Monday July 31, 2023
San Luis Obispo Tribune —
The eventual decommissioning of Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in coastal San Luis Obispo County will have potentially “significant and unavoidable” environmental impacts, according to a new report.
The draft environmental impact report analyzed how decommissioning and dismantling the 2,200-megawatt power plant will affect the ocean and land ecosystems around it. The plant was set to shut down its two nuclear reactors located just north of Avila Beach in 2024 and 2025.
San Luis Obispo County released the draft report on Friday, following more than two years of work at a cost of nearly $2.5 million.
Should the nuclear power plant be decommissioned beginning in 2024, it would take about seven years to plan, decontaminate the facility, demolish most large site structures and begin soil remediation work, according to the report.
Another seven years, from 2032 through 2039, would be spent completing the restoration of the power plant property.