| August 24, 2022 | Proposed Extension of DCPP Operations | I am strongly opposed to the continuation of operations at Diablo Canyon beyond the currently agreed closure. This is a high risk operation situated on fault lines, at risk of earthquake and tsunami surrounded by a growing population of 500,000 people not to mention wildlife and birds of land and ocean. An accident here would be devastating to the local economy as well as the welfare of San Luis Obispo county inhabitants.
It would be much more efficacious to take the money that the Governor is offering to expand battery storage and to encourage wind and solar power in alignment with the recent federal IRA act.
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| August 24, 2022 | Proposed Extension of DCPP Operations | Dear Decommissioning Engagement Panel,
I am writing to voice strong opposition to any extension of Diablo operations beyond the scheduled decommissioning date of 2025. Please do not let a lot of pro-nuke chatter distract you from your work to facilitate the smooth, agreed-upon conclusion, on schedule, to Diablo operations.
Advocates for the extension seem to forget that Diablo is not “advanced nuclear.” Those of us who live downwind of it know that it is old technology, with a history of significant problems. It is limping toward the finish line and we just hope it gets there in one piece. Its risk profile, as an outdated, poorly maintained relic, there amidst the faultlines, is, to put it mildly, sub-optimal.
The future that all of California is racing toward needs every available state and federal dollar to be directed to renewables, storage and better transmission operation. The baseline electricity of the future will be provided by energy storage, not by outmoded nuclear.
Decommissioning needs to happen on schedule, with no carve-outs, or wavering on dates or terms. Please continue to do your valuable work to keep decommissioning happening on schedule, as agreed upon.
Thank you for reading my comments and best wishes to you in your continuing work on this critically important matter.
Sincerely,
Lauren Hanson
Santa Barbara County resident
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| August 24, 2022 | Proposed Extension of DCPP Operations | Stanford Physicist Amery Lovins presents compelling data arguing that the extension of Diablo Canyon beyond 2025 is counterproductive from both an environmental and ratepayer perspective......
| | | ALOVINS-CEC-doc21.pdf | |
| August 23, 2022 | Proposed Extension of DCPP Operations | Please find attached a letter from the mayors of nine Central Coast cities, on the proposed extension of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant.
| DCDEP | | August-2022-Letter-to-Governor-by-Cities-of-SLO-County-re-DCPP.pdf | |
| August 23, 2022 | Proposed Extension of DCPP Operations | Please find attached the opening statement by State Senator John Laird (SD 17, including all of San Luis Obispo County) at the Governor/CEC/CAISO workshop on August 12, 2022, regarding the proposed extension of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant.
| | | STATE-SENATOR-LAIRD-STATEMENT-ON-POTENTIAL-EXPANSION-OF-DIABLO-CANYON-POWER-PLANT-August-12-2022.pdf | |
| August 23, 2022 | Panel Website | I don't see the agenda for tomorrow's meeting. When I click on the link, it's not there.
| | | | |
| August 23, 2022 | Other | re: Continued operation of Diablo Canyon
see attached report: Pathway to a Clean and Reliable Grid for California -- without Diablo Canyon: Analysis and Recommendations
| | | Pathway-to-a-Clean-and-Reliable-Grid-without-Diablo-Canyon.pdf | |
| August 23, 2022 | Proposed Extension of DCPP Operations | Attached is the draft legislative language by (1) Governor Newsom on 8/11/22 regarding the potential extension of operations of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant and (2) the CA State Assembly response on 8/19/22.
| DCDEP | | DRAFT-DCPP-Extension-Legislation-8-11-22-XXX.pdf | Clean-Diverse-Safe-and-Reliable-Energy-Proposal-assembly-aug-19-2022-XXX.pdf |
| August 18, 2022 | Other | Hello,
Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant must be shut down as scheduled by 2025. There are myriad unresolved and disconcerting issues: seismic vulnerability, violation of the closure agreement, unlawful cooling system, storage of even more high-level radioactive waste, and the prohibitive cost of this attempt to resurrect the Plant. In addition, in a worst case scenario, there would be no escape of injuries and likely death of Plant employees and residents in much of San Luis Obispo County.
We are near-lifetime residents of San Luis Obispo who urge the scheduled closure of the Diablo Canyon Plant as scheduled by 2025.
Sincerely,
Warren and Carol Sinsheimer
San Luis Obispo
| | | | |
| August 15, 2022 | Decommissioning Funding | I do not support nuclear power as part of the solution to solving the climate change crisis. I urge you to not extend the shutdown timeline for Diablo Canyon any further than it is currently set. Providing more energy to support unconstrained economic growth is neither inevitable nor desirable, and nuclear is not the answer.
Nuclear technology is a risk for people and the earth, and I am strongly opposed—for moral, spiritual, and practical reasons—to current efforts to keep Diablo Canyon open. And I strongly oppose any subsidies for funding nuclear power plants. Rather, I encourage you to deny the extension and put the money that would be used to continue the plant operations for an additional 5-10 years toward real solutions for green, renewable energy that do not involve generating additional nuclear waste.
California must accept the responsibility of working to create socially responsible and environmentally sound solutions to global climate change. We can do this by funding research to increase energy efficiency, incentivize energy conservation, and add additional to our currently supply of renewable energy sources. California must lead the world by using less energy, and working to make a drastic reduction in energy use a goal for society at large.
Do no extend the operation of Diablo Canyon. Please continue with the decommissioning as agreed in 2016 and get California out of the nuclear business.
