San Onofre Power Plant To Shut Down Completely By 2028, Rep. Says

SAN CLEMENTE, CA — Rep. Mike Levin, D-Dana Point, announced Wednesday that the notable containment domes at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station will be gone by the end of next year and the shutdown of the plant expected to be completed by the end of 2028.

"I've been in this fight since I started almost eight years ago, and by fight I mean fighting the status quo, the status quo for decades has been inaction on spent nuclear fuel," Levin said at a news conference for the release of a report on the work being done to shut down the nuclear power plant.

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After the domes are removed and the work is done in two years, "The spent nuclear fuel will be sitting right behind us," Levin said.

"Where we are right now is all of the spent fuel has been moved out of the cooling pools into dry storage," Levin said.

Fifty-two of the 62 structures on the site has been demolished.

"And more than 700 million pounds of fuel has been moved away. Now it's time for the federal government to do its job."

The spent nuclear fuel has to be shipped elsewhere and instead of taking a "top down" approach from the government dictating sites the work now is collaborating with states willing to take on the storage in exchange for the jobs and economic perks they would receive, Levin said.

The states involved in talks include Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Idaho.

The longer it takes to work out a deal the higher the cost to taxpayers, Levin said.

"Doing nothing is the most expensive option. Doing nothing is unacceptable," Levin said. "The federal government's liability for failing to take this waste on now tops $50 billion of our dollars... Taxpayers are paying more than $3 million a day for that failure."

But, Levin added, "States are finally stepping forward. This is real progress, but I am not and will not declare victory until the last cannister leaves San Onofre."

Orange County Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Katrina Foley said "it's important to my constituents," who live next door to the power plant.

"We really need to move with urgency to move this spent fuel away from this site," which is threatened by wildfires, earthquakes and coastal erosion, Foley said.