I received these comments about the August 29 Lands meeting:

“One of the more intelligent and coherent public hearings I've attended.”

“It was a great meeting.”

Thursday, August 30, 2018
DEAR DIABLO DE-COMMISSIONING PANEL-
I am writing to you now because I was not able to stay and share my 2.5 minutes last night at the public forum outreach.
First of all thank you to each of you, the panel- for your willingness, your dedication, time, and effort to serve on the panel and serve us all, the general public- as it is very important to work towards consensus and solutions about how the Diablo lands and facilities will transition from its current state to a safe, environmentally sound, and sustainable future, without the nuclear generating facility. Kudos and appreciation to PG & E & the leadership of dedicated biologists line Sally Krenn who worked so diligently as good stewards of the land while under their watch.

Clearly, the land, and that stretch of coastline is a treasure now, and will be again, despite the imposition of the imminent danger that is there as long as the spent fuel rods are there. Yes, please, let’s not forget that- the proverbial “elephant in the room”. We the people that live in this area the past 40 years have become so accustomed & complacent about the warning sirens we hear annually. If you hear those sirens and live within those areas where the sirens blare- your lives, and the lives of all living creatures in that sphere, hang in the balance. The potential for devastating damage to all life forms in the vicinity of Diablo looms large, so long as there is the infrastructure of the working plant, the in-progress decommissioning and deconstruction, and the storage of spent fuel rods and cooling pools, even if the footprint of those areas is reduced down to just “ a few football fields”.
I want you to be mindful & respective of the lessons in history we have seen in our lifetime and recall or re-examine the unfortunate but very real horrors of Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and certainly Fujimori Japan. Perhaps you, the panel, should interview the various people of San Onofre, to hear how their decommissioning & disassembly has transpired. In an instant, without much warning or help, those nuclear disaster areas were changed & ruined forever.
SILENT VOICE-
I wanted to speak to you last nigh as a representative of a voice you did not hear from, nor will you hear from. Fresh from my trip to Peru, where the Ancestors of the Incas shared with me their belief & respect for “patcha Mama”.aka Mother Earth. They have 3 symbols that they use to represent Patcha mama; 1) the snake, which represents all creatures living in & below the ground,2) the Puma, the representation of all animals that live upon the ground, and 3) the Condor, the representative of all living things above ground, and in spirit form. Patcha Mama, aka Mother earth, then represents all living creatures that share the earth as its inhabitants.
. We all share this space and share its responsibility to be sensitive to our collective needs. I feel strongly we must not solely look at our human- derived wish lists and desires, but we must develop a land use designation, layout, and management that serves all living creatures- not just our human inherent desire to acquire & control more resources, but rather a plan that provides for and enriched the lives of all living creatures, from the soil organisms & insects to the birds and animals and plants that need connectivity and habitat and seclusion & protection, rather than “affordable housing”, or “networks of trails” or “flight paths” that are important to have as human outlets- but not necessarily here on the land that historically has belonged to the animals and creatures and Native Americans prior to Diablo construction.

I encourage each of you to go upto Wild Cherry Canyon, or some other secluded canyon or parcel up in the adjacent Diablo lands. Just sit, quietly, for about 10-20 minutes, maybe a half hour. Just listen. Look. Feel the life & beauty that surrounds you. It abounds. That is the voice that I want you to hear and be motivated by. That is the life force, the energy, the beauty that I want you to be mindful of. This space, in its entirety, and all the living creatures- from little ants and millipedes to soaring Red Tail hawks… want you to hear them. They want you, as panelists, to recognize that their future and survival is dependent on us humans being generous, kind, and respectful of their needs. We must make tremendous effort to hear “their voice” and give weight and significant relevance to nature and it’s needs. Their voice, though Silent, should be given attention, respect, and creedence.
For upon examination, who is it, really, who has sacrificed more than the animals and living creatures, and spirit world that live in the areas directly impacted by Diablo ?
Not PG&E- who generated incredible income and provided jobs, and much needed energy for our consumptive masses.
Not us, who was “denied access” for safety and security reasons- and to the benefit of the lands adjacent to Diablo.
It was the sacrifices and accommodations made by:
The animals and creatures who were killed by Diablo traffic or construction.
The fish and sea life who were, and continue to be affected by Diablo impacts of intake and outflow.
The plants and trees and soil organisms that were trampled or removed or destroyed by Diablo.