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| August 15, 2022 | Other | Attached letter contains questions regarding potential license extension versus decommissioning of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant.
| League of Women Voters of SLOCO | | Letter-on-Diablo-Decommisiong-8-15-22.pdf | |
| August 14, 2022 | Other | Dear Diablo Canyon Decommission Engagement Panel,
I live in San Luis Obispo. Diablo opened when I was a small child. It is always in the back of my mind that it is there and is a threat to our community that we don't have a way to stop if the worst were to happen. Nuclear is a Pandora's box that we have been working towards putting back in the box during my lifetime. This is the last nuclear plant in California. Why should we on the Central Coast be asked to shoulder this burden longer than the 2025 shut down agreed to through great process? I don't see it as a tradeoff between meeting our climate goals and closing Diablo Canyon. We could as a state make the choice to live more simply and efficiently and use less power. Please do not support extending the life of Diablo Canyon.
Sincerely, Amy Sinsheimer
| | | | |
| July 27, 2022 | Other | Letter submitted to PG&E by legal counsel on behalf of the San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace.
Dear Ms. Poppe and Mr. Simon,
Attached please find a letter on behalf of San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace, urging you to abide by the terms of your well-considered 2016 decision to retire the Diablo Canyon nuclear reactors and alerting you to some of the legal consequences of abandoning that decision.
Sincerely,
Diane Curran
Counsel to San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace
| San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace | | 2022.07.26-San-Luis-Obispo-Mothers-for-Peace-letter-to-PGE.pdf | |
| June 19, 2022 | Other | As a citizen of California and the world I fully support keeping Diablo Canyon open—
not just in the interim but permanently.
it is irresponsible to decommission this facility at this time when
clean reliable power
and I emphasize
clean reliable power
is required not only for California but for all of us.
The benefit of keeping Diablo Canyon open far outweigh any financial considerations.
Please approach this with objectivity.
sincerely
charly ray
| None | | | |
| May 25, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | Public comment presented during the May 25, 2022 Engagement Panel Meeting:
· · ·MR. GREENING:· Okay.· Relative to the revelation I think I just heard, that if the criteria were changed, PG&E might consider applying for the funds that would enable continued operation.
· · ·If that is what I heard, then my question is:· Would PG&E continue working with the County on its application for decommissioning based on the assumption that it would ultimately decommission whether or not it received the funds, and whether or not it extended its license?
· · ·With obviously some major changes having to be worked into the process and into the environmental review, we don't know whether that would mean a cooling tower, we don't -- we would imagine it would have to mean a larger pad for the -- there's all sorts of things that haven't been thought out with an extended time scale.
· · ·But would it continue with the processing of its application for decommissioning, or would that simply be abandoned if it received the funds and left sort of a stranded cost?
· · ·And I might just bridge to a follow-up on one of the questions that's already in the record that's not specific to the system, so I guess this is the time to ask it now, and that has to do be the timing, that if the County's permitting process and environmental certification process is completed prior to the NRC process, it's asked, essentially, how the safety issues, the NRC is considering would be handled, I have the additional question of how would the County be able to make the required health and safety findings for this project without knowing the NRC's ultimate disposition of the questions?
· · ·So those are some connected process questions.· Actual substance questions with the system, I guess we will wait until later, but those are some process questions that definitely came up.
· · ·And I certainly would urge caution about changing direction from a decommissioning process into which a lot of detail has gone into any other kind of a process.
· · ·And I can tell you right now, if the -- any kind of license extension would mobilize another attempt to do seismic blasting in the ocean, there's going to be a tremendous upsurge of public alarm and everything we can do to make sure that never happens.· Thank you.
| | | | |
| May 25, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | Public comment presented during the May 25, 2022 Engagement Panel Meeting:
MS. ORTIZ-GREGG:· Good evening.· Hello.· This is Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Gregg.· I just wanted to hear professor -- or Dr. Cochran once again state the response to Mr. Severance's questions in regards to additional study in regards to the safety aspects or the external aspects of the UCLA study.· I think it was, "What's your question, Bruce?" And then the response was that should local governments be interested in further information, that they could pursue proceed with questions.· So I wanted illumination on that a little bit more, Dr. Cochran.· Thank you.
| | | | |
| May 25, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | Public comment presented during the May 25, 2022 Engagement Panel Meeting:
·MS. ZAMAK:· Hi, this is Jill Zamack.· I live in Arroyo Grande.· I have two questions.· One is about the potential for concrete degradation on the pad.· I understand that the rings will be removed on the existing pad and the steel posts, which go to the depths of 7 feet, will remain.· The concrete will be sealed in, grouted was the term used, and leveled.
· · ·Is there concern about concrete degradation as a result? · · ·And two, in April, I (zoom interruption) and tonight, I heard through Mr. Lanthrup that no modifications are needed. Which is it?· Thank you.
| | | | |
| May 25, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | Public comment presented during the May 25, 2022 Engagement Panel Meeting:
· · ·MS. BROWN:· Yes.· I am Marty Brown and I live in Atascadero.· And some of my questions and concerns have been answered tonight.· Orano's safety record is impressive.· The horizontal positioning of the new seems safer, and local suppliers and labor would be used.
· · ·And my question about how many years are the new designed to be safe -- safe or repository, and the answer was 100-plus years.· One of my concerns would be CIS, the necessities, supposedly, of transferring the high-level nuclear waste to another area.· And it seems that that would negate the need to transfer waste to a CIS site, because a permanent depository will probably be found and designated by that time.
· · ·One thing that I was questioning is radiation monitoring. How would that be done?
· · ·And that was my questions.· Thank you.
| | | | |
| May 25, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | Public comment presented during the May 25, 2022 Engagement Panel Meeting:
· ·I'm Eric Greening.· And first, I -- I share both Marty Brown's observations and her question of, relative to the timing of removing the elements from the pool, I think the reason to do it sooner, rather than later, to the extent it
can be done safely, is because the potential for catastrophic emptying of the water from the pool.· And what would result from that is much more massive in terms of potential harm and spread of harm and distance than something happening once it is in the solid canisters and in the storage that's been explained by Orano.
