U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) called on the Department of Energy (DoE) on Tuesday to consider input from residents of southern California about the storage of spent nuclear fuel.
Given the location of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), Issa argued, southern California should be among a list of six locations where public forums on nuclear waste storage will be held.
“With the San Onofre nuclear facility at the front of Southern Californians’ minds, it makes zero sense that the Department of Energy wouldn’t seek to hear from us on how to address nuclear waste storage and disposal,” Issa said in a letter to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. “The SONGS facility is scheduled to store more than 3.6 million pounds of high-level radioactive waste that residents in San Clemente and the surrounding areas want to have contained and removed safely. I encourage the Department of Energy to take this opportunity to engage with the local communities to find out the best way to move forward swiftly on this important issue.”
The DoE announced the locations of the six public forums on the storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in March, but southern California was not among them.
“Residents, elected officials, businesses, and community leaders throughout the neighboring cities in Orange and San Diego Counties are informed and active on the need to remove and secure SNF,” Issa said. “In fact, the robust SONGS Community Engagement Panel holds public meetings engaging with involved parties including SONGS owners Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas and Electric, the City of Riverside, and regulatory agencies at all levels of government. The local governments regularly review emerging congressional proposals and weigh in with community perspectives. Adding a public meeting in our region will allow DoE to hear directly from those interested in a safe and secure solution to our site’s issues.”