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<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-06-09/getting-the-nuclear-waste-off-sites-like-san-onofre-feds-take-an-early-step-with-26-million-effort">https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-06-09/getting-the-nuclear-waste-off-sites-like-san-onofre-feds-take-an-early-step-with-26-million-effort</a><br>
<br>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 0px 0px 30px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;">With the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station as a
backdrop,<span> </span><a class="link"
href="https://www.energy.gov/person/jennifer-m-granholm"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; text-decoration: underline; color:
var(--primary-body-link-color);">U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer
Granholm</a><span> </span>on Friday announced the Biden
administration will spend $26 million in what figures to be one of
many steps aimed at solving a decades-long problem: where to store
the nuclear waste that has stacked up at commercial power plants
across the country.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;">Saying “we all have to figure out the solution” to the
waste issue, Granholm said a national search will be launched to
find communities willing to take spent fuel rods from sites such
as San Onofre on an interim basis until the federal government
finds a permanent repository.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;">The 3.55 million pounds of radioactive spent fuel stored
at the closed San Onofre nuclear power plant has long been a
source of anxiety for some Southern Californians, who pass the
iconic twin domes as they drive along Interstate 5. More than 9
million people live within 50 miles of the plant.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;">Some 73 canisters loaded with spent fuel assemblies have
been lowered into vertical cavities at a storage site on the north
end of the plant, behind a seawall a little more than 100 feet
from the Pacific Ocean. An additional 50 canisters of waste rest
horizontally nearby.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;">To identify potential sites, the Energy Department will
fund 13 groups from different areas of the country to engage, set
up workshops and elicit feedback from communities that may be
interested in building interim facilities. The 13 groups —
partnerships with universities, industry and nonprofits — will
receive about $2 million each.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;">“Some communities don’t know what it means,” Granholm
said. “They might be in, they might be out, but the bottom line is
we have to form trust and be able to educate them and work with
them on what their concerns are.”</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;">Eventually, the Energy Department and the Biden
administration want to find one to three communities for what the
nuclear industry calls “consolidated interim storage” facilities.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;"><a class="link"
href="https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2023-05/Consent-Based%20Siting%20Process%20Report-0424%203.pdf"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; text-decoration: underline; color:
var(--primary-body-link-color);">According to a report released
in April</a>, the Energy Department estimates the entire process
of identifying, screening, selecting and then building an interim
storage site will take 10 to 15 years.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;">“In this phase, we’re beginning the conversation,” said<span> </span><a
class="link"
href="https://www.energy.gov/ne/person/dr-kathryn-huff"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; text-decoration: underline; color:
var(--primary-body-link-color);">Kathryn Huff, assistant
secretary for the Office of Nuclear Energy at the Energy
Department</a>.</p>
<div class="enhancement" data-click="enhancement" data-align-left=""
style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
width: 339.988px; clear: both; margin: 0px 40px 30px 0px; float:
left; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, "times new
roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal;
font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal;
font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align:
start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2;
word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space:
normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);
text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style:
initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">
<figure class="figure" style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; margin: 0px 0px 0px -40px;"><picture
style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;"><source
type="image/webp" style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat;"><img class="image" alt="Rep.
Mike Levin talks to reporters at San Onofre "
src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/27f5af5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/8186x5203+0+0/resize/1200x763!/quality/80/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F77%2Ff4%2Faf7df2264dbfb1bd8ec6df77f750%2F1306742-sd-fi-songs-wastetimeline-ec-002.jpg"
style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
vertical-align: middle; display: block; height: auto;
max-width: 100%; width: 379.976px; margin-bottom: 10px;"
width="1200" height="763"></picture>
<div class="figure-content" style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; font-family:
var(--service-font),arial,"helvetica
neue",helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: 500; font-style:
normal; font-size: 0.75rem; line-height: 0.875rem; color:
var(--primary-text-color); margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding-left:
0px; padding-right: 0px;">
<div class="figure-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; display: inline;">Rep. Mike
Levin (D-San Juan Capistrano) speaks to reporters Friday at
the San Onofre nuclear plant, flanked by Southern California
Edison CEO Steve Powell, left, Energy Secretary Jennifer
Granholm, right of podium, and Orange County Supervisor
Katrina Foley.</div>
<div class="figure-credit" style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; display: inline; margin-left:
5px;">(Eduardo Contreras / San Diego Union-Tribune)</div>
</div>
</figure>
</div>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;"><a class="link"
href="https://ballotpedia.org/Mike_Levin" target="_blank"
style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
text-decoration: underline; color:
var(--primary-body-link-color);">Rep. Mike Levin</a><span> </span>(D-San
Juan Capistrano) accompanied Granholm on a tour of the San Onofre
Nuclear Generating Station, known as SONGS.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;">“We finally have a plan when it comes to spent nuclear