· · ·My big question now -- thank you for the answer.· I think it was Tom Jones that answered the question relative to the county process in the event that they went for a license extension.
· · ·My other question relative to process is, if they went for a license extension, which I am not recommending -- it open all sorts of cans of worms -- what would happen to the NRC process relative to the canister?
· · ·It's obvious that the current plan is to allow the fuel elements to continue to be loaded and function until the end of the license and then begin to unload them.· And any license extension would mean some huge changes in all of that.
· · ·Would the present NRC process be halted and restarted? Would it somehow be modified in the process of continuing? What would happen to the NRC process relative to the high-level waste handling in the event that PG&E tried to secure a license extension?
· · ·Thank you very much.· And it's been a very informative evening.
| | | | |
| May 25, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | Public comment presented during the May 25, 2022 Engagement Panel Meeting:
· · ·MR. HOFFMAN:· Thank you.· I realize it's late, so I will try to be quick.
· · ·(Inaudible) started with horizontal casks and then went to vertical.· You started with vertical casks and they're going to horizontal.· Somebody's got to be wrong.· I -- I don't understand why there's the difference and why you're disagreeing with Sam and Oakley's consideration after they've spent years trying to decide what to do.
· · ·Also, regarding the safety of waiting to fill the canisters.· And there's -- a lot of people have been pointing out how much more radioactive the fuel is at the beginning. That's a pretty strong argument for keeping the -- for shutting the plant down, and then four years from after it's shut down, it -- everything is a lot safer than it was when it was operating.· So I think a lot of that discussion lends itself to the idea that, let's go ahead and shut the plant down.· Much more massive radiation problems, that phrase was just used, and I think that applies especially when operating reactor. · · ·And lastly, my last point is, I don't think that the -- the casks you're designing are protected against a large airplane strike.· I don't think that's possible to do.· And so I'd like you to address that issue with airplane strikes, typically of very large airplanes.
· · ·And thank you very much.· This has actually been very wonderful to listen to.
· · ·Actually, I am calling from Carlsbad.· I live near Salmon Oaks.· Thank you.
| | | | |
| May 25, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | Public comment presented during the May 25, 2022 Engagement Panel Meeting:
· · ·MR. MARRE:· Great.· I want to build on what Marty Brown alluded to in terms of monitoring of radioactive waste (inaudible) good old-fashion Geiger counter.· You have some vents, some intake events which are just, you know, fine.· But then you have some outflow events.
· · ·What is your radioactivity of the air coming out of there in those outflow events?· That's the question.
| | | | |
| May 25, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | Written comment submitted during the May 25, 2022 Engagement Panel Meeting:
Questions for Dr. Budnitz:
Regarding existing 58 Holtec casks at ISFSI:
Would containment, whether at the ISFSI or elsewhere on-site, protect canisters and concrete casks from sea air corrowion and degredation? Should an independant study evaluate this?
Regarding Orano system:
Should expedited transfer from pools to casks be evaluated for risk by and independent study?
| | | | |
| May 24, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | Re: "Spent Fuel" Nuclear Waste Storage:
I refer to my presentation to the Panel on February 23rd, 2019, also sent to you by e-mail attachment on February 20, 2019 at 8:06 pm.
In addition, I offer these comments:
I.) According to ORANO, the NUHOMS Cask Storage System allows for much shorter cooling times of the spent fuel assemblies (SFAs) in the pools before transfer to the ISFSI at decommissioning. On its website, ORANO praises the financial savings for utilities as a main consideration. But what about the safety of the community? Can we really rely on assurances by the cask manufacturer? So far, PG&E has always stressed that the minimum cooling time for SFAs newly removed from the reactors must be 7 years for high burn-up fuel!
Moreover, how can radiation leaks from the casks on the ISFSI be dealt with if the pools are no longer available?
II.) Re: Prolonged plant life after 2025:
I strongly agree with Jane Swanson's viewpoint on this issue: "Mothers for Peace: Stay the course on Diablo Canyon closure" in THE TRIBUNE, page 10 B on May 15th, 2022.
III.) In conclusion, Diablo should close as presently planned (2025) but the pools should stay open for an appropriate period of time, to allow for longer cooling of the SFAs under water (at least 7 Years) and easier handling of potential radiation leaks at the ISFSI.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely
Klaus Schumann
Member of the SLO County Nuclear Waste Management Committee, 1996 to 2002.
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| May 20, 2022 | Other | why are we shutting down a plant that produces a huge amount of the states power before we anyting to replace it?
| | | | |
| May 3, 2022 | Other | Facilitator, Diablo Canyon Decommissioning Engagement Panel
May 3, 2022
Please include this email and attachments as a comment for the May 4, 2022 NRC Public Meeting set for San Luis Obispo, California.
Since early 2017, nonprofit intervenor Californians for Green Nuclear Power, Inc. (CGNP) has been sharply critical regarding the State of California plan to close California's largest generator by far and replace it mostly with Wyoming coal-fired generation.
This State of California plan is not in the public interest. Instead it serves narrow private interests. CGNP's criticisms have included numerous filings before regulatory and oversight bodies at the local, state, and federal level.
Per the three attachments, decision makers finally appear to be paying attention to CGNP.
CGNP sincerely looks forward to an upcoming announcement regarding the dissolution of the Diablo Canyon Decommissioning Panel as the plant continues to supply safe, reliable, cost-effective and vital emission-free power (and desalinated water) to California.