Please, I ask you again, as a representative of the “silent voice”- all Patcha Mama and Mother Earth’s creatures… make decisions that benefit the nature, ecology, and flora and fauna of the area- not just look at this “wonderful opportunity” to conserve & gain access for needy human beings.
I was greatly encouraged and moved by the overwhelming desire for “conservation” in its various forms. I was also encouraged to hear a movement to act soon, as soon as lands become “releasable” and ready for “preservation”, and Nick Franco, Adam Hill, and Land Trusts have already gathered resources and energy to make conservation moves before closure of the plant.

Thank you for your time and consideration.
Please do what I asked you- and go, alone, and sit and hear the voices of Patcha Mama I asked you to hear & consider. I guarantee you this… it will be a peaceful and enriching ½ hour.
Respectfully yours,

Bruce Berlin
CaliFlora Resources
Arroyo Grande

I was not able to make the public meeting about Diablo but feel it is important for the property to become open space and protected from any private development of the land. PG & E has been a valuable community partner and steward of this pristine land and I would hope it remains that way long after the plant is decommissioned. Thank you!

Please consider multiuse trails including equestrian use!

Red Cordes

11 MR. CORDES: Good evening. My name is Red
12 Cordes. I'm a Oceano native and I do sustainable, edible
13 landscaping. My overall concern is I would like to see,
14 overall, the land under conservation easement,
15 specifically Wild Cherry Canyon preserved in its entirety,
16 as well as public access trails, ecotourism type stuff,
17 what everybody else said.
18 I would also like to see the main PG&E facility
19 surrounding the plant -- I can see it conformed
20 potentially to be used for renewable energy, keeping some
21 of the transmission lines and using solar panel energy,
22 some wind energy, as well as creating a satellite campus
23 for Cal Poly and Cuesta to do biology classes, marine
24 biology studies, also clean energy, like studies to learn
25 about clean energy because this is our future. And I
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1 would also like to see some limited development for the
2 Northern Chumash tribe as well. And also some restoration
3 of some of the coastal lands, ecological restoration. I
4 would also love to see some stable forestry on some of the
5 lands as well. Thank you very much.

Delaney Wells

Comment card read at meeting.
12 MS. HOSN: Delaney Wells had asked that we read
13 that PG&E should sell each zone or section individually at
14 the time each section is ready to speed up the process and
15 make the land more accessible for other parties who wish
16 to use it.

Vita Miller

6 MS. MILLER: Hi. My name is Vita Miller, and I
7 live in Los Osos and I'm a long-term resident of this
8 county, and I am the only person that is going to say I
9 was an activist protesting the siting of the Diablo Canyon
10 Nuclear Power Plant, and my family and I marched several
11 times. And having said all that, I do want to thank PG&E
12 for having been good stewards of the land these years.
13 My main concern in the beginning was always
14 about the storage of nuclear waste, and as you can see,
15 that remains a continued concern within our county. I am
16 here to advocate for the conservation and protection of
17 these precious lands, and I think they need to be kept in
18 the hands of people who share that goal. So whoever takes
19 over the overseeing of it, I hope that they have the same
20 goal. I would like to see Native Americans involved in
21 that. I would like to see some kind of a learning center,
22 perhaps, artifacts and restoration of Native American
23 lands and, perhaps, students could be brought there to
24 learn more about the Native American history in our
25 county.
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1 I also want to advocate for the protection of
2 the Wild Cherry Canyon preservation and best land use

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August 29, 2018 Panel Meeting
Public Comments
3 should be agreed upon. I do advocate for public access,
4 but I really want to say that I agree with what
5 Mr. Knight, Randy Knight, said about habitat corridors.
6 And I think that's a really important thing that needs to
7 be considered here. In fact, all living organisms need to
8 be considered, not just human organisms. We need to think
9 of plant species and we need to think of nonhuman
10 organisms.
11 That's pretty much what I had to say. I am an
12 advocate for keeping this in perpetuity in its natural
13 state as much as possible. Thank you very much.

