A meeting of the Central Coast Water Board this week could decide the future of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant.
The board will discuss whether to give the nuclear power plant a permit to continue releasing water from its once-through cooling system into the Pacific Ocean. It will also decide the fate of a certificate that would allow a federal agency to renew the plant’s license until 2045.
Pacific Gas and Electric, the company that operates Diablo Canyon, applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission a few years ago for a license to keep the plant running until 2045.
But in order to get that license approved on the federal level, they first need the Central Coast Water Board to renew a permit and issue a certification under the Clean Water Act.
Carina Corral, a spokesperson for PG&E, says the twenty year license doesn’t automatically mean Diablo will stay open that long.
That decision belongs to the state of California, she says.
“With a 20-year license, if in 2028 the state comes and says, ‘We need you to stay open longer,’ this gives them the flexibility where we can say, ‘We're here till 2045 if you need us,’” Corral told KCBX.
The permit the Central Coast Water Board is considering this week would ensure that pollutants discharged during plant operations into the water, like nickel and chlorine, remain under a certain level so that they don’t damage people’s health or water quality.
Because a board staff report has recommended the permit’s renewal, the board is expected to approve it.
Anti-nuclear groups like Mothers for Peace have asked the board to approve the certification only on the condition that the plant is closed in about four years.
Under SB 846, current state law allows Diablo Canyon to run until 2030.
The Central Coast Water Board will meet starting at 8 a.m. on Thursday, February 26 and Friday, February 27. The meeting will be held at the board’s office and will be streamed on CAL-SPAN.