Sincerely,
Gene Nelson, Ph.D. CGNP Legal Assistant
Californians for Green Nuclear Power, Inc. (CGNP)
1375 East Grand Ave Ste 103 #523
Arroyo Grande, CA 93420-2421
(805) 363 - 4697 cell
Government@CGNP.org email
https://CGNP.org website
| Californians for Green Nuclear Power, Inc. | TINYURL.COM | Experts-Weigh-in-on-Seismic-Safety-at-Diablo-Canyon-in-Letter-to-Newsom-05-02-22.pdf | With-Emissions-Soaring-Democratic-Governors-Sour-On-Plans-To-Shut-Down-Nuclear-Power.pdf |
| April 22, 2022 | Safety | Attached, please find Holtec International’s letter retracting the letter of April 6.
| | | 301676cn-Withdrawal-of-Holtec-International-Response-to-PGE-Letter.pdf | |
| April 21, 2022 | Other | Hi! I'm a reporter with KCBX Public Radio in SLO, I'm doing a story on last night's panel and I'm wondering if I'm able to pull audio from the meeting recording on the website? I think I would mainly use commissioner's or PG&E representative's comments, but possibly public commenters if they are associated with an advocacy group.
Please let me know if I'm able to treat this as public record/have permission to use audio.
Thanks,
Ben Purper
| KCBX | kcbx.org | | |
| April 20, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | 1. We need a better explanation of the comparative risks of keeping the spent fuel in the pools compared with getting it out earlier into dry storage. My understanding is that dry cask storage is much safer than pool storage, even for fuels of equal heat content? There are other advantages to expedited spent fuel transfer such as cost savings, faster decommissioning, earlier repurposing, etc, but safety is the highest priority. Overall, I am glad to hear technology has improved and fuel can be removed from the pools sooner.
2. A better understanding of the upgraded seismic adjustments would be helpful. Why aren't the canisters anchored to the pad and only to one another? What is the risk of a landslide occurring on the mountain in back of the SNF storage pads and blocking the vent ducts? From the photos the mountain in back looks ominous. Are there any models of a realistic worst case scenario earthquake - what is safer- the spent fuel pools or dry storage?
3. What are the changes to the SNF canisters that enable them to withstand greater heat? If the metal has changed, is the new metal more susceptible to stress corrosion cracking? Are there any trade offs? Do we know how the new metals age over time compared to the old?
4. Is it possible to have the Independent Safety Committee do an evaluation of the new system and give input to the Panel and community? This would be reassuring. It might also be helpful to hear feedback from the UCLA Independent Risk Assessment Program and the California Energy Commission on the new system.
5. Will some Diablo Canyon employees be trained in new system of cask transfer? They mentioned a 6 week specialized training program for Orano employees that will be operating the system. If Diablo Canyon employees will be providing oversight of the system, hopefully they will be trained too.
6. I was glad to hear Orano is expected to develop Interim SNF storage sites. Hopefully that can be an interim solution down the line. It doesn't make sense to keep SNF in a seismic coastal zone long term with sea level's expected to rise.
| | | | |
| April 20, 2022 | Safety | My statement tonight:
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to the panel. I would like to begin with an apology to PG&E, this Panel and the local community for the tone of my letter of April 6. You see in the last 15 years we have had twenty nuclear units that changed their dry storage system from Orano to Holtec and never the other way around, until we received this shock. We care deeply about Diablo Canyon Plant and the community, and we have Safety and Technical concerns. Once notified, I traveled to SLO and had the pleasure to meet with community leaders including three members of this panel and learned of a unique DC ISC which consists of eminent Nuclear Scientists and Engineers. Absent a meaningful dialogue with PG&E leadership, we will communicate our specific Safety and Technical concerns with the ISC this week. Again, apologies for the tone of the letter and thank you for your time.
| Holtec International | | | |
| April 20, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | My two questions are regarding the Holtec International response to PG&E's letter titled "Notification to unsuccessful bidder which was published on the engagement panel website on April 6, 2022.
Based on Holtec’s previous baseless attacks on the engagement panel at SONGs, I assume the Holtec letter was nothing more than childish, inflammatory, and unfounded or as quoted in the SLO Tribune an “over-the-top outburst from a hubristic company that believes it would be awarded a multi-million-dollar contract”.
(1) If my assumption is correct, will Comprehensive Decommissioning International (CDI) which is jointly owned by Holtec International and SNC-Lavalin, or Holtec Decommissioning International (HDI) be allowed to bid on future work for Diablo Canyon?
(2) Is this type of behavior enough of a wake-up call to PG&E that Holtec is the type of unprofessional, toxic company we do not want in our community?
| | | | |
| April 20, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | Public comment presented during April 20, 2022 Engagement Panel Meeting:
BRUCE SETTERS:· Thank you.· I have a couple of
questions.· I guess I just want to ask three or four
questions and hope the right person stands up and
responds to each one; so I am not sure exactly who to
address them to.
· · · · ·There was mention of some of the assemblies
that need to be loaded into the new cask systems having
been damaged.· I am just curious about a little bit more
detail about what that damage entailed.
· · · · ·There was apparently a failure on the part of
the prior contractor to load the proper pattern of hot
and cool assemblies into the casks, and that seems to me
to be a grievous error, and I would like to hear a
little bit about how that kind failure mode might be
mitigated and if there's checks and double checks and
it's not one guy looking at the plan.
· · · · ·How is the 4.2 kilowatt heat level determined
to be the safe threshold?· I understand the 50 kilowatt
total heat level of the assembly or the cask is
considered to be kind of the maximum threshold.
· · · · ·A question was asked of the engineer involved,
like, what's the worst thing that can happen?· And he
basically gave a fairly general answer that bad things
happen.· I would like a little bit more specific answer
about what those bad things might be.
· · · · ·And, you know, why would we risk accelerating
the schedule by a year, let's say.· I mean, I understand
there is money to be saved.· That's good for
everybody -- the diversified uses and repurposing can be
accelerated, et cetera.· But why would we not just give
a greater margin of error to adding another year?
