LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A judge has allowed Southern California Edison to proceed with a plan to tear down the oval-topped buildings on the former San Onofre nuclear power plant site.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff on Monday finalized a tentative ruling he issued in June, concluding that the California Coastal Commission acted properly in approving the dismantling project, despite a legal challenge by the Samuel Lawrence Foundation.
“Petitioner (the foundation) did not meet its burden of demonstrating error,'' Beckloff wrote. “The court finds the Coastal Commission made the findings required by (law). In addition, the Coastal Commission's ... findings are supported by substantial evidence.''
The foundation has not met its burden by demonstrating otherwise, Beckloff wrote.
SCE issued a statement saying it was “pleased with the court's final ruling denying the Samuel Lawrence Foundation challenge to the coastal development permit issued by the California Coastal Commission for the dismantlement of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.''
“The dismantlement of (the station) is moving forward with a focus on safety, environmental stewardship and transparency through public engagement,'' the statement said.
The foundation's petition was filed in December 2019 and its challenge to the site dismantling was based in part on concerns about the disposition of waste storage canisters.
SCE and the commission “have not sufficiently planned for on-site repair and replacement of waste storage canisters so that they may be transported off-site or on-site to a location further inland from the ocean,'' according to the foundation's attorneys' court papers.
The commission, in approving SCE's plan, has “authorized the complete destruction of the spent fuel pools,'' the foundation's attorneys argued in court papers.
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