2015 California Nuclear News Stories

Posted on by February 15, 2018

Major Stories

  • Thumbnail for LA's Nuclear Secret
    LA’s Nuclear Secret

    The U.S. government secretly allowed radiation from a damaged reactor to be released into air over the San Fernando and Simi valleys in the wake of a major nuclear meltdown in Southern California more than 50 years ago — fallout that nearby residents contend continues to cause serious health consequences and, in some cases, death.
    NBC Southern California
  •   Some times, It pays to remember the Past – California, and the Nation’s first anti-nuclear campaign in 1958 stopped PG&E from building a massive nuclear complex less than a thousand yards from the epicenter of the 1906 Earthquake that destroyed San Francisco – At the same time that the newly formed PG&E’s gas lines were helping burn down the city.

  • Thumbnail for The Ballad of Bodega Head -The Ballad of Bodega Head –

    n August of 1962, Pierre Saint-Amand, a geophysicist at the China Lake U.S. Naval Ordinance Test Station, left Los Angeles and drove homeward across the Mojave Desert to that vast military base, all sagebrush and alkali in the middle of nowhere. For mile after mile the pale desert slipped away to either side.
    Kenneth Brower
  •  In the late 70’s California Activists also stopped PG&E from building a multi-unit nuclear complex that was planned a few miles from the epicenter of where the 1989 Earthquake later took place.

  • Thumbnail for How Nuclear Material Was Handled at San Onofre: DocsHow Nuclear Material Was Handled at San Onofre: Docs

    Documents newly obtained by NBC 7 Investigates during secret talks about the condition of the land where the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) sits detail how nuclear material was handled at the plant since the 1980s. The documents were released to individuals involved with the secret negotiations about the current condition and future handling of the 25-acre property.
    NBC 7 San Diego

  • Thumbnail for Despite Billion-Dollar Budget, Nuclear Regulatory Commission Cancels Project Studying Cancer near Nuclear FacilitiesDespite Billion-Dollar Budget, Nuclear Regulatory Commission Cancels Project Studying Cancer near Nuclear Facilities

    A five-year federal pilot program to determine levels of contamination around eight other nuclear facilities in the United States was cancelled this week because, apparently, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is already doing such a fine job of oversight. . Nuclear sites to be studied included active and decommissioned plants in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan and New Jersey.
    AllGov

    Thumbnail for Health Study of Tennessee Nuclear Fuel Plant Halted by FedsHealth Study of Tennessee Nuclear Fuel Plant Halted by Feds

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission opted to cancel the cancer study of communities near U.S. nuclear facilities. Credit: public domain/wikimedia commons September 17, 2015 ERWIN, Tenn. – The federal government is canceling a study of cancer risks near U.S. nuclear facilities, including Nuclear Fuel Services (NFS) in Erwin.
    Public News Service

  • Thumbnail for Why Is the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Undervaluing American Lives?Why Is the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Undervaluing American Lives?

    How much is your life worth? That’s a key, but controversial, question for the federal government. Although it might seem distasteful to put a monetary value on a life, when federal agencies consider adopting new health and safety rules — or strengthening old ones — they often do just that and weigh the proposed rule’s costs against its lifesaving benefits.
    Elliott Negin

  • Thumbnail for NRC drops cancer study. Does it matter?NRC drops cancer study. Does it matter?

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) last week abruptly ended a study that it had commissioned from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) that was purportedly being set up to determine whether cancer rates near nuclear reactors are higher than elsewhere and thus, supposedly, whether there is reason to be concerned about routine reactor operation.
    Michael Mariotte
  •  The California Energy Commission holds annual hearings over the state’s energy use. Critical presentations can be found on every aspect of the states energy use from solar to nuclear energy policy discussions.

  • 2015 Integrated Energy Policy Report – California Energy Commission

    2015 Integrated Energy Policy Report 15-IEPR-01. … http://translate.google.com/ about/intl/en_ALL/. … Home 2015 energypolicy … The California Energy Commission adopts an Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR, … Kravitz@ energy.ca.gov.
    www.energy.ca.gov
  •  Santa Barbara Oil Slick will bring Energy Issues into the Limelight!

