Issa Co-Leads Bipartisan Effort to Help Move San Onofre Fuel Off Site
WASHINGTON DC - Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-50) announced he is co-leading with Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49) the Spent Fuel Prioritization Act to help move spent fuel away from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS).The legislation is supported by Representatives Scott Peters (CA-52), Michelle Steel (CA-48) , Katie Porter (CA-45), and Young Kim (CA-39). The bill will modernize the Nuclear Waste Policy Act and require the federal government to consider factors including facility closure, proximity to population, and seismic threats when planning for removal of spent fuel for transport to permanent federal off-site storage facilities.
“Our Southern California communities deserve the peace of mind that comes from knowing that spent fuel is no longer stored at the facility,” Rep. Issa said.
Rep. Issa has long offered solutions to concerns about the spent fuel as a risk to area residents and communities as well as to the adjacent Camp Pendleton U.S. Marine Corps base. In 2017 he introduced the Interim Consolidated Storage Act, to speed the removal of waste and spent fuel at SONGS to interim consolidates storage facilities.
“For too long, the question of spent fuel storage has been held hostage and prevented closure and moving to the next chapter for facilities like SONGS and also stymied the push to look to nuclear power, when well-managed and executed, as a long-term source of clean energy when the fuel is handled safely and stored away from people, installations and the threat of natural disaster.”
Darrell Issa is the Representative of California’s 50th Congressional District. The District encompasses the central and northeastern parts of San Diego County and a portion of Riverside County, including the communities of Fallbrook, San Marcos, Valley Center, Ramona, Escondido, Santee, Lakeside, El Cajon, Temecula, and the mountain and desert areas of the San Diego-Imperial County line. Issa served as the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from 2011-2015.
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