Sierra Club Online Tool to Protest San Onofre Restart

Next Steps

The NRC will continue its independent oversight of the issues at SONGS. The NRC will not allow the plant to restart until we are satisfied that the licensee can operate the plant without undue risk to public health and safety. The NRC will take the time needed to determine the appropriate actions to ensure adequate protection of the public, and will continue efforts to communicate the status of its actions and the determination regarding the restart of SONGS, Units 2 and 3.

The NRC is evaluating the licensee’s CAL response for Unit 2, and will fully assess the actions the licensee has taken to evaluate and correct the SG problems prior to making a restart determination for Unit 2. This assessment includes inspection of the adequacy of the actions the licensee has taken in response to the CAL, and an evaluation of whether the licensee’s corrective actions to ensure that SG tube integrity is maintained, and protocol of inspections and/or operational limits for the planned operating interval, provide reasonable assurance that Unit 2 can be operated safely. Currently, the licensee has not completed the CAL actions for Unit 3, and has stated publicly that it will be “some time” before Unit 3 is ready for restart.

The NRC is also reviewing a license amendment request for SONGS Unit 2 submitted by SCE on April 5, 2013, as supplemented on April 9, 2013. The proposed license amendment would restrict Unit 2 operation to no more than 70 percent of the maximum authorized power level and would revise the Technical Specification requirements for steam generator tube integrity to reflect this change. SCE proposed that these changes remain in effect for the duration of Unit 2, Cycle 17; a period of roughly 18 to 24 months of plant operation.

The NRC has accepted SCE’s amendment request for review, and proposed a No Significant Hazards Consideration (NSHC) determination, which was forwarded to the Federal Register on April 10, 2013, for publication on or about April 16, 2013. The Federal Register notice describes the process for the public to comment on the proposed NSHC determination, and provides an opportunity to request a hearing on the proposed amendment.

The NRC will not issue an amendment unless it concludes that reasonable assurance has been provided that the public health and safety will not be endangered and that the action will not be inimical to the common defense and security, and that the request meets all applicable regulatory requirements. The staff’s review of the amendment request is a separate action from the ongoing review of the CAL response. Because SCE must still meet the terms of the CAL before returning either SONGS unit to service, issuance of the requested license amendment will not itself allow SCE to restart SONGS Unit 2.

The NRC is committed to ensuring that the public is informed about our oversight activities related to SONGS and our work to assure adequate protection of the public. Numberous public meetings have been held, and others are planned to be held during NRC’s enhanced oversight of SONGS. On June 18, 2012, NRC presented the results of the Augmented Inspection Team inspection. On October 9, 2012, the NRC conducted an open panel discussion to receive and understand the views of the public and other interested local stakeholders. On November 30, 2012, Southern California Edison presented their response to the CAL for Unit 2 to the NRC in a public meeting. On December 18, 2012, the NRC staff held a public meeting with SCE representatives at NRC headquarters to discuss additional information needed to complete the ongoing technical review. On February 12, 2013, the NRC staff held a Category 3 public meeting to update public stakeholders on the status of NRC’s ongoing review. On February 27, 2013 the NRC staff held a public meeting with SCE representatives at NRC headquarters to discuss additional information needed to complete the ongoing technical review. On April 3, 2013, the NRC staff held a public meeting with SCE representatives at NRC headquarters to discuss a proposed license amendment request that would restrict Unit 2 operation to no more than 70% of rated thermal power for a specified time. Links to video archives of these meetings can be found in the Public Meeting Videos section below.

The next public meeting is being planned for mid-to-late May 2013 to discuss the status of the NRC’s ongoing review. NRC public meetings are announced on NRC’s website.