Letter to Ernest Moniz, Secretary of Energy - Meet With Southern Californians on Nuclear Storage

Letter

Dear Mr. Secretary:

Earlier this year, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced a series of public meetings throughout the United States to engage with communities regarding the siting of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and radioactive waste. I write to respectfully request you to add an additional public meeting in my Southern California Congressional District, California's 49th.

The addition of a public forum in Southern California is both necessary and beneficial. My district is home to the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), which is in the initial stages of decommissioning which is expected to be completed by 2031. Positioned near an active fault line, sandwiched between the heavily-trafficked I-5 Freeway and the Pacific Ocean, and bordering the densely-populated Orange and San Diego Counties, the storage of more than 3.6 million pounds of high-level nuclear waste at the SONGS site is of great concern to the over 8 million people of this region.

Residents, elected officials, businesses, and community leaders throughout the neighboring cities in Orange and San Diego Counties are informed and active on the need to remove and secure SNF. In fact, the robust SONGS Community Engagement Panel holds public meetings engaging with involved parties including SONGS owners Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas and Electric, the City of Riverside, and regulatory agencies at all levels of government. The local governments regularly review emerging Congressional proposals and weigh in with community perspectives. Adding a public meeting in our region will allow DOE to hear directly from those interested in a safe and secure solution to our site's issues.

I will be urging our residents to provide written public comments in the Federal Register. However, an in-person public forum is needed to enable greater participation and active conversation with local specialists which is necessary to fulfill the goals outlined in the DOE's consent-based approach. I thank you for your attention to this important matter and for considering adding a public meeting in California's 49th Congressional District regarding SNF and radioactive waste.

I look forward to hearing from you regarding the scheduling of such an event.

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