On April 29, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied review of a petition from three environmental groups to review the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) decision to allow the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant to operate beyond planned closure dates. The San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace, Friends of the Earth filed the lawsuit in April 2023 challenging the NRC’s decision to allow the plant to continue operations while it reviewed an extension of its operating license.
Renewable Deadline Exemption
Diablo Canyon’s two reactor units were scheduled to be decommissioned when the current operating licenses expire in 2024 and 2025. In 2022, amid concerns over power shortages, the legislature extended the life of the nuclear power plant under state law by five years. (see California Keeps Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant Open.)
In March 2023, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted Diablo Canyon an exemption from the requirements to submit a license renewal application as long as it submitted a license renewal application by December 31, 2023. (see Federal Regulator Extends License for Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant.) Pacific Gas & Electric filed its federal relicensing application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in November 2023.
In granting PG&E an exemption to the renewal deadline, the NRC found that the exemption was authorized by law, that there would be no undue risk to public health and safety, and special circumstances were present. The NRC also concluded that the exemption met the eligibility criteria for a categorical exclusion and did not require an additional environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
NRC’s Decision and California’s Changing Energy Needs
The Ninth Circuit panel held that the NRC’s decision to grant the exemption was not arbitrary, capricious, or contrary to law, and the NRC did not act arbitrarily or capriciously in invoking the NEPA categorical exclusion. The panel held that the NRC was not required to provide a hearing or meet other procedural requirements before issuing the exemption because the exemption was not a licensing proceeding. The court concluded that the record supported the NRC’s findings of no undue risk to the public health and safety and the commission adequately explained why changes in California’s needs for reliable electricity constitute circumstances not considered when NRC adopted the timely renewal rule.
The 2,250 MW Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant provides 8.6% of the state’s electricity, including approximately 17% of its zero-emissions electricity. Unit 1 has been in operation since 1985 and Unit 2 has been in operation since 1986.