BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SJR 23
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Date of Hearing: June 15, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Mike Gatto, Chair
SJR
23 (Bates) - As Introduced March 28, 2016
SENATE VOTE: 37-0
SUBJECT: Interim Consolidated Storage Act of 2016: San Onofre
Nuclear Generating Station
SUMMARY: Urges the Congress of the United States to pass the
Interim Consolidated Storage Act of 2016 and implement
relocation of spent nuclear fuel from the San Onofre Nuclear
Generating Station (SONGS). Specifically, this resolution:
1)Urges the passage of House Resolution (H.R.) 4745, the Interim
Consolidated Storage Act of 2016.
2)Urges the United States Department of Energy (US DOE) to
implement the prompt and safe relocation of spent nuclear fuel
from SONGS to a licensed and regulated interim consolidated
storage facility.
EXISTING LAW:
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1)Prohibits any nuclear fission thermal powerplant requiring the
reprocessing of fuel rods from being permitted unless the
federal government has identified and approved, and there
exists a technology for the construction and operation of,
nuclear fuel rod reprocessing plants. (Public Resources Code
Sections 25524.1 to 25524.3)
2)States, pursuant to the California Nuclear Facility
Decommissioning Act of 1985, that the citizens of California
should be protected from exposure to radiation from nuclear
facilities. (Public Utilities Code Section 8321, et seq.)
3)Requires the California Energy Commission (CEC) to assess
existing scientific studies to determine the vulnerability of
very large generation facilities (1,700 megawatts or greater)
to major disruptions due to aging or major earthquake and the
resulting impacts on reliability, public safety, and the
economy. Requires the CEC, in the absence of a long-term
nuclear waste storage facility, assess the potential state and
local costs and impacts associated with accumulating waste at
California's nuclear powerplants. (Public Resources Code
Section 25303)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This resolution is keyed non-fiscal by
the Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS:
1)Author's Statement: "For decades, the federal government has
made promises to provide for the safe storage of America's
nuclear waste. The failure of the government to act on its
duty to take possession and provide safe storage of nuclear
waste has beleaguered communities across the nation, including
areas surrounding the SONGS. [?] The Interim Consolidated
Storage Act creates an innovative solution to a long-debated
problem. This resolution would allow regions volunteering to
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host an interim waste storage facility to serve the needs of
communities around the country that have nuclear waste. [?]
The Interim Consolidated Storage Act is a reasonable,
bipartisan step toward making American communities safer."
2)Background: California has one operational nuclear power plant
and a number of plants that are no longer in service:
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| Nuclear Power Plants in California |
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| Name | Capacity | Period In | Owner |
| of | (MW) | Service | |
| Plant | | | |
-------------------------------------------------------------
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| Diablo Canyon |
-------------------------------------------------------------
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|Unit 1 |1,073 |1985 |PG&E |
|Unit 2 |1,087 |1986 |PG&E |
-------------------------------------------------------------
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| San Onofre |
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|Unit 1 |436 |1968 - 1992 |SCE/SDG&E |
|Unit 2 |1,070 |1983 |SCE/SDG&E |
|Unit 3 |1,080 |1984 |SCE/SDG&E |
-------------------------------------------------------------
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| Humboldt Bay |
-------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
|Unit 3 |65 |1963 - 1976 |PG&E |
|* | | | |
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-------------------------------------------------------------
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| Rancho Seco |
-------------------------------------------------------------
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| |913 |1975 - 1989 |SMUD |
-------------------------------------------------------------
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| Vallecitos |
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| |30 |1957 - 1967 |PG&E/GE |
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| Santa Susana |
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| |7.5 to 20 |1957 - 1964 |SCE |
| |(electric) | | |
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3)Spent Fuel: Nuclear fuel rods are ceramic pellets of uranium
oxide (UO2), about the size of a finger joint, stacked and
sealed inside a long metal tube (cladding) about as big around
as a Sharpie pen. The space between the pellets and cladding
is filled with helium. "Spent fuel" refers to fuel used in a
commercial nuclear reactor that has been removed because it
can no longer economically sustain a nuclear reaction.
According to SCE's Irradiated Fuel Management Plan filed with
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission:
The safe initial interim storage of SONGS Units 2
and 3 irradiated fuel will be "wet storage" in
each unit's respective spent fuel pool. The spent
fuel pools will be isolated from their normal
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support systems and those systems replaced by
stand-alone cooling and filtration units (also
termed a "spent fuel pool island"). Doing so
facilitates earlier system abandonment and
parallel decommissioning activities.
Subsequently, all irradiated fuel in the SONGS
Units 2 and 3 spent fuel pools will be safely
transferred to "dry storage" at the common
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation
(ISFSI) located on the SONGS site. Dry storage is
also considered interim storage pending transfer
to the US DOE.
A total of 1,726 irradiated fuel assemblies have
been generated in SONGS Unit 2 and1,734 irradiated
fuel assemblies have been generated in SONGS Unit
3, for a total of 3,460 irradiated fuel
assemblies. At present, 792 SONGS Units 2 and 3
irradiated fuel assemblies have already been
transferred to the common ISFSI. The remaining
2,668 irradiated fuel assembles will be loaded
into Dry Shielded Canisters (DSCs) and transferred
to the ISFSI.