  • ShineAsTheSun11

    One In a Billion@ShineAsTheSun11
    Devastating Photos Show How An Oil Spill Consumed Santa Barbara’s Coastline  http://huff.to/1KoFba9  via @HuffPostGreen

Diablo Canyon news


San Onofre News

  • Citizens group sues California agency over nuclear waste burial

    By Marty Graham SAN DIEGO (Reuters) – A civilian watchdog group sued a California coastal agency on Tuesday, seeking to overturn its decision to allow 1,800 tons (1,632 tonnes) of radioactive waste from a closed nuclear power plant to be buried in containers not far from a beach. Citizens Oversight Inc.
    Marty Graham

  • County supervisors agree to ask feds to remove nuclear waste from San Onofre

    SAN DIEGO (CNS) – The San Diego County Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to ask the federal government to remove and relocate nuclear waste being stored at the shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. The supervisors — except for Greg Cox who excused himself from the vote because of his involvement with the California Coastal Commission — voted to draft and send a letter to U.S.
    Cbs8

  • Thumbnail for Commission Expands Nuclear Waste Storage At San OnofreCommission Expands Nuclear Waste Storage At San Onofre

    Aired 10/7/15 on KPBS News. The California Coastal Commission voted unanimously to grant Southern California Edison a 20-year permit for an expanded nuclear waste storage facility at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in northern San Diego County.
    KPBS Public Media

  • Thumbnail for How Nuclear Material Was Handled at San Onofre: DocsHow Nuclear Material Was Handled at San Onofre: Docs

    UPDATE: This story has been updated to reflect a further response from Southern California Edison received after the story was initially published. Documents newly obtained by NBC 7 Investigates during secret talks about the condition of the land where the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) sits detail how nuclear material was handled at the plant since the 1980s.
    NBC 7 San Diego

  • Ace Hoffman’s Nuclear Failures Reports

    Robert J. Budnitz is a fraud — or at least, for what we (the ratepayer) paid (almost $5,000 of a $150,000 contract), we (and the CPUC) got exactly nothing. According to Budnitz’s report, Budnitz successfully figured out that the new RSG design was different from the old one, and also different from Diablo Canyon’s steam generator design.
    Ace Hoffman

CPUC - Peevy Gate

  • Historic Background —


    Back in 1989 when the PUC reversed its promise to disallow most of Diablo Canyon’s $5.8 billion in construction and $7 billion in financing costs – Internal reports showed that it would cost $54 billion to operate the reactors over the next 30 years. Details of that politically corrupt deal’s long term costs were never openly shared with the public.

  • As part of the experiment with deregulation between 1996-2001 the state’s last republican administration gave $28 billion to California’s three largest privately owned electric companies to make its nuclear facilities “competitive”. That money and billions more were all lost during the 2001 energy crisis. The CPUC has never done a full accounting of these costs to the public. While PG&E has enjoyed not paying any federal taxes for years!

    In a political deal that has never been investigated, Democrats would appoint the former head of Southern California Edison – Michael Peevey — to be the President of the California Public Utilities Commission – while ousting the state’s most outspoken critic of these companies on the commission.

  • After scandals within the PUC over San Onofre and San Bruno exploded, Michael Peevey stepped down, as state representatives passed legislation calling for serious reforms. Governor Brown vetoed the reforms and is now being implicated in the scandals.

  • Thumbnail for Criminal probe focuses on San Onofre responseCriminal probe focuses on San Onofre response

    A state criminal investigation into the California Public Utilities Commission centers around former President Michael Peevey’s persistent intervention into the process to assign costs for the failure of the San Onofre nuclear plant, newly released court documents show.
    The San Diego Union-Tribune

  • Thumbnail for Judge skeptical of CPUC email claimJudge skeptical of CPUC email claim

    A San Francisco Superior Court judge indicated Tuesday that processing public-records requests is not a regulatory duty governed by the state utilities code, but appears more of an administrative obligation under the state constitution.
    The San Diego Union-Tribune

  • Thumbnail for Former Top CPUC Director "Disgusted" by Behavior of LeadershipFormer Top CPUC Director “Disgusted” by Behavior of Leadership

    A former high ranking member of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) spoke out for the first time since retiring from the agency last fall. In an exclusive interview with the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit, he called the actions of some of the CPUC’s former leaders “disgusting.”
    NBC Bay Area

  • Thumbnail for Critics Say Gov. Brown Isn't Delivering on Reform at Troubled CPUCCritics Say Gov. Brown Isn’t Delivering on Reform at Troubled CPUC

    Last December, Gov. Jerry Brown appointed a longtime adviser, Michael Picker, to head the California Public Utilities Commission. The CPUC oversees privately owned electric, gas and transportation companies and has been under fire for a series of scandals and missteps since 2010.
    Marisa Lagos

  • Thumbnail for Governor owns this utility scandalGovernor owns this utility scandal

    I’d be surprised if Gov. Jerry Brown turns out to have been corrupt in the traditional, transactional sense. Although decades of public employment have certainly increased his wealth, it’s ideology that has seemed to fuel his ambition.
    The San Diego Union-Tribune
  • The below article is a decent overview of the victory to keep Net Metering – that only happened because of petitions and active protests at the CPUC.