Based on over 3 years of 24/7/365 traffic count data on Avila Beach Drive, existing traffic exceeds the capacity of Avila Beach Drive. Due to the natural constraints of the San Luis Obispo Creek on one side and shear rock walls on the other side, Avila Beach Drive can not be widened to accomodate additional traffic through Avila Beach resulting from any housing development on the south end of the Diablo Canyon Lands. Any new significant tourest attraction including a State of National Park would require access only from Los Osos or from a new between 101 and the park.

By a 75% majority vote, the citizens of San Luis Obispo County expressed their opposition to development of the Diablo Lands. At the time representatives of PG&E agreed that PG&E would honor the vote and wishes of the Citizens of San Luis Obispo County. If PG&E is now even considering selling Wild Cherry Canyon to the Home Fed Developers, PG&E owes the citizens an explanation of when and why PG&&E decided not to honor their previous commitment. After the PG&E decision to significantly reduce our supply of Clean Carbon Free Energy, significantly reduce our tax base, the final blow to your local customers would be to ignore our vote and leave us with over development and traffic gridlock.

ECOSLO is in support of protecting and preserving at least a significant portion of the 12,000 acres as biologically and culturally significant land that benefits all of the people of San Luis Obispo county. Any development that happens on the 12,000 acres should follow the most current best practices for environmentally responsible building, use of renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Housing is clearly on the minds of many people. Given housing affordability in the county, this is a reasonable discussion and should be done in a public forum with opportunities for open input from all citizens of the county. ECOSLO understands the need to consider housing and other development options that consider the additional impacts on the people nearby including issues such as traffic and limited water resources. We also recognize that the lands provide ecosystem services such as habitat for bees that pollinate our crops and that these values must also be a central part of any discussion.

Protect all 12000 acres, including Wild Cherry Canyon, from development - preserve for habitat protection, sustainable agriculture, and public enjoyment per the vote of the people on March 3, 2000 when they approved Measure A with a 75% aye voe

One thing I did not address to the panel in regards to multi-use trails is this- much of the labor will be free. There are a number of new trails being constructed throughout the county using volunteer labor. And SLO POST is able to contribute funds toward the construction as well. Multi-use trails work very well in our county because the various user groups respect each other. Our bike riders are cognizant of how to conduct themselves around horses, for example. They ask if they need to step off the trail. They yield the right of way appropriately. They recognize that horses are prey animals and that their reaction is flight.

I'm not convinced I want to encounter a parasail, glider, or drone on a trail with my horse. Admittedly,I experienced a hang glider once. Our horses were a bit startled by it and did react. But it didn't cause a problem, particularly because we were on the beach and the horses did not feel confined. AND they were experienced trail horses who had encountered strange things on the trails, like seeing tripods bobbing through the brush. And they got that way through experience. I had one horse who was thoroughly used to motor dirt bikers trying to scare her. The first time she saw a mountain bike on a trail, she threw me. And that sucker was far, far away. I had to go home and ride a bike around her. It isn't easy to find a parasail or glider to buzz your horse so they get used to it. I'd advise keeping the flying things away from multi-use trails. I've had friends who have encountered drones being flown straight into their horses faces on the trails. Some people are plain idiots who enjoy trying to see a show.

Nick Franco

1 MR. FRANCO: Nick Franco. I'm the current
2 director of County Parks. I used to be the district
3 superintendent for California State Parks, so I am very
4 involved in those properties and I am very personally
5 invested. I am sorry I missed your workshop. I had to
6 choose between that and my daughter's wedding, so I made
7 the right choice.
8 So there is few areas of California coast that
9 have the degree of wilderness that this area has. It's a
10 critical area, and it's really an opportunity that can't
11 be missed. And I think you've heard that over and over
12 again, but I just want to state that up front.
13 So I was fortunate to be able to work with many
14 partners, many who are in this room, on the Phase 1
15 acquisition of about 2000 acres that was an addition in
16 the Irish Hills to Montana de Oro. And I say "Phase 1"
17 because this is Phase 2. And when Phase 1 was presented,
18 Phase 2 was identified with Wild Cherry Canyon being a
19 bird preserve and other lands throughout there. So it's
20 on the radar. It was out there. And these things need to
21 follow through and you need to complete the Phase 2 and
22 let the entire Irish Hills conservation agreement. We
23 can't let it fall through like it did last time.

