ROSEMEAD, Calif., Aug. 12, 2020 — The San Onofre Community Engagement Panel will receive information on several recently completed projects and upcoming dismantlement plans at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station during its third quarter meeting beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 20. The meeting will take place via Skype video conference as Southern California Edison and CEP members work to reduce COVID-19 exposure through actions that align with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations on physical distancing.
Last week, SCE successfully completed fuel transfer operations at San Onofre, safely storing the last of 73 spent nuclear fuel canisters in the Holtec UMAX dry fuel storage system. The CEP will receive a briefing on the system’s Inspection and Maintenance Program, unanimously approved by the California Coastal Commission at its July 16 meeting, as well as information about the strategic plan SCE is developing to explore relocating the spent fuel to an off-site location.
Earlier this year, SCE began the eight-year project to dismantle the aboveground structures at San Onofre. More information will be shared on the timeline for the project. Much of the work coming up will take place in
and around the iconic containment domes. SCE will also discuss two projects that ended in July, including the expansion of the Wheeler North Reef, what has been called the world’s largest artificial reef, located off the Orange County coast. The reef began as a mitigation measure to offset impacts — turbid water — from the San Onofre plant while it was operating.
The reef has been doubled in size to 376 acres and provides structure for the development of kelp forests, which are expected to increase marine life in the area. The second project is the safe shipment and disposal of the Unit 1 reactor pressure vessel at a facility in Clive, Utah. The 770-ton package traveled by rail and
road on its journey. Most of the waste produced from dismantlement work will be disposed at the Clive
facility.
Members of the public can view the video conference by first visiting SONGScommunity.com, where a link to the meeting is provided. Through the web page dedicated to the meeting, SCE is soliciting questions related to meeting agenda topics and comments may be submitted until 5 p.m. next Tuesday. To the greatest extent possible, questions will be addressed in the presentation and/or discussed by SCE as part of the facilitated dialogue. More details will be posted to the CEP web page before the meeting.
When SCE announced the retirement of San Onofre Units 2 and 3 in June 2013, it established the core
principles of safety, stewardship and engagement to guide decommissioning.
For more information about San Onofre, visit SONGScommunity.com and follow us on Twitter (@SCE_SONGS) and Facebook (@SONGScommunitypage).
About Southern California Edison
An Edison International (NYSE: EIX) company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation’s largest
electric utilities, serving a population of approximately 15 million via 5 million customer accounts in a 50,000- square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California.
