Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representatives Mike Levin (D-CA) and Darrell Issa (R-CA) reintroduced the Spent Fuel Prioritization Act to prioritize the removal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from decommissioned nuclear sites in areas with large populations, high seismic hazard, and where the continued storage of spent nuclear fuel represents a national security concern. With over nine million people living within 50 miles of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) and Southern California experiencing some of the greatest seismic hazard in the country, as well as its location on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, the bill would make SONGS one of the highest priority sites in the nation for spent nuclear fuel removal. The bill is also cosponsored by Reps. Scott Peters (D-CA), Michelle Steel (R-CA), Katie Porter (D-CA), and Young Kim (R-CA).
“Since I was first sworn into Congress, one of my top priorities has been to advance efforts to remove the spent nuclear fuel from San Onofre,” said Rep. Levin. “Given its location on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, in the vicinity of millions of people, atop earthquake fault lines running through the region, and adjacent to rising sea levels, San Onofre should be our top priority site when removing spent fuel from decommissioned sites. Over the past few years, we have made incredible progress to restart and advance the consent-based siting process at the Department of Energy. Now it’s time to pass this bipartisan legislation and make the commonsense decision to prioritize particularly sensitive sites like San Onofre for the removal of spent nuclear fuel.”
“Federal action on spent fuel storage at the now-closed San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station is long overdue, and disposal of power plant waste continues to be needlessly delayed by a process that lacks a commitment to a workable solution,” said Rep. Issa. “That’s why our bipartisan legislation should serve as a model in Congress and demonstrate that consensus is possible.”