After a recent hearing, a state court tentatively denied an environmental group’s petition to hit the brakes on decommissioning a nuclear power plant in southern California, according to a court filing.
The California Coastal Commission didn’t violate state environmental law or its own regulations when it gave a permit to Southern California Edison (SCE) to decommission San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), state superior court judge Mitchell Beckloff said in the tentative ruling filed June 16. The court’s decision came down the same day environmental watchdog The Samuel Lawrence Foundation presented its case against the Coastal Commission in a hearing.
A spokesperson for SCE told RadWaste Monitor by phone Monday that a final ruling should appear in 60 to 90 days.
Samuel Lawrence didn’t meet “its burden of demonstrating error on any alleged failure of the Coastal Commission,” Beckloff said in the June 16 filing. “The Coastal Commission did not fail to proceed as required” by state environmental law, he said. In its December lawsuit, Samuel Lawrence argued that the commission didn’t properly account for environmental risks associated with decommissioning SONGS. The watchdog group also raised concerns about the defunct plant’s on-site spent fuel inventory, which it argued the commission didn’t adequately assess.
Samuel Lawrence didn’t return requests for comment by deadline Friday for RadWaste Monitor.
The SCE spokesperson said in a statement Monday that the utility company “has consistently maintained that the California Coastal Commission appropriately reached its unanimous decision granting the coastal development permit after rigorous analysis and review.”
“We look forward to the court’s final ruling on this matter,” the spokesperson said.
