature almost unanimously in 2018. 

Communications contact: Erin Jensen, ejensen@foe.org

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“The Governor’s decision to try and extend the life of Diablo Canyon is reckless beyond belief,” said Erich Pica, President at Friends of the Earth U.S. “This ad campaign is meant to bring light to the serious problem that this administration has instigated. Governor Newsom should honor his and the State’s commitment to retire the plant on the timeline that plant workers, environmentalists, Pacific Gas and Electric and the State of California has already agreed upon.” 

The Newsom administration has recently circulated a bill that overrides the groundbreaking 2016 Joint Proposal, which established the closure of Diablo Canyon for 2025. This provided the State of California time to procure greenhouse gas free replacement power, as well as provide a transition for workers and communities impacted by the closure. The new legislation threatens to undo more than 5 years’ worth of agreements, while undermining environmental and safety reviews of the plant’s reactors. This bill counters Newsom’s previous support for a firm retirement plan for the plant, which is extremely vulnerable to earthquake damage. Furthermore, there are high costs associated with generating electricity from nuclear energy. 

“The risks really outweigh the rewards here,” Pica adds, “If the Newsom administration wants a safe and timely transition to clean renewable energy, then they should walk back this legislation as soon as possible.” 

See Environment California, NRDC, and Friends of the Earth’s recent statement on the bill here. 

More information can be found on Friends of the Earth’s position on the closure of Diablo Canyon here. 

Communications Contact: Erika Seiber, eseiber@foe.org

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