· · · · ·To me, I personally have no emotional
investments in having this be a showcase of how fast we
can do it, you know.
· · · · ·So to me it's like -- I don't want to break a
world record in that category; so explain a little bit
more about what the cost tradeoff is
there.· Just slowing down the speed a little, if that's
possible.· Thank you.
| | | | |
| April 20, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | Public comment presented during April 20, 2022 Engagement Panel Meeting:
ERIC GREENING:· I am Eric Greening,
G-r-e-e-n-i-n-g.· I live about 25 to 30 miles due north
of the plant.· And my question -- first question is the
timeline relative to licensing and public comment.· That
public comment may be somewhere around 2023 or 2024, and
yet I understand the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will
be holding a hearing in San Luis Obispo, Wednesday,
May 4th.
· · · · ·And I am wondering what is the purpose of that
hearing?· What is the scope of that hearing?· And is it
cross-purposes or is it in alignment with what we are
talking about today?
· · · · ·My other question that relates to timeline is,
basically, with this stretched-out licensing period and,
obviously, to get to the NRC's licensing period,
obviously it cannot be rushed.
· · · · ·Before it is concluded it sounds as if the
County will be needing to go through its CEQA process
from which this component is exempt and issue a land-use
permit for which some changes must be made to have a
valid permit.
· · · · ·And I am just wondering, given the preemption,
the ability to intervene in this, if it's going to have
to use the information base of what's been learned
through the licensing process, what information base
will be available to the County to make required health
and safety findings for the high-level waste system?
Thank you.
· · · · ·MR. ANDERS:· Thank you, Eric.· Tom Jones said
he could address that one question very quickly.
· · · · ·TOM JONES:· Yeah, Tom Jones with PG&E.· So the
NRC's public meeting on May 4th is with the
decommissioning rulemaking.· It's not associated with
the fuel management process at all.
· · · · ·Once the application for the COC has been made
to the NRC its public process will take over and make
the parties aware of the time frame in which they have
to file to participate in that proceeding.
| | | | |
| April 20, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | Public comment presented during April 20, 2022 Engagement Panel Meeting:
PIERRE ONEID:· Okay.· This is Pierre Oneid, and
I am with Holtec International.· We are headquartered in
Florida with our factories in New Jersey.
· · · · ·And I wanted to thank you for the opportunity
to speak to the panel.· I would like to begin with an
apology to PG&E, the panel, and the local community for
the tone of my letter of April 6th.
· · · · ·You see, in the last 15 years we have had 20
nuclear units that changed their dry storage system from
Orano to Holtec and never the other way around until we
received this shock.
· · · · ·We care deeply about Diablo Canyon Plant and
the community, and we have safety and technical
concerns.
· · · · ·Once notified I traveled to San Luis Obispo and
had the pleasure to meet with community leaders,
including three members of this distinguished panel, and
learned of a unique Diablo Canyon Independent Safety
Committee which consists of eminent nuclear scientists
and engineers.
· · · · ·Absent a meaningful dialogue with PG&E
leadership, we will communicate our specific safety and
technical concerns with the IFC this week.
· · · · ·Again, apologies for the tone of the letter,
and thank you for your time.
| Holtec International | | | |
| April 20, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | Public comment presented during April 20, 2022 Engagement Panel Meeting:
JILL ZAMEK:· Hi.· Jill Zamek, Z-a-m-e-k. I
live in Arroyo Grande.· I remain confused about the
material that I have read.
· · · · ·The press material states that Orano's extended
optimized storage system has been licensed for use at
other facilities and approved by the NRC, and then it
goes on to say that the system design includes enhanced
thermal and seismic capabilities, which require
additional NRC safety reviews.
· · · · ·And then I'm listening tonight, and it sounds
like there needs to be some physical modifications made
in order to accommodate the increased thermal and
seismic requirements.
· · · · ·And Holtec's response in that letter stated
that the NRC review affects the schedule, not the
already robust license capabilities of our system.
There seems to be a contradiction there.
· · · · ·It seems that the system, the Orano system has
to be modified, and that hasn't been approved yet by the
NRC; is that correct?
· · · · ·MR. ANDERS:· Someone is going to answer that.
· · · · ·RAHEEL HAROON:· That is correct.· The system
does need to be modified a little bit, and it needs to
go through an amendment process with the NRC.
· · · · ·ROGER MAGGI:· So if I could respond.· It's the
same module performed at SONGS for the amount of
acceleration that's going to be over 50 percent
higher --
· · · · ·MR. ANDERS:· Mic, please.
· · · · ·ROGER MAGGI:· -- (indiscernible.)
· · · · ·MR. ANDERS:· Hold on.· The answer is correct.
| | | | |
| April 20, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | Public comment presented during April 20, 2022 Engagement Panel Meeting:
KAYLENE WALKER:· Hi.· Kaylene Walker,
W-a-l-k-e-r.· (Indiscernible.)· I am familiar with
San Onofre, Holtec, and Orano system.· A couple of
questions.· I will just rapid fire the questions, and
then you can answer them as you will.
· · · · ·You said that the consideration of embedded
carbon parcels in a canister is not an issue of concern.
I think that should be looked into.· That would break
through a very thin chromium layer and potentially
create a pit corrosion problem.· I think it's worthwhile
looking at that.
· · · · ·Question:· Has your repair technology been
evaluated or approved by the NRC or ASME?· At
San Onofre, Holtec presented the repair technology, but
we found out then later that it had not been evaluated
or approved by NRC or ASME.
· · · · ·At San Onofre Orano got an exemption from
taking radiation readings at the outlet air vent.· Will
the outlet air vent radiation readings be gotten at this
facility?