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Public Comments
24 What I would recommend is don't get caught up in
25 a specific outcome, that it needs to go State Parks, it
0044
1 needs to go to a private developer with conservation
2 easement or whatever that is. Focus on the goals, focus
3 on what you are hearing, which is conservation and view
4 shed and open space values, some trail alignment for the
5 California Coastal trails, some way to connect the Montana
6 De Oro with Avila, some way to connect See Canyon with
7 Avila, some way to make sure that we have those trail
8 linkages, some way to conserve critical wildlife habitat
9 and the cultural resources out there. Those are really
10 the core values and there is many ways to accomplish that
11 through the many different partners that are out there.
12 And then look at those long-term opportunities, connecting
13 with the Bob Jones pathway, additional parking so that we
14 can do the Avila to Harbor Pier Trail and bikeway.
15 There's opportunities for private investment and
16 concessions and other opportunities out there.
17 In terms of financing, there is a lot of
18 partners. You've heard from lots of them. There is State
19 Parks. There is us, County Parks. There is Port San
20 Luis, the Land Conservancy, the private landowners,
21 Cal Poly, lots of nonprofits. And when I was with State
22 Parks, I did put together a budget for operating this. I
23 did put a budget for developing it. We would have to
24 escalate that for the time since 2008, but it's out there.
25 Those documents exist. At the time, there was a 2000 park
0045
1 bond and there was 13 million allocated from that park
2 bond. I think that's been reallocated, but there's Prop
3 68 that's out there now, so there is funding available. I
4 think it can be financed and you need to do that.
5 MR. ANDERS: I just want to remind the panel and
6 the public that the panel will not answer or address any
7 questions during the presentations; however, there will be
8 an opportunity after the presentations for the panel to
9 discuss and make observations about what they heard.

Randy Knight

24 MR. KNIGHT: Good evening panel members. My
25 name is Randy Knight. I'm a retired physics professor
0047
1 from Cal Poly, and for many years I was the director of
2 The Minor in Environmental Studies program at Cal Poly.
3 I'll be the first to say that decades ago when
4 the decision was made to site the Diablo Canyon reactors
5 where they are near Point Buchon rather than the Guadalupe
6 Dunes, probably land and habitat conservation was not
7 foremost in people's minds. But today, PG&E finds itself
8 the owner of some of the most intact and wonderful habitat
9 in the state of California. Not only is the ecology
10 intact, but the PG&E lands are essential to the
11 connectivity of habitat along the Central Coast. These
12 lands are immediately adjacent to State Park lands. They
13 are immediately adjacent to lands that are protected by
14 the Land Conservancy. Altogether, these add up to about
15 25,000 acres of lands in the Irish Hills.
16 The connections aren't perfect because of the
17 highways, but we do know that large animals migrate from
18 the Irish Hills up to the Los Padres National Forest in
19 the north, and down south as far as the Dunes.
20 Maintaining this large scale connectivity for migration is

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Public Comments
21 imperative for the survival of species, especially in the
22 face of climate change, which species can be seen to
23 migrate to areas where they haven't traditionally been
24 found. I'm sure I don't need to remind you that it's far
25 cheaper and easier to make sure species don't become
0048
1 endangered rather than to have to deal with the
2 consequences of a listing of an endangered species. We
3 know from decades of biological research that preserving
4 large and connected habitats is the most important and key
5 thing we can do to keep species healthy.
6 So yes, the Diablo Canyon lands certainly have
7 value potential to real estate. You can put a dollar
8 figure on that. It is not as easy to put a dollar figure
9 on the value of habitat. But I feel I can assert that in
10 the big picture, the value of open space and habitat and
11 connectivity far surpasses the value of possible real
12 estate development. And yes, there are financial
13 implications to how to make this happen. I don't have an
14 answer to that, but where there is a will, there is a way.
15 So I urge you to do the right thing and
16 recommend these lands, all of them, receive permanent
17 protection as open space. Yes, open space with some
18 public access, but primarily open space to protect this
19 valuable and irreplaceable habitat. Thank you.