  • California regulators propose to keep solar net metering, with modifications

    15. December 2015 | Financial & Legal Affairs, Markets & Trends | By: Christian Roselund In a proposed decision, CPUC has called for the basic aspects of net metering to be maintained after 2017, along with a small interconnection charge, a move to time-of-use rates and other tweaks.
    pv magazine

  • Gov. Brown’s sister on board of firm in gas leak

    SAN FRANCISCO – Gov. Jerry Brown’s sister is a paid board member of the company that owns a natural-gas well whose leak is forcing thousands from their Southern California homes, and a watchdog group and the governor’s aides disagree over whether that makes a conflict of interest for the governor.
    The Orange County Register

  • Thumbnail for Mercury News editorial: PUC deals a blow to local power plansMercury News editorial: PUC deals a blow to local power plans

    Posted: 12/18/2015 04:30:00 PM PST Updated: 12/20/2015 06:52:24 AM PST The California Public Utilities Commission has done it again, voting 4-1 on Thursday for a fee increase to help line PG&E’s pockets at the expense of cities wanting to use Community Choice plans for power that draw on more green sources.
    Mercurynews

  • Thumbnail for San Bruno says PG&E too cozy with CPUC commissionerSan Bruno says PG&E too cozy with CPUC commissioner

    Pacific Gas and Electric Co. should be punished for improper back-channel communications with a California Public Utilities Commission member that amounted to a campaign of “constant courting,” San Bruno city attorneys argue in a legal motion filed with the regulatory agency.
    SFGate

  • Thumbnail for Judge: Regulator should release Brown e-mails on nuclear shutdownJudge: Regulator should release Brown e-mails on nuclear shutdown

    A San Francisco judge is urging the state Public Utilities Commission to stop “stonewalling” and release e-mails that could reveal a behind-the-scenes role for Gov. Jerry Brown in a multibillion-dollar deal with two utilities that shut down a Southern California nuclear power plant.
    San Francisco Chronicle

  • Thumbnail for Brown is no stranger to CPUC involvementBrown is no stranger to CPUC involvement

    A new batch of emails released by the City of San Bruno last week show Gov. Jerry Brown supervising his appointees on the California Public Utilities Commission closely. That interaction could be seen as routine and necessary political oversight, especially now, or it could have deeper implications for Brown given that the agency has been tainted by scandal and is under criminal investigation.
    The San Diego Union-Tribune

  • Thumbnail for Diablo Canyon may have a friend in Jerry BrownDiablo Canyon may have a friend in Jerry Brown

    With his current focus on fighting climate change, Brown has said that nuclear power deserves another look as a source of carbon-free electricity. The decision over whether to renew Diablo’s licenses rests with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, not the state.
    San Francisco Chronicle

  • Hundreds of Concerned Californians Protest PG&E’s Anti-Solar Proposal

    SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)– The following press release was issued by Vote Solar: This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151014006694/en/ Today hundreds of Californians gathered at Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) headquarters to protest a recent proposal from the utility that would stall continued consumer solar adoption, putting local jobs, public health benefits and climate progress at risk.
    Yahoo Finance

  • Thumbnail for Brown vetoes CPUC reform billsBrown vetoes CPUC reform bills

    Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday rejected all legislative proposals aimed at reforming the California Public Utilities Commission, saying he agreed with several of the provisions but could not support the bills as passed. The vetoes cap a months-long effort by state lawmakers to tighten oversight and practices at the powerful regulatory agency, which remains the subject of two criminal investigations over its relationships with utility companies.
    The San Diego Union-Tribune

  • Thumbnail for Brown Vetoes Six Bills to Reform Disgraced Public Utilities CommissionBrown Vetoes Six Bills to Reform Disgraced Public Utilities Commission

    SB 660 was considered the flagship of the bunch. It would have made it harder for regulators and utility officials to have secret meetings during rate-setting cases. One bill would have established an inspector general in the State Auditor’s Office to monitor the commission.
    AllGov California

  • Thumbnail for Will California revisit the San Onofre settlement?Will California revisit the San Onofre settlement?