The current ISFSI is located inside the Owner
Controlled Area. It was constructed to accommodate
SONGS Unit 1 irradiated fuel and provides
additional capacity for a limited amount of SONGS
Units 2 and 3 irradiated fuel.
The ISFSI currently contains 18 DSCs storing Unit
1 fuel and Greater than Class C (GTCC) waste.
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The ISFSI also contains 33 DSCs which store Units
2 and 3 fuel.
Also according to the SCE document:
"The current plans are to obtain necessary permits for the
ISFSI to be expanded to accommodate the remaining inventory
of the SONGS Units 2 and 3 spent fuel pools."
And:
"This plan is based upon a 2024 start date for U.S. DOE
acceptance of spent fuel from the industry and the SONGS
Units 2 and 3 positions in the queue. ? SCE is therefore
assuming all fuel will be removed from the SONGS site as of
2049. Based on this assumption, the ISFSI will be
subsequently decommissioned by the 2051 final license
termination date."
In October 2015 the California Coastal Commission approved
construction and expansion of the ISFSI.
4)Concerns about the Potential for Natural Disasters Affecting
the Stored Fuel: Approximately 65,000 people reside in San
Clemente, five miles northwest of SONGS. Cities within 20
miles of SONGS include Laguna Beach in Orange County and
Oceanside in San Diego County.
According to the 2015 State Working Group on Earthquake
Probabilities, California faces a 99.7% chance of a magnitude
6.7 or larger earthquake during the next 30 years. The
likelihood of an even more powerful quake of magnitude 7.5 or
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greater in the next 30 years is 46%.
According to SCE, the commonly known Richter scale is not used
to determine earthquake building safety for any building.
Instead, building safety relies on a value known as "peak
ground acceleration," which is based on the anticipated ground
movement at the site during the largest potential earthquake,
estimated by geologists. Additionally, the proximity of the
fault and soil conditions must also be considered. SONGS was
built to withstand a peak ground acceleration of at least
0.67g (g refers to the force of gravity).
According to the National Institute of Building Sciences, the
following definitions are commonly used to characterize or
measure the effect of an earthquake on the ground (a.k.a.
ground motion):
a) Acceleration is the rate of change of speed, measured in
"g"s at 980 cm/sec or 1.00 g. For example,
i) 0.001g or 1 cm/sec2 is perceptible by people
ii) 0.02 g or 20 cm/sec2 causes people to lose their
balance
iii) 0.50g is very high but buildings can survive it if
the duration is short and if the mass and configuration
has enough damping
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b) Velocity (or speed) is the rate of change of position,
measured in centimeters per second.
c) Displacement is the distance from the point of rest,
measured in centimeters.
d) Duration is the length of time the shock cycles
persists.
e) Magnitude is the "size" of the earthquake, measured by
the Richter scale, which ranges from 1-10. The Richter
scale is based on the maximum amplitude of certain seismic
waves, and seismologists estimate that each unit of the
Richter scale is a 31 times increase of energy. Moment
Magnitude Scale is a recent measure that is becoming more
frequently used.
The Institute points out that if the level of acceleration is
combined with duration, the power of destruction is defined.
Usually, the longer the duration, the less acceleration the
building can endure. A building can withstand very high
acceleration for a very short duration in proportion with
damping measures incorporated in the structure.
5)Local Concern Following Fukushima: SCE points out that there
are differences between SONGS and the Fukushima reactors,
specifically: the presence of a tsunami wall; the spent fuel
storage pools are located in a separate building adjacent to
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the containment structure that encloses the reactor or primary
system; and the used fuel rods are stored much closer to
ground level than they are at Fukushima Daiichi, making it
easier to add water if necessary.
6)Arguments in Support: The cities of San Clemente, Oceanside,
and Laguna Woods support SJR 23 and express a strong desire to
promptly and safely relocate the nuclear fuel stored at SONGS.
7)Licensed Storage at or away from reactor sites. The NRC
authorizes ISFSI, including several that are located at or
away from reactor sites. These include the Department of
Energy Idaho Spent Fuel Facility and a private fuel storage
facility in Utah.
7)Related Legislation:
AJR 29 (Chávez) of 2016, urges the passage of H.R. 3643 and
urges the US DOE to implement the prompt and safe relocation
of spent nuclear fuel from the SONGS to a licensed and
regulated interim consolidated storage facility. The bill is
pending in the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications
Committee.
H.R. 3643, 114th Congress (Michael Conaway, 11th Congressional
District, 2015) authorizes the U.S. Secretary of Energy to
enter into contracts for the storage of high-level radioactive
waste or spent nuclear fuel with any person that holds a
license for an interim consolidated storage facility. Referred
to the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on
Environment and the Economy in October 2015.
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H.R. 4745, 114th Congress (Mick Mulvaney, 5th Congressional
District) authorizes the U.S. Secretary of Energy to enter
into new contracts or modify existing contracts with any
person who generates or holds title to high-level radioactive
waste or spent nuclear fuel of domestic origin for the
acceptance of title and subsequent storage of such waste or
fuel at an interim consolidated storage facility, with
priority for storage given to high-level radioactive waste and
spent nuclear fuel located on sites without an operating
nuclear reactor. Referred to the U.S. House Energy and
Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy in March
2016.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Laguna Woods, City of
Oceanside, City of
San Clemente, City of
Opposition
None on file.
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Analysis Prepared by:Sue Kateley / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083