Patrick McBibney

24 MR. McGIBNEY: Thank you, Panel. My name is
25 Patrick McGigney. I'm the CEO of Biodiversity First, a
0054
1 local 501C3 nonprofit organization. We work to preserve
2 and protect the wildlands and species upon which we depend
3 for our own physical and spiritual survival. Biodiversity
4 First recommends that all 1200 acres of lands around
5 Diablo Canyon be held in a public trust and into
6 perpetuity. Because we value the rich diversity of
7 wildlife and vegetation on this site, we recommend that
8 human access be limited to prescribed hiking trails,
9 parking at the entrance, no public roads, one coast trail
10 and one ridge trail that can connect to Montana de Oro
11 State Park, much like the Buchon Trail does. We recommend
12 that the Coast Trail have handicapped access.
13 We also recommend that the important wildlife
14 corridor that runs from Diablo Canyon lands to Montana de
15 Oro into Los Padres National Forest, remain undisturbed.
16 Mountain lions, bear, gray fox, bobcats, Black Hills deer,
17 wild turkey, possums, coyote, cottontail rabbits, and many
18 other species, thrive in this diverse ecosystem, and their
19 survival depends on our protection.
20 The Diablo Canyon lands are sacred to the

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Public Comments
21 Chumash Nation, and Biodiversity First recommends that
22 every identified indigenous site be restricted from public
23 access. This beautiful land is one of the last
24 undeveloped swaths of coastland in California. And
25 residents of the Central Coast and all of California have
0055
1 had to live with the danger of the nuclear power plant
2 built on earthquake faults for the past 30 years.
3 Biodiversity First recommends that PG&E donate all of the
4 land into a public trust, possible State Parks, for
5 perpetual conservation. Thank you.

Kathy Redden

10 MS. REDDEN: Kathy Redden, and I am a member of
11 the Atascadero Horsemen and The Trail Alliance of San Luis
12 Obispo County. I also was able to speak at the workshops,
13 and I appreciate that opportunity. Thank you to everyone
14 for your service.
15 So our vision is definitely public access with
16 multiuse trails for those of us who walk and ride on the
17 dirt. We believe trails can be designed to protect
18 cultural resources and flora and fauna. State Parks
19 already has a magnet system in place at Montana de Oro,
20 and covenation of those lands would make this an amazing
21 jewel in the crown for State Parks. Funding sources, as
22 discussed, are very much available in land conservancy.
23 They pulled off a great thing with the Pismo Reserve, and
24 I think that's a great example. Thank you.

John Ashbaugh

20 MR. ASHBAUGH: Hello, Panel. My name is John
21 Ashbaugh. I got acquainted with most of you. I didn't
22 get a chance to meet the panelists Dena Bellman or Trevor
23 Keith 10 days ago at Pismo Beach City Council chambers,
24 but I did want to take just a minute here to reacquaint
25 you with the proposal I am advancing that would be one
0049
1 source, among many, of funding that can be made available
2 in order to acquire these very special lands, and that
3 would be creating a national seashore.
4 Why a national seashore? To embrace the lands
5 beyond Diablo, but potentially also the State Park, the
6 Harbor District's lease on the lighthouse. To me, what we
7 need to think about -- in this community as a whole, we
8 often get very insular. We forget some of our own
9 history, and that history includes this plant, enlarging
10 its significance to a national scale. The history of this
11 power plant, in fact, involves controversy, a great deal
12 of it, so much, in fact, that the vast number of arrests
13 that were made back in 1980, '81, protesting the licensing
14 of the plant was, in fact, more so than any other protests
15 since the Vietnam War or the Civil Rights Movement. That
16 alone should be anthem in the eyes of the public. There

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Public Comments
17 is a national investment. People were coming from all
18 over the country concerned about the impact of that plant.
19 Today and through 2024, '25, we will be able to
20 look back at that point on, I am confident, the record of
21 successful operation of this nuclear power plant. We will
22 have to deal with the long-term, very long-term storage of
23 nuclear waste on that site, but with that exception,
24 everything else is open for the kind of collaborative
25 conversation that we are having now. And I look forward
0050
1 to having many of those conversations with you and with
2 many of the people in this room in advance of the proposal
3 for a Pacho Coast national seashore. I would look forward
4 to making a presentation as I did for you folks, many of
5 the groups that are represented here tonight, including
6 people from Los Osos, Avila Beach, all the affected
7 communities. And actually, I am considering -- I would
8 like to have some help in compiling a book that would
9 represent what the significant values are of these very,
10 very special lands and structures. Thank you very much.