    It’s California’s $4.7-billion question: whether to revisit the settlement splitting up the San Onofre nuclear plant’s closure costs, which left consumers on the hook for most of it. The decision rests with state regulators, who have no timetable or even requirement to act.
    Ivan Penn

  • Thumbnail for San Bruno: PUC authorizes investigation into PG&E operationsSan Bruno: PUC authorizes investigation into PG&E operations

    SAN BRUNO >> State regulators approved Thursday a wide-ranging probe into PG&E’s corporate culture and how it handles safety issues, amid concerns that linger nearly five years after a fatal explosion in San Bruno caused by the embattled utility.
    Santacruzsentinel

  • Thumbnail for Edison files opposition to reopening San Onofre settlementEdison files opposition to reopening San Onofre settlement

    Southern California Edison asked state regulators Thursday to reject calls to reopen the settlement agreement over the closed San Onofre nuclear power plant. In a 52-page filing with the California Public Utilities Commission, Edison argued that reopening the settlement would cause “serious harm to the public.”
    Ivan Penn

  • Thumbnail for CPUC boss faces hearing on futureCPUC boss faces hearing on future

    Eight months after Gov. Jerry Brown nominated him to take over as president of the California Public Utilities Commission, Michael Picker faces a confirmation hearing Wednesday. The political consultant turned gubernatorial aide was named as a member of the commission early last year, when former Commissioner Mark Ferron stepped down.
    The San Diego Union-Tribune

  • Big utility’s ever-shrinking fine for fatal explosion

    Some were mystified when, moments after the California Public Utilities Commission assessed the state’s largest utility company a record $1.6 billion fine for violating state and federal natural gas pipeline standards before the 2010 San Bruno natural gas pipeline explosion, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. announced it would not appeal the decision.
    Thomas D. Elias

  • PG&E proposes far-reaching changes for solar power

    Posted: 08/04/2015 06:21:35 AM PDT Updated: 08/05/2015 11:48:35 AM PDT SAN FRANCISCO — PG&E on Monday filed a proposal that urges state regulators to undertake wide-ranging changes in the solar electricity system in central and Northern California.
    Mercurynews

  • Oversight of San Onofre shutdown questioned

    When Southern California Edison replaced the steam generators at the San Onofre nuclear plant, state regulators allowed the utility to start billing customers for the upgrade without the benefit of what’s called a “reasonableness review.”Normally such reviews are required to make sure the equipment that utilities invest in is “used and useful” befo
    Energybiz

  • Thumbnail for Edison's "recent discovery" of revealing documentsEdison’s “recent discovery” of revealing documents

    Southern California Edison today (October 20) filed a document with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) revealing close communications between an Edison executive and the administrative law judge, Melanie Darling, who is overseeing the process by which Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric, major owners of the now-shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant, intend to pass most of the decommissioning costs to ratepayers instead of to shareholders.
    Don Bauder

  • Thumbnail for Search Warrants Reportedly Executed In Probe Into San Onofre SettlementSearch Warrants Reportedly Executed In Probe Into San Onofre Settlement

    The anger of some Southern California Edison ratepayers about the deal that led to them being stuck with a $3.3 billion bill, 70 percent of what it will cost to shut down the defunct San Onofre nuclear power plant in San Clemente, may have sparked an investigation that now appears to be heating up.
    Iris Salem

  • Thumbnail for Edison: Deal points weren't inkedEdison: Deal points weren’t inked

    When Southern California Edison vice president Stephen Pickett got back from a now-famous meeting in Poland where he discussed the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station with a California utility regulator, he wrote up a memo for his bosses titled, “Elements of a SONGS Deal.” There was no deal, the company is now saying.
    The San Diego Union-Tribune

  • Thumbnail for Reverse "rape of the ratepayer"Reverse “rape of the ratepayer”

    Michael Picker and Michael Peevey In a strongly worded statement, San Francisco-based consumer group TURN (The Utility Reform Network) asked the California Public Utilities Commission to set aside its decision to stick ratepayers with an almost $3.3 billion bill for the shutting down of the San Onofre nuclear power plant.
    Don Bauder
  • California representatives propose legislation to end Ex Parte scam in CPUC!