· · · · ·A note to verify.· Cracked canisters have no
seismic rating.· Orano, I think in one of your slides
you claimed fuel retrievability.
· · · · ·I am wondering, do you actually mean fuel
retrievability or if this is an alternative definition
as in NRC's ISG 2, Revision 2, where they defended a
canister retrievability?
· · · · ·I am wondering what your fuel inspection method
is.· If you just do a video camera or if you actually do
a vacuum can sipping or in-mast sipping.· Is it -- you
know, what is your fuel inspection?· With a 50 kilowatt
heat load, that is a frightening heat load.
· · · · ·That is almost double the 30 kilowatt heat load
at San Onofre, and that is alarming for the problem that
could incur with the fuel, which is what we are storing,
the fuel could be (indiscernible) -- high-pressure
(indiscernible.)
· · · · ·In the unlikely event of a canister failure, my
question is, Orano, do you plan to put a canister into a
overpacked cask? And if that is your plan, has
that been evaluated or approved or requested for
approval from the NRC.· Thank you very much.
· · · · ·MR. ANDERS:· Thank you.
· · · · ·KAYLENE WALKER:· These are serious questions
that the community -- those are serious questions that I
believe the community should be aware of these kind of
issues.· Thank you.
| | | | |
| April 20, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | Public comment presented during April 20, 2022 Engagement Panel Meeting:
JANE SWANSON:· All right.· I am Jane Swanson.
I am with San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace, and my
question is a follow-up to what Sherri Danoff brought up
recently about the planned -- last October, I was one of
a few citizens invited to witness the inspection of
some -- one cask they were going to lift up, and Sherri
used the word "transporter" -- I was thinking it was a crane
-- but whatever it was that was supposed to pick
the thing up, it didn't work, so that was canceled.· And
my understanding is that that inspection will happen in
May sometime.
· · · · ·And my question is about details on that.· So
the inspection will be looking for what?· I'm presuming
corrosion or something, but I'm wondering if somebody
could explain more about the difference between
looking -- why and how you look at the bottom of a cask
as opposed to the sides or the interiors?
· · · · ·And how many casks will be inspected in this
way long-term?· I am only aware of one being planned,
and I don't know if that is just the first of many or if
that's it; so that's my question.
· · · · ·MR. ANDERS:· Go ahead, Philippe, if you can
answer the question.
· · · · ·PHILIPPE SOENEN:· Yes.· So the purpose is to
lift the canister so we can look at the bottom of the
cask itself for any degradation to validate that there's
nothing unexpected going on there.
· · · · ·Just to be clear, it is not part of a
requirement of the License Renewal Application.· That's
why we have submitted the application prior to these,
but it is a prudent action that we are taking just to
validate that there's nothing unexpected going on.
· · · · ·So depending on what the results are, we expect
they are just the visual indications and not necessarily
having to do cask lifts in the future, but it's to get a
good baseline of how our system is performing.
| SLO Mothers for Peace | | | |
| April 20, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | Public comment presented during April 20, 2022 Engagement Panel Meeting:
SHERRY LEWIS:· Okay.· Can you hear me now?
Okay.· Good.· Talking about the crawler that goes into
the vents and down -- up within the canister, when you
inspect a canister or a cask, whichever it is, when you
inspect that, do you send this crawler down through all
the vents or just one vent per canister?
· · · · ·PHILIPPE SOENEN:· We -- we do it in quadrants.
We go through all the upper vents; so we have -- we get
the entire circumference of the canister.
· · · · ·SHERRY LEWIS:· Thank you.
· · · · ·MR. ANDERS:· Thank you.
| | | | |
| April 20, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | Public comment presented during April 20, 2022 Engagement Panel Meeting:
BRENDON PITTMAN:· Okay.· Thank you so much.· My
name is Brendon Pittman.· I live in Berkley, California.
My last name is P-i-t-t-m-a-n.· I am a civil engineer,
just generally curious about the plant, and PG&E, and
operations in general.
· · · · ·It's a two-part question.· I apologize if maybe
this -- one of these questions will be addressed later.
· · · · ·But the first question is for Orano, and it's
regarding movement of a cask.· And the question is have
you ever removed a cask from your storage system once
they are put in place?
· · · · ·And my second question is for PG&E, and I'm not
sure who this would be appropriate for, maybe
Ms. Wayliff (phonetically).· I hope I got that right.
Forgive me if I mispronounced that.
· · · · ·And my question is did PG&E pick the best
technical system for the plant?· Thank you.
· · · · ·TOM JONES:· I will address that at the
appropriate time on the agenda.
| | | | |
| April 20, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | Public comment presented during April 20, 2022 Engagement Panel Meeting:
KAYLENE WALKER:· Hi.· Kaylene Walker.· I live
20 miles from San Onofre, and I carefully followed the
whole Holtec fuel loading process and the multiple
problems and then the information that was discovered
from the various problems like a canister was broken,
shims was loaded, and the near drop, of course.
· · · · ·I did more than listen to the talking points
from the -- the public talking points.· I read technical
documents.· I attended NRC meetings.· So I would like --
· · · · ·And I would like to just call your attention to
some kind of misleading statements that I think are
worth looking into.
· · · · ·Number one, the inspection of the -- these
canisters are problems with corrosion and cracking;
that's -- that's an expected fact about these canisters.
· · · · ·The inspection technique is not an inspection.
That isn't -- the inspection report made a clarification
that this was a visual assessment.
· · · · ·That would be like going to the dentist and
having them take pictures of your teeth with that
camera.· They cannot assess the microscopic crack
development that happens with these canisters.
· · · · ·Visual assessments are not effective at
assessing crack development.· They can look at
precursors but not actual cracks.· That's a very serious
problem.