Mila Vujovich-LaBarre

9 MS. VUJOVICH-LABARRE: Good evening. My name is
10 Mila Vujovich-Labarre. I am speaking tonight as a private
11 resident. I'm a 35-year teacher in San Luis Coastal
12 Unified School District. So first and foremost, I would
13 like to thank PG&E for all the funds that they have given
14 our school district the last several years, in addition to
15 all the charitable grants that you've given to the
16 community.
17 As for tonight, although my comments are going
18 to be majority on preservation of this wonderful land,
19 there are two commercial developments or residential
20 developments that are near and dear to my heart. First of
21 all, I think that there should be some acreage on all of
22 these acres for a tiny home complex. And I would like
23 somewhere between 250 and 500 tiny homes to be allotted
24 somewhere here. And I would like the housing to be given
25 to veterans who have served our country. The housing
0058
1 crisis is incredible. It's throughout California, but I
2 think if we could set aside some precious acreage for tiny
3 homes for our veterans, it would be a wonderful gesture.
4 In addition to that, as a teacher who has been a
5 long advocate in substance abuse prevention and

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Public Comments
6 intervention programs and helping teens, there is an
7 immense hole in our county for serving teens with mental
8 health, eating disorders and drug abuse, and the time is
9 now to address those. I'd like to see somewhere on the
10 property be three different facilities to house
11 approximately 30 beds. Insurance normally pays about
12 $10,000 per bed, and we would be able to serve teens
13 throughout our county. Most of those teens right now have
14 to go out of our county, and it would be innovative and
15 really important to meet that need.
16 Lastly, I ran for city council two years ago.
17 I'm proud to say I was the only city council to be
18 endorsed by the Sierra Club. I am an outdoor advocate, a
19 tree hugger, and I see this land, and I am so happy to
20 hear the comments of all the other people who have spoken
21 here tonight. This land should be preserved as much as
22 possible. It is an area for triathletes, for families,
23 for seniors, for young people, for Cal Poly students, for
24 our Native Americans to treasure for years to come.
25 It sounds like we have the financial ability to
0059
1 make that happen, so I am hoping that the commission and
2 the community will vote to do the right thing and preserve
3 a majority of this land an open space and not only for
4 conservation, but for public use. And as far as funding,
5 you could definitely charge a pass. I think most people
6 that go out there would gladly fund a $20 to $30 annual
7 pass to have access to that land. Thank you very much.

Denise Allen

6 MS. ALLEN: Hi. My name is Denise Allen. I'm
7 on the Avila Advisory Council with Adam Hill and a See
8 Canyon representative. Around 17 years ago, I had the
9 privilege of riding my horse in Wild Cherry Canyon. It's
10 is a beautiful, beautiful place. As time went on, I had
11 friends that were living in a little trailer there. They
12 were Bellevue family with me. As time went on, I started
13 noticing all these trees were disappearing. There were
14 trees along the road where you would have to widen it for
15 development. My friends that were living there, it was
16 being done secretively on weekends and nights, and the
17 trees were completely disappearing.
18 When I asked what was going on -- actually, my
19 friends came to me. They were really upset. They were
20 renting there. And Centex Homes was going to do a bunch
21 of development, and they were removing the trees because
22 it was just agriculture. I came to the County and said,
23 "How can somebody be removing these huge, huge
24 200-year-old trees all over the place?" And they said,
25 "Well, it's agriculture. There is no development. There
0062
1 is nothing." And I go, "Well, you can look at it." They
2 go, "How can you prove it?" I go, "Well, there is aerial
3 sites. I mean, Diablo has tons of aerial photos of all

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Public Comments
4 the years. Every year they do aerial photos." But
5 because there was no development, the recession hit,
6 Centex went away and HomeFed came around. And, again,
7 roads started widening, things started happening. I was
8 able to go to the Monday Club, see what HomeFed was going
9 to do, and it's pretty grandiose on a scale of
10 development.
11 So you need to know that the developers have put
12 a lot of time and money and energy into Wild Cherry Canyon
13 preparing it for development. And they have been very
14 actively involved. You may not see -- there might be some
15 representatives here. I have talked with their traffic
16 person. I have talked with their vice president,
17 different people, and they have big plans. They are
18 developers.
19 I recently took the walk from the lighthouse to
20 the Rattle Snake Canyon, and it was amazing. It was like
21 Pismo Beach 200 years ago. I really hope we can preserve
22 this. I hope that we can find a way to keep this land.
23 And I just want you to know that the developers do have a
24 lot of money and they do have a lot of energy and a lot of
25 invested interest, and so people need to know that because
0063
1 at least everyone I hear is talking conservation, but
2 there is that dynamic that is real, and there is money,
3 like some of you had said. So I hope we can figure it out
4 because I know the community overwhelmingly wants
5 conservation. Thank you.