  • Thumbnail for Report blasts secret talks between utilities, CPUCReport blasts secret talks between utilities, CPUC

    The ability of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and other utilities to engage in back-channel talks with top California Public Utilities Commission officials unfairly skews decisions in favor of big-money interests, and the practice should be banned in rate cases, a review requested by the state agency concluded Monday. […]
    San Francisco Chronicle

  • No firings, suspensions at CPUC over back-channel talks with PG&E

    The California Public Utilities Commission has taken “corrective action” against about two dozen managers who engaged in back-channel e-mail communications with Pacific Gas and Electric Co., but the discipline stopped short of suspensions or firings, The Chronicle has learned.
    San Francisco Chronicle

  • Thumbnail for State regulator says PG&E may be too big to operate safelyState regulator says PG&E may be too big to operate safely

    Minutes after the California Public Utilities Commission levied a record $1.6 billion penalty against Pacific Gas and Electric Co. on Thursday for the deadly San Bruno pipeline explosion, the state’s top regulator said the utility is still plagued by gas-system problems, shrugs off even the harshest sanctions and may be too big to operate safely.
    San Francisco Chronicle

  • San Onofre deal concocted in secret

    The public was none the wiser. All the key parties in the room for the only public hearing on the $4.7 billion settlement agreement for shutdown costs at the failed San Onofre nuclear plant knew that the pact had its origins at a secret meeting in Poland.
    U-T San Diego

  • Thumbnail for How PG&E missed chance to avert San Bruno blastHow PG&E missed chance to avert San Bruno blast

    Seven years before a natural-gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno killed eight people, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. engineers were alerted that a crucial piece of information about the pipe’s troubled history was missing, a newly uncovered document shows.
    San Francisco Chronicle

  • Thumbnail for Federal grand jury opens corruption probe of PG&E, CPUCFederal grand jury opens corruption probe of PG&E, CPUC

    A federal grand jury is probing potentially illegal ties between Pacific Gas and Electric Co. executives and regulators with the California Public Utilities Commission, The Chronicle has learned. The investigation is looking into “PG&E’s relationship” with state regulatory officials, according to a May 15 letter to the utility from federal prosecutors.
    SFGate

  • Thumbnail for Email links UCLA researcher to $4.7B energy station settlementEmail links UCLA researcher to $4.7B energy station settlement

    A UCLA researcher collaborated with the former California Public Utilities Commission president to craft a settlement for the closure of a San Diego energy station so that the UCLA campus would especially benefit, according to an email that was publicly released this week. In an email sent to former commission president Michael Peevey on Oct.
    Dailybruin

  • ‘Regime Change’ in California? | eon3EMFblog.net

    May 5, 2015 … The Iron Law of PUC Corruption In 2006 Werner Troesken published a paper in the National Bureau of Economic Research publication …
    eon3emfblog.net

  • News Coverage of California Public Utility Commissioner Michael …

    Many have called it a “mental breakdown” on the part of Michael Peevey, but the truth may … Aguirre & Severson LLP has spent thousands of hours to prevent a proposed … CBS News 8, May 22, 2014, Fight over San Onofre Goes Nuclear … San Diego Union Tribune, May 11, 2014, Who pays for a worthless power plant?
    www.amslawyers.com

  • Commission of lies, company of duplicity

    The question of “who is telling the truth?” arises from documents Southern California Edison recently released related to the decision to force ratepayers to pay 70 percent of the nearly $5 billion cost of decommissioning the now-shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant.
    Don Bauder

  • Thumbnail for New questions about ex-CPUC president's deals with utilitiesNew questions about ex-CPUC president’s deals with utilities

    The former head of the California Public Utilities Commission pressured two Southern California utilities last year to make donations to a school at UCLA where he then landed a post on an advisory board, documents revealed Wednesday show. The panel’s then-president, Michael Peevey, urged that Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric Co.
    SFGate

  • Who Pays for San Onofre? – Mike Aguirre – YouTube

    Feb 11, 2015 … Attorney Mike Aguirre and his law partner Maria Severson are at the center of the emerging revelations about CPUC officials’ too cozy …
    www.youtube.com

  • PUC boss tells Mike Aguirre to ‘shut up’ over San Onofre settlement …

    May 21, 2014 … PUC president tells Mike Aguirre to ‘shut up’ — twice — at San Onofre hearing … groups regarding $4.7 billion of shutdown costs for the San Onofre nuclear power plant. … Extremely Brilliant Way to Pay off Your Mortgage ?