fuel across the United States,” Levin said. “Now we’ve got to
execute on that plan.”<b style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; font-weight: bolder;"></b></p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;">Under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, the federal
government has a legal responsibility to dispose of<span> </span><a
class="link"
href="https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/energy-department-seeks-towns-willing-to-temporarily-store-nuclear-waste/"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; text-decoration: underline; color:
var(--primary-body-link-color);">the roughly 89,000 metric tons</a><span> </span>of
waste that has accumulated at nuclear power plants<span> </span><a
class="link"
href="https://www.nrc.gov/images/reading-rm/doc-collections/maps/isfsi-facility-types.png"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; text-decoration: underline; color:
var(--primary-body-link-color);">in 35 states</a>.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;">A giant underground permanent repository was near
completion at Yucca Mountain in southern Nevada, but in 2010, the<span> </span><a
class="link"
href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/05/10/yucca.mountain.shutdown/index.html"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; text-decoration: underline; color:
var(--primary-body-link-color);">Obama administration halted the
project</a>, after years of opposition from Silver State
lawmakers, including former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;">With Yucca off the table, focus has shifted to finding
interim facilities.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;"></p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;"><br>
</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;"><br>
</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;">To avoid a repeat of Yucca, the Energy Department is now
taking a “consent-based” approach to find communities that may be
open to building a storage facility because of the prospect of
more local jobs and economic growth.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;">“Anything that doesn’t include consent can easily be
delayed or stopped completely,” Huff said. “And we really intend
to arrive at a robust and durable solution here — something that
will outlast this administration and move out into a longer-term
commitment.”</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;">But finding those communities may be difficult.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;">A proposed interim facility in southeastern New Mexico
has been opposed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, and the New
Mexico Legislature earlier this year passed a bill<span> </span><a
class="link"
href="https://www.ans.org/news/article-4833/new-mexico-sets-up-roadblock-to-holtec-storage-facility/"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; text-decoration: underline; color:
var(--primary-body-link-color);">prohibiting the storage and
disposal</a><span> </span>of radioactive waste without the
state’s consent. The issue may end up in court.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;
text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;">A similar story is playing out in Texas. A potential
storage project in the town of Andrews is touted as being able to
hold as much as 40,000 metric tons of spent fuel for up to 40
years, but Gov. Greg Abbott<span> </span><a class="link"
href="https://twitter.com/gregabbott_tx/status/1324939516248010752"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; text-decoration: underline; color:
var(--primary-body-link-color);">tweeted</a>, “Texas will not
become America’s nuclear dumping ground.” (For perspective, San
Onofre stores roughly 1,610 metric tons of spent fuel on its
premises.)</p>
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<div data-element="story-body" class="ct-rich-text-children
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<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px;">One of the concerns for communities
considering building an interim storage facility: Will they
get stuck with the waste for decades, should the federal
government not find a permanent site?</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px;">“That’s why we want to have a discussion,”
Granholm said, “to let [the communities] know what the law
says, what the specifics are, get them comfortable. If they
don’t want to do it, we don’t want to force it on anybody.
We’re confident in the discussions that we’ve had at this
point that there are communities that are willing to engage
those discussions to have an interim site.”</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px;">There have been signs of progress in other
countries.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px;">Finland, for instance, is nearing
completion of its<span> </span><a class="link"
href="https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-finland-nuclear-catacombs-ready-house.html"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; text-decoration: underline;
color: var(--primary-body-link-color);">Onkalo spent nuclear
fuel disposal facility</a><span> </span>that will
permanently hold 6,500 metric tons of waste produced during
the lifetimes of the country’s five nuclear reactors. Canada
is scheduled to announce a location for a national repository
in<span> </span><a class="link"
href="https://thebulletin.org/premium/2023-01/final-countdown-to-site-selection-for-canadas-nuclear-waste-geologic-repository/"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; text-decoration: underline;
color: var(--primary-body-link-color);">the fall of 2024</a>.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px;">“We have not done this right in the United
States in the past,” Granholm said. “We have said, ‘OK, Yucca
Mountain, you’re it,’ without getting the consent of the
community that is most affected. This is what we’ve learned
from Finland and Canada. They had a process that was very
respectful of communities ... and that’s what we’re going to
do, too.”</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px;">As for the search for a permanent site to
replace Yucca Mountain, Granholm said that will begin once
authorization is approved. “The first step is [interim
facilities] and then we’ll go on to that later.”</p>
<div class="enhancement" data-click="enhancement"
data-align-left="" style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; width: 339.988px; clear: both;
margin: 0px 40px 30px 0px; float: left;">
<figure class="figure" style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; margin: 0px 0px 0px -40px;"><picture
style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat:
no-repeat;"><source type="image/webp" style="box-sizing:
border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;"><img
class="image" alt="The location where the nuclear waste