Charlotte Gorton

6 MS. GORTON: Good evening. My name is Charlotte
7 Gorton, and I live in San Luis Obispo. My career was in
8 parks and recreation, and I served on the Cal Poly
9 Advisory Committee on Recreation, Parks and Tourism for
10 more than the last 10 years.
11 I feel this is a golden opportunity to preserve
12 the pristine lands of Wild Cherry Canyon and PG&E property
13 surrounding the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant for
14 generations to come. The positive benefits to our
15 community will be a long-lasting legacy we can be proud
16 of. It would be wonderful if the majority of the land can
17 become park land with some conservation, as we've been
18 speaking about tonight, with public access to trails,
19 campgrounds and other recreational amenities. The
20 buildings and facilities of the power plant could be
21 donated to Cal Poly University to be used as a learning
22 center with labs and classrooms, including a marine
23 center. That would be after they have become safe,
24 obviously.
25 I would love to also see the desalination
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1 facility retained to provide additional community water
2 resources. This beautiful coastline would greatly enhance

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Public Comments
3 our existing park inventory, particularly joining Montana
4 De Oro and the Irish Hills, those large open space areas.
5 If developers are allowed to take it over just to build
6 expensive homes and lay down lots of concrete, this golden
7 opportunity will be lost forever. Thank you.

Sam Blakeslee

9 MR. BLAKESLEE: Greetings. My name is Sam
10 Blakeslee. I appreciate all the time and effort you have
11 invested in allowing the public to engage you because you
12 are the public engagement panel. And you have heard
13 testimony, I think, from a broad swath of representatives
14 from this community covering virtually every interest you
15 could possibly imagine, and they have said things more
16 eloquently and more forcefully than I ever could. So
17 rather than try to restate some of the arguments you have
18 already heard, what I wanted to do was maybe bring a
19 slightly different perspective.
20 And it was that we have these very rare moments
21 in each of our lives where we can do something that will
22 echo through history. It doesn't happen very often. Some
23 of us never get that opportunity, if you get two or three
24 opportunities. This is without a doubt one of those
25 opportunities where the right decision made here will have
0068
1 consequences and impacts that will not last five years,
2 ten years, thirty years, but generations in perpetuity.
3 I have been a participant in many hearings and
4 committee involvement that tries to determine what will
5 happen. The doors are thrown open, the public steps up
6 and they speak for hours and hours and hours, three

Diablo Canyon Decommissioning Public Engagement Panel
August 29, 2018 Panel Meeting
Public Comments
7 minutes at a time. And what happens to all that
8 testimony, nine times out of ten, it is dropped into a
9 report, it disappears, and there is no action taken on it.
10 I bring that up because we are speaking to you
11 as our representatives because only you can speak on our
12 behalf. Now, can you adjudicate the final solution of
13 this? No, you can't. Your recommendations will go to
14 Pacific Gas and Electric. They have obligations and
15 duties to their shareholders and to the rate payers of
16 California. They will make arguments that will go to an
17 administrative law judge as to what they believe should
18 happen with regard to these known assets. An
19 administrative law judge will hear testimony from forces
20 all across the state of California who will argue for
21 every possible outcome, other than the ones that you've
22 heard here today. And ultimately, the Public Utilities
23 Commission will make a decision, and all the voices that
24 were heard here will disappear. And ultimately, that
25 Public Utilities Commission will make their decision. And
0069
1 just as they ignored the committee impact mitigation
2 program that we all fought for, they could do that again.
3 So I bring this up because you have one moment
4 to paint with bright colors -- red, blues, purples,
5 greens, not shades of gray. If you nuance your
6 recommendation with 15 shades of gray of what could have,
7 would have, should have, you will lose that opportunity to
8 have this lifelong impact. And that is your moment to
9 have that impact by speaking for us because we cannot.
10 So I would just ask that as we reach the
11 conclusion of public comment and this discussion comes
12 back to this panel, to think about what can you say and do
13 that will have a lasting impact on this process, which by
14 definition will attenuate every comment you make
15 progressively until even the loudest shout will be a mere
16 whisper in front of the PUC.
17 So I just importune you and beg you to use this
18 moment to speak clearly for the public that you have
19 heard. I'll recite the three recommendations we made 10
20 days ago at your hearing which you graciously invited us
21 to participate in. And those three recommendations are:
22 One, urge PG&E to not convey fee title to Wild Cherry
23 Canyon to any entity that has a purpose other than a
24 conservation outcome; two, advocate for the conservation
25 of the entirety of the Diablo Canyon lands and oppose

