The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment on the draft
supplemental environmental impact statement for renewing the operating licenses of
Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and 2, in Avila Beach, California. The draft report
contains the NRC staff’s evaluation and preliminary conclusion that no environmental impacts
would preclude renewing the licenses for an additional 20 years of operation.
The NRC staff will hold a webinar and an in-person meeting on the draft report. The
webinar will be Nov. 14 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Pacific time. The in-person meeting will be
Nov. 20 from 6-9 p.m. Pacific time at the Courtyard San Luis Obispo, 1605 Calle Joaquin in San
Luis Obispo, California. As part of these meetings, the staff will describe the environmental
review process and accept comments from the public on the draft report.
Members of the public can also submit comments on the draft report three other ways:
online at regulations.gov, under Docket ID NRC-2023-0192; email to
DiabloCanyonEnvironmental@nrc.gov; or by U.S. mail to Office of Administration, Mail Stop
TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. The
deadline for submitting comments is Dec. 16.
Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 are pressurized-water reactors about 12 miles southwest of
San Luis Obispo. The plant owner, Pacific Gas & Electric Co., submitted the license renewal
application on Nov. 7, 2023. Unit 1’s operating license expires Nov. 2, 2024; Unit 2’s operating
license expires Aug. 26, 2025. The reactors’ licenses will remain in effect under an exemption to
agency regulations until completion of the agency’s review, which covers both safety and
environmental issues.
The draft report is part of the NRC’s environmental review, and is available on the
NRC’s website. A final supplemental environmental impact statement is anticipated to be issued
in June 2025. The license renewal application can be viewed at the San Luis Obispo Library, 995
Palm St. in San Luis Obispo. General information about reactor license renewal is also available
on the NRC website.
