Nuke waste volleyball

Tons of nuclear waste will be buried in North County as the now-decommissioned San Onofre nuclear plant is taken apart over the next several years. But the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission should have jurisdiction over the matter, and the State of California should keep its nose out of safety decisions, say Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric in recent filings with the California Public Utilities Commission.

This morning (March 23), San Diego attorney Mike Aguirre wrote to the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce, asking that it bring CPUC's administrative law judges before the committee so the judges can explain why they are saying "the NRC has jurisdiction over safety [matters]," says Aguirre.

In fact, the NRC on its website tells how the federal agency works with states on nuclear safety issues. Edison and SDG&E "don't want customers to have any say on how much money should be spent on safety of the $4 billion they have already collected from ratepayers," says Aguirre.

Edison has delegated responsibility for the nuclear waste to a New Jersey company, just as it delegated authority on the failed steam generators to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, says Aguirre. "There is a role for California residents and officials in the nuclear waste decision-making process," and the CPUC should not cut out the state, says Aguirre.