Diablo Canyon Decommissioning Public Engagement Panel
August 29, 2018 Panel Meeting
Public Comments
0070
1 development efforts that are not consistent with the
2 conservation outcome allowing only those activities that
3 are necessary for consistent decommissioning of the
4 facility; and three, because we do need to raise some tens
5 of million of dollars, advocate for the establishment of a
6 blue ribbon panel of conservationists and community
7 stakeholders to immediately begin that process so we can
8 bring a proposal forward that has a chance of succeeding,
9 just as we brought proposals forward in the past, with
10 real money attached to it.
11 I ask that on behalf of the community. And I
12 thank you so much for your public service.

Sylvia Alcon

11 MS. ALCON: Good evening. My name is Sylvia
12 Alcon. I'm a long-time resident of Avila Beach. I sure
13 appreciate you coming and listening to all of us.
14 Sometimes it feels as though we are not heard, but I feel
15 as though you are hearing us.
16 Last month I visited friends in Marin County.
17 Their family home is in Inverness, located on Tomales Bay.
18 It's amazing to look across that bay or to drive to Drakes
19 Bay, the lighthouse, places I went to as a child, and to
20 find that they look today very much as they did those many
21 years ago. This is thanks to the passage of Point Reyes
22 National Seashore Act that in 1962 protected some
23 71,000 acres from development. Certainly involved working
24 with the large dairy ranchers and many people whose
25 economic interest would be affected.
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1 And back in 1959, a Pacific Coast Recreational
2 Survey of the Diablo Canyon area, before the nuclear power
3 plant was built there, found data and I take a quote from
4 that survey, recently referenced in the New Times article
5 by Andrew Christie, quote, "This large unspoiled area
6 possesses excellent seashore values and should be acquired
7 for public recreation and conservation of its natural

Diablo Canyon Decommissioning Public Engagement Panel
August 29, 2018 Panel Meeting
Public Comments
8 resources." It's not too late for us. We can create a
9 national seashore here which would be maintained by the
10 National Park Service and be a place for generations to
11 use and to enjoy. Thank you.

Kimberly Perez

20 MS. PEREZ: Hi. Thank you, everyone. It's
21 late. I know you guys are ready to go, probably. Just a
22 few more of us to speak. My name is Kimberly Perez and
23 I'm associated with Pacific Wildlife Care, and I am the
24 president. I just want to thank all of you for your time,
25 and again, PG&E for bringing the community into these
0075
1 negotiations to review and recommend for future use of
2 those lands and facilities.
3 So we attended the first day of the
4 presentation, and it was exciting to hear the unified
5 response to conservation of those lands. We are advocates
6 for wildlife, Pacific Wildlife Care is. And so the
7 critical envirohabitat is very important for their
8 survival. We see firsthand the effects of wildlife that's
9 affected through development day to day, just every day in
10 our facility. So keeping these lands wild to the extent
11 possible with some public access is a really good plan.
12 We are very interested in the facilities, and so
13 we hope to give a presentation in September, but I want to
14 thank everyone again. I'm not going to take much more
15 time. Thanks.

Please consider a multi-use trail connecting Montana de Oro to Avila and Perfumo/See Canyon to the coast.

Please make all lands available for public access, hiking, biking and especially horse back riding. Especially Wild Cherry Canyon. Our trails are being gobbled up by development and this is an opportunity to give back in a big way to the community. Thank you so much.