· · · · ·The repair technology that you mentioned that
San Onofre has been touting, that is ASME -- I mean EPRI
put out to the court in 2021 that said this nickel-spray
repair technology cannot -- there's no credit -- no
credit should be taken for structural or strength
properties of cold spray.
· · · · ·ZEKE TURLEY, AGP:· That's time.
· · · · ·KAYLENE WALKER:· Also -- is my time up?
· · · · ·MR. ANDERS:· Your two minutes are up.
· · · · ·KAYLENE WALKER:· Let me finish that one point.
The cold spray will not stop a helium leak from a crack.
That is like a very serious problem.
· · · · ·Anyway, I have so many points that I would like
to make.· Maybe I will put them in writing.· Thank you.
| | | | |
| April 20, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | Public comment presented during April 20, 2022 Engagement Panel Meeting:
DYLAN CANTERBURY BAKER:· Hi.· I am
Dylan Canterbury Baker.· I am an actual resident of SLO
County.· I live about seven miles from Diablo Canyon.
· · · · ·And one thing I have been very interested in
hearing is what are you also doing to address the
increased risk of seismic activity here?· Because, I
mean, now, in foresight we'd find it odd to build a
nuclear plant here in such a volatile zone.
· · · · ·And considering the storage is on-site is
unlikely to change for awhile, how is that going to be
addressed in the equation of keeping the nuclear waste
safely stored.· Thank you.
· · · · ·MR. ANDERS:· Okay.· We got the question.· Is
there anything else?
· · · · ·DYLAN CANTERBURY BAKER:· Just I am eager to
hear what you all have to say about this because I know
it's a concern of many people who live in SLO County and
live near it, and I go near Diablo Canyon pretty
frequently because I live in Avila Bay.
· · · · ·MR. ANDERS:· Okay.· Thank you very much for
your comment.
· · · · ·KARA WOODRUFF:· Chuck.
MR. ANDERS:· Yes, Kara.
· · · · ·KARA WOODRUFF:· Can Philippe give a brief
answer just on the seismic, like the bolting, and
maybe -- I guess we will be talking about the new casks
later in the evening --
· · · · ·PHILIPPE SOENEN:· Yeah.
· · · · ·KARA WOODRUFF:· -- but I think his question
also concerns existing casks.· Maybe you can do a brief
explanation on the seismic protections there.
· · · · ·PHILIPPE SOENEN:· So our system itself, I
should mention, would be we do have a modified
HI-STORM 100, it's seismically anchored.· They have
anchorage studs that go over 7 feet into the concrete,
and there's 16 of these studs around the base to prevent
any tip over.
· · · · ·The Nuclear Regulatory Commission looked at
those analyses and postulated a specter for our seismic
at the ISFSI.· Similar bedrock as the power plant is
built on.
· · · · ·So those were all analyzed and approved by the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the -- being able to
withstand, with margin, any seismic events that would
happen at the site.
· · · · ·KARA WOODRUFF:· Thank you.
· · · · ·MR. ANDERS:· Thank you, Philippe.· Thank you,
Dylan.
| | | | |
| April 20, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | Public comment presented during April 20, 2022 Engagement Panel Meeting:
SHARON HAMMOND:· Thank you.· Hello.· My name is
Sharon Hammond, H-a-m-m-o-n-d; and I am with an
organization called the "Society Library," and we
organize collective information around a given topic and
then organize that information into debate maps for
educational and public consumption.
· · · · ·And from that regard I have to give absolute
gratitude to the panel and to the safety counsel as well
for your fantastic organization and information
presentation.
· · · · ·My question now is, given the recent OIG report
that called into question the efficacy of oversight,
and, particularly, the efficacy of existing inspections
of Diablo Canyon facilities and risk-significant
equipment, are there any plans to, say, preemptively do
additional internal inspections or in some way
communicate to the public that areas that may have been
overlooked or not inspected as carefully as we would
have hoped are getting that attention?
And, specifically, you know, those
risk-significant systems and spent fuel areas.· Are
there -- are there any plans to more aggressively
monitor, inspect, and communicate that to the public
perhaps?
· · · · ·MR. ANDERS:· Anyone, can you address that? I
guess that's it.
· · · · ·Go ahead, Philippe.
· · · · ·PHILIPPE SOENEN:· There seems to be a lot of
focus on operational activity.· For the topic here we
are talking about our dry cask storage systems, and as
we talked about the seismic design for the -- our
current system and then there will be presentation for
the new system that will be implemented, I think we will
take note of what the comment as far as they relate to
the OIG and operational inspections.
| Society Library | | | |
| April 20, 2022 | Other | Public comment presented during April 20, 2022 Engagement Panel Meeting:
MARY MATAKOVICH:· Thank you.· Good evening.
It's been a very informative evening for me, and I
appreciate the opportunity to address you.· My name is
Mary Matakovich, M-a-t-a-k-o-v-i-c-h.· I am a resident
of Avila Beach, as well as I serve as a Port San Luis
Harbor District commissioner and as a liaison to our
Avila Valley Advisory Council.
· · · · ·So I'm representing the Avila Valley Advisory
Council tonight by emphasizing the letter that we have
sent you on April 11th, and I hope you have all read it.
But I would like to say a few words about our letter.
The Avila Valley Advisory Council has
appreciated representation of Avila, Avila's interest on
the decommissioning panel, and our council member,
Sherri Danoff has been instrumental in keeping us
informed.
· · · · ·Time after time we get reports, and she updates
us on what's going on with this panel.· It's very
impressive, and we need it translated sometimes into
just kind of basic -- basic facts.
· · · · ·And if I could give you an example of her
approach with us, you know, we share our concerns.· She
explains a little bit more about what the work of the
panel is and then addresses our questions.
· · · · ·And Sherri has been very instrumental now in
the intended to decision to barge the majority of the
waste materials from Diablo instead of the 70,000 truck
trips through tiny Avila on our narrow winding road.
