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Environmental group sues federal government over safety concerns at Diablo Canyon Power Plant

The Diablo Canyon Power Plant is a nuclear power plant near Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County, California.
Photo by Tracey Adams.
The Diablo Canyon Power Plant is a nuclear power plant near Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County, California.

An environmental group filed a lawsuit last week against the federal government over safety concerns at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant.

It came after the Biden Administration allocated more than a billion dollars to Pacific Gas & Electric, which helped prolong the plant’s operation for another five years.

Friends of the Earth filed the complaint last Tuesday against the U.S. Department of Energy or DOE.

The group claimed that the DOE produced a final Environmental Impact Statement last year that relied on a “decades-old” analysis created by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Friends of the Earth alleged that the DOE failed to update the analysis and incorporate the full range of safety risks from continuing the plant’s operation.

The DOE did not respond to KCBX’s request for comment.

Diablo Canyon is the last remaining nuclear power plant in California and was previously set to close in 2025.

Supporters of the plant say it's needed to help the country meet its renewable energy goals.

The plant provides energy for more than 3 million people in the state, according to Pacific Gas & Electric.

Yalina Harris began at KCBX in January of 2024 as an intern in our newsroom. Her talent on the mic led her to begin training as a substitute announcer. You can occasionally hear her as a local host on Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Weekend Edition. Yalina then began as a stringer for KCBX News during the summer of 2024.
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