Mayor Agran Convenes Public Hearing to Discuss San Onofre Nuclear Waste

Irvine officials are actively exploring a local plan to relocate nuclear waste from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, which is currently stored near the Pacific Ocean. Mayor Larry Agran convened a public hearing on September 30 to gather testimony from various stakeholders, including nuclear industry experts and local citizens. All participants acknowledged that the current storage situation is not intended to be permanent, with the federal government still decades away from fulfilling its commitment to a national waste repository. Concerns have been raised about the integrity of the canisters, which are at risk of cracking and corrosion and lack onsite repair capabilities. The canisters are stored in a vulnerable location, subject to flooding from tsunamis and rising sea levels.

Agran emphasized the need for a secure storage plan to ensure safety for Southern California over the next century. He outlined plans to move the waste to a hardened facility in the nearby hills of Camp Pendleton. The Council intends to address this critical issue at a regular meeting later this year.