· · · · ·Despite that Avila is the community, which has
the most -- will be most effected by commissioning
activities and also storage of used fuel in the future.
Whoops.· Am I out of time?
· · · · ·We ask you to -- we ask you to assure the
continued representation of Avila's interest on the
panel.· Avila Valley Advisory Council asks that an
ex officio position be placed on the panel and be
established with Sherri Danoff who has served in this capacity.
· · · · ·Please, Avila needs to have an experienced
representative on the panel, and we thank you for your
consideration.
| Avila Valley Advisory Council | | | |
| April 20, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | Public comment presented during April 20, 2022 Engagement Panel Meeting:
SUSAN STRACHEN:· Good evening.· Wonderful to
see all of you in person.· I'm Susan Strachen,
S-t-r-a-c-h-e-n.· I am with the San Luis Obispo County
Planning and Building Department.
· · · · ·And I have a question.· In the agenda it talked
about changes to the ISFSI structure, and I don't --
this is late for me, I am usually asleep by now, and so
maybe I nodded off -- but I was wondering if that could
be talked about tonight or if it could be discussed at
the next meeting.
· · · · ·MR. ANDERS:· I was distracted when you were
talking; so I didn't catch the question.
· · · · ·SUSAN STRACHEN:· Okay.· There was -- on the
agenda it talks about changes to the ISFSI structure
containment berms, and I didn't hear that talked about
in the presentation tonight; so I was wondering if you
could touch base on that next month.
| San Luis Obispo County Department of Planning and Building | | | |
| April 15, 2022 | Panel Website | I can't locate the Zoom link for the April 20 meeting.
| | | | |
| April 6, 2022 | Spent Fuel Storage | Enclosed, please find Holtec International response to PG&E's letter today, titled "Notification to unsuccessful bidder".
| Holtec International | | 301676cm-Holtec-International-Response-to-PGE-Letter.pdf | |
| March 22, 2022 | Other | I am writing to inquire whether the DCDEP participated in the Department of Energy’s request for information re: “Using Consent-Based siting Process to Identify Federal Interim Storage Facilities’ and associated questions.”
I mention this because the subject has been raised at DCDEP meetings, and the questions regarding when the DOE will accept the high level radioactive waste does affect the schedule and cost of the decommissioning process.
The overall issue is found at the DCDEP website:
https://diablocanyonpanel.org/decom-topics/spent-fuel-management/
Prospects for Completion
This leaves all nuclear power plants in the US without any designated long-term federal disposal site. As a result, most nuclear power plants, including DCPP, must store their spent nuclear fuel, indefinitely, on site in dry cask storage systems made of steel and concrete casks. The prospects for completion of Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository or any other such permanent repository in the near future are low and there is currently no approved funding for further development. However, there was a Bill in the last Congress (the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendment Act of 2017) that directs the DOE to develop a federal Consolidated Interim Storage Facility (CISF) to be used until the development, construction and operation of a permanent federal nuclear waste repository is developed. That bill (HR 3053), passed the House of Representatives by 370 – 72, but Senator Heller (R- NV) prevented it from coming to a vote in the Senate. Senator Heller has since lost his seat. A similar Bill could be introduced in the current Congress.
It has come to my attention that at least one other decommissioning advisory board, that of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, had taken it upon themselves to provide public comment on this topic, and placed their letter on their website. I am attaching it. Had participating in this public comment opportunity been discussed by the DCDEP? Where the members made aware of it, collectively or individually? It would seem that comments from communities immediately impacted by decommissioning would have a significant voice in the process as they will be the first to be left with the waste (long before the majority of the reactor sites that have received 20 year license renewals from the NRC).
I am attaching the Vermont letter. Although the deadline has passed, the DOE website does indicate that subsequent comments can be sent, they are not guaranteeing that late arrivals will be reflected in their final report. Thus, an opportunity remains should the DCDEP wish to engage.
I will also post this to the public comment section of the DCDEP website.
Thank you for the opportunity to bring this to yours and the committees attention.
Yours truly,
DAVID WEISMAN
Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility
| Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility | a4nr.org | VT-NDCAP_Approved_Advisory_Opinion_2022-02-28_DOE_RFI_Consent-Based_Siting_Response_Letterhead_0.pdf | |
| March 9, 2022 | Lands | I would be interested in a modern Sanitarium on 50 acres for the mentally ill. Young people are surprised when I tell them that not so long ago we did not have people live on the streets and beg for money on street corners. loitering and panhandling were illegal. The mentally ill were placed in sanitariums. Sanitariums did have some problems but we could try again and do better. Nursing homes have problems but we do not turn seniors out into the streets. The State giving local government money to solve the problems is not working. Nobody is happy with the homeless situation so why not give a small portion of serene land and try a new direction.
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| February 22, 2022 | Economic Impacts | With all of the powere shortages California has , they will only continue to increase one by closing diablo, but two by the increasing needs for electricity as more and more electric cars, all electric homes and businesses come on line. Until much more alternative power sources are built, not just planned, Diablo should remain operating. One other topic that gets very little, if any attention, is the ability of Diablo to desalinate ocean water. The plants ability to do this can be expanded at a time when our super drought is predicted to continue for years! Please lets keep this plant operating at least until we have replacement power in place instead of closing it to make some feel good. It does fit California’s green agenda for the near future.
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| February 15, 2022 | Other | The site states that transcripts will be available about 2 weeks after the meeting, but the Nov 3rd transcript has yet to be posted. Can you please provide a date in which you expect the transcript to be on the DCDEP website?
| Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility | | | |
| February 10, 2022 | Repurposing of Facilities | Could DCPP faculty be repurposed into a thorium-fueled reactor ?
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