Multiple anti-nuclear organizations have submitted a petition to edit an important water quality certificate that the Diablo Canyon Power Plant needs to run past the year 2030.
In February, the Central Coast Water Board gave Diablo Canyon a water quality certification under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act.
The certificate didn’t include a specific expiration date, even though state law says Diablo Canyon, California’s only operating nuclear power plant, is scheduled to close in 2030.
Haakon Williams is the Executive Director for the anti-nuclear group Committee to Bridge the Gap, one of the organizations that’s challenging the water board’s certificate.
“We thought that was clearly inappropriate and an exceedance of the water board's jurisdiction,” Williams said. “So we decided to challenge it.”
Williams thinks the certificate should expire in 2030, when the plant is scheduled to close.
The Committee to Bridge the Gap, San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace and the Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club are petitioning the State Water Board to edit the Central Coast Water Board’s Section 401 certification so it expires four years from now.
PG&E, the plant's operator, is currently applying to renew Diablo Canyon’s license until 2045. The water quality certification is necessary for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a federal agency, to approve that renewal.
At a Central Coast Water Board meeting in February, some board members did discuss including a 2030 expiration date before ultimately deciding against it.
Sophie Froelich, an attorney with the State Water Board, argued that the board doesn't normally set expiration dates for these types of certifications.
“This is a complicated situation and our permits and licenses are all interrelated and they have to be complimentary,” Froelich said.
Froelich said there’s a concern that if the Central Coast Water Board approves a 5-year certificate, it could infringe on the power of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, since its licenses are almost always 20 years long.
She also argued that if the Section 401 certificate expires in 2030, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission could still renew Diablo Canyon’s 20-year license.
“There's no requirement that the federal authorities only give them a 5-year permit,” she said.
Froelich argues that would leave the Central Coast Water Board with no mechanism to grant Diablo Canyon another water quality certificate for 15 years.
Williams argued that could be avoided if PG&E instead asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to relicense Diablo Canyon only until the year 2030.
“If then the legislature chooses to extend the plant, PG&E can apply for an extended operating license,” by essentially starting the license renewal process over.
In a document responding to public comments, Central Coast Water Board staff wrote that a 2030 expiration date is unnecessary, since state law has already decided on a closure date.
The document also argues that excluding a specific expiration date “avoids conflicts with potential future legislation, should future legislation extend the date when [Diablo Canyon] operations are to cease…”
Ultimately, the state legislature has the power to set the date when Diablo Canyon will cease operations.
The State Water Board will decide whether or not to modify Diablo Canyon’s water quality certificate.
Williams says he and the other petitioners will consider challenging the State Water Board’s decision in court if it doesn’t change the Section 401 certificate’s expiration date.
