Coastal Commission approves moving old nuclear reactor by truck

By MICHELLE MORGANTE
Associated Press Writer

SAN DIEGO (AP) Operators of the San Onofre nuclear power plant won permission Friday to move a decommissioned nuclear reactor by truck across a beach that environmentalists say is a critical habitat for the endangered snowy plover and other species.

After heated discussion, the California Coastal Commission voted 7-5 to approve the request by Southern California Edison, which operates the plant 10 miles south of San Clemente.

The company will move the reactor on tractor-trailer across a state park, a portion of Interstate 5, dirt roads and beach land at the Camp Pendleton Marine base.

Edison plans to make the 15-mile trip, which will take three to five days, in early March. It must complete the project by March 31, to avoid the primary nesting season of the snowy plover.

The defunct reactor, which has been cleaned of high-level radioactive material, will be loaded onto a barge at Camp Pendleton and shipped to a burial site in Barnwell County, South Carolina.

The coastal commission in February 2000 gave permission to Edison to use a rail line to move its decommissioned reactor. But the energy company abandoned the plan when it learned it would have to build a 600-foot spur line to reach the barge and cover insurance costs.

Edison representatives told the commission Friday that building the spur line would require filling in two seasonal vernal pools. They said operators of the private rail line wanted the utility to take responsibility for any problems with the move, including negligence by the rail line and its employees.

``The amount of that was so astronomical, no prudent business practice would allow that,'' said David Kay, a Southern California Edison environmental affairs project manager.

Alternative options, including building temporary piers near the San Onofre station or sending the reactor by rail, were ruled out as either environmentally damaging or disruptive to rail traffic.

The commission's staff endorsed Edison's choice of truck transport as ``the feasible, least environmentally damaging alternative.''

Several members of the commission complained they were being presented with a series of bad alternatives. Commissioner Pedro Nava said Edison was looking for the least costly choice and shirking its own responsibility.

``This is like a guy who built a yacht in his basement and couldn't figure out how to get it out the door,'' Nava said.

Mark Massara, a representative of the Sierra Club, told the commission that San Onofre's operators were behaving like ``reckless pennypinchers.''

But Edison officials argued the beach was often used by Marines for training. The commission also noted in its report Marine vehicles often travel the same stretch of beach.

Commissioner Sara Wan argued the utility should be required to survey the beach route for snowy plover and other birds nests before and after the move and agree to accept responsibility for any resulting damage to the environment.

The move will require the closure of portions of the San Onofre State Park for what Edison estimates could be up to a few hours. During the move, at least two lanes of southbound I-5 will be closed; the utility said the truck could travel the 400 yards of interstate it needs to cross in 20 minutes.

Once on the beach, biological monitors will check for nesting sites. If any are found, the truck and its assisting convoy will be routed around them or halted entirely, Kay said.

To cross the sandy stretches and portions of creekbeds and estuary, crews will build a temporary road of high-density plastic matting. More than 1,000 mats will be laid out for a one-mile stretch. Sections of mat will be disassembled from the back and moved by forklift to the front in a leapfrog fashion as the truck moves south.

Edison said it will begin the project only if weather and sea conditions are forecast to be favorable for the entire move. It will cross creeks and streams only if water levels are six inches or less.

Massara said the Sierra Club intends to offer a live Webcast of the move to allow public monitoring.

^On the Net:

Southern California Edison at http://www.sce.com/sc3/default.htm

California Coastal Commission at http://www.coastal.ca.gov/

Sierra Club at http://www.sierraclub.org/

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)