is stored at San Onofre. "
src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/2c8d3f3/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5067x3224+0+0/resize/1200x764!/quality/80/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F37%2F43%2F5b2fafaf43cfb9690fd9ed7dfe21%2F1306742-sd-fi-songs-wastetimeline-ec-001.jpg"
style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat:
no-repeat; vertical-align: middle; display: block;
height: auto; max-width: 100%; width: 379.976px;
margin-bottom: 10px;" width="1200" height="764"></picture>
<div class="figure-content" style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; font-family:
var(--service-font),arial,"helvetica
neue",helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: 500;
font-style: normal; font-size: 0.75rem; line-height:
0.875rem; color: var(--primary-text-color); margin: 0px
0px 20px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px;">
<div class="figure-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; display: inline;">A worker
overlooks the site where 3.55 million pounds of nuclear
waste is stored at the San Onofre nuclear plant.<span> </span></div>
<div class="figure-credit" style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; display: inline;
margin-left: 5px;">(Eduardo Contreras / San Diego
Union-Tribune)</div>
</div>
</figure>
</div>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px;">On Capitol Hill, Levin has helped secure<span> </span><a
class="link"
href="https://levin.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-mike-levin-applauds-department-of-energys-new-plan-for-storage-of-spent-nuclear-fuel"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; text-decoration: underline;
color: var(--primary-body-link-color);">$93 million in
funding in the last three fiscal years</a><span> </span>to
move consent-based siting along.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px;">Levin and<span> </span><a class="link"
href="https://ballotpedia.org/Darrell_Issa" target="_blank"
style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
text-decoration: underline; color:
var(--primary-body-link-color);">Rep. Darrell Issa
(R-Bonsall)</a><span> </span>this week<span> </span><a
class="link"
href="https://levin.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-mike-levin-and-darrell-issareintroduce-legislation-to-prioritize-san-onofre-for-spent-nuclear-fuel-removal"
target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; text-decoration: underline;
color: var(--primary-body-link-color);">re-introduced
legislation</a><span> </span>that would give priority to
remove spent fuel from decommissioned plants like SONGS that
are in areas with large populations and seismic hazards.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px;">“We know it can be done,” Levin said. “We
can do it here and it will work here, too. It won’t happen
overnight but we’ve finally got the momentum that we’ve lacked
for the last 10 or 15 years.”<b style="box-sizing: border-box;
background-repeat: no-repeat; font-weight: bolder;"></b></p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px;">San Onofre has not produced electricity
since 2012 after a leak in a steam generator tube led to its
closing. The plant is now being decommissioned and is in the
fourth year of a<a class="link"
href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-09-21/judge-tosses-out-lawsuit-that-sought-to-stop-san-onofre-nuclear-plant-dismantlement"
style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
text-decoration: underline; color:
var(--primary-body-link-color);"><span> </span>$4.5-billion
dismantlement project</a><span> </span>that will take
roughly eight years to complete and remove about 1.1 billion
pounds of material from the site.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px;">The plant’s two distinctive domes, each 190
feet high, are expected to be gradually taken down starting at
the end of 2026 or early 2027.</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px 0px;">Representatives of Southern California
Edison, which operates San Onofre, said Friday that more than
80% of the canisters could be taken off site now if a storage
facility existed and 100% of canisters will be ready to be
shipped by 2030.</p>
</div>
</article>
<div class="tags" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat:
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background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
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style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
text-decoration: none; color: var(--tag-button-text-color);
align-items: center; background-color:
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margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; padding: 0px 5px; text-align: center;
text-transform: uppercase; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s,
background 0.25s ease 0s, border 0.25s ease 0s; word-break:
keep-all;">BUSINESS</a><a class="link"
href="https://www.latimes.com/environment" style="box-sizing:
border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat; text-decoration: none;
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text-transform: uppercase; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s,
background 0.25s ease 0s, border 0.25s ease 0s; word-break:
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margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; padding: 0px 5px; text-align: center;
text-transform: uppercase; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s,
background 0.25s ease 0s, border 0.25s ease 0s; word-break:
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initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
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<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
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background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
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initial;"><br>
</p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
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background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;"></p>
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; background-repeat: no-repeat;
margin: 30px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia,
"times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;
font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing:
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-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness:
initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color:
initial;"></p>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
-------
Ray Lutz
Citizens' Oversight Projects (COPs)
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.citizensoversight.org">http://www.citizensoversight.org</a>
619-820-5321</pre>
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