CITIZENS OVERSIGHT TO ANNOUNCE TWO MAJOR PROJECTS AT SAN ONOFRE PUBLIC EVENT SUNDAY

Hear our interview aired earlier this month on KNSJ radio with Ray Lutz, founder of Citizens Oversight, talking about the settlement agreement, by clicking the audio link.

East County News Service

UPDATE:  Other organizations concerned about San Onofre nuclear waste have issued statements calling today's event as a "sham" and voicing criticisms of the settlement deal. Read more:  http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/critics-call-todays-celebration-settle...

September 23, 2017 (Oceanside) — Citizens Oversight, an El Cajon-based watchdog group, will be announcing formation of a settlement oversight panel to monitor efforts to move nuclear waste from San Onofre to a safer place pursuant to a settlement agreement with Southern California Edison and the California Coastal Commission.  In addition, founder Ray Lutz will unveil a “1,000-year dry storage challenge” that aims to find a long-term solution to the nation’s lack of storage for nuclear wastes. 

Details of both new initiatives will be provided during a “Move the Waste to a Safer Place” rally and celebration this Sunday, September 24 at the Oceanside Pier Amphitheatre. Following music at 4 p.m., a presentation including speeches, a press conference and rally will be held with plans detailed to provide oversight and chart a new course to resolve the nuclear waste dilemma.

The Coastal Commission had approved a permit to store nuclear waste just 100 feet from the ocean and inches above the high-water mark near a fault capable of a 7.4 earthquake.  Citizens Oversight filed a lawsuit and obtained a comprehensive settlement agreement announced August 28^th that requires Edison to make reasonable efforts to find a safer storage space.

The settlement has drawn criticism from some anti-nuclear groups including Public Watchdogs and Physicians for Social Responsibility, who have noted that the agreement offers no guarantee that the waste will be moved, if no federal nuclear waste site is approved or if options turn out to be prohibitively costly. They also voiced concerned about public safety if the waste is transported and an accident should occur en route.

Speaker’s at Sunday’s event will include Lutz, attorney Michael Aguirre, public officials and candidates. Music will be provided by Tes Kempner and Friends and Musical Medicine for the Soul. (Music may continue after the program ends at 6 p.m.)

Ray Lutz, Founder of Citizens Oversight said, “We believe this settlement agreement starts a historic process, something no other plant in the United States has done -- to seriously work to develop a plan to move the waste to a safer place. We believe this is a win for everyone involved, especially the millions of people otherwise at risk in Southern California due to a possible nuclear waste accident.”

Below are details provided by Citizens Oversight on the two new initiatives to be announced formally at the event:

 

1. SETTLEMENT OVERSIGHT PANEL – Applications will be accepted from members of the public to serve on the Settlement Oversight Panel to continuously monitor the settlement, provide advice to make sure SCE does their part to try to move the waste, and engage with the public. This panel will be empowered to reach positions on issues on an advisory basis to Citizens Oversight and the public at large.

2. 1000-YEAR DRY STORAGE CHALLENGE – It is now apparent that Yucca Mountain and the deep geologic repository approach to dealing with nuclear waste on a long-term basis has been a failure and it will not solve our near-term nuclear waste problem. Yet, we need a better place for waste from many shut-down nuclear plants around the country. Citizens’ Oversight will announce a new project, the “1000-year dry storage challenge.” This project will call for designs to safely store nuclear waste from shut-down nuclear reactors, most likely in monitored surface installations that are far superior to the (much more temporary) “Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installations (ISFSI)” currently in use around the country, with the goal that they could safely contain the nuclear waste for up to 1000 years. This project is distinct from the settlement, because it is focused on the longer-term future of waste storage, and will drive the national conversation on our nuclear waste future.

The public is invited to attend, along with environmental and anti-nuclear advocates, surfers, Native American leaders, union workers, candidates and political leaders in all parties, and “anyone who wants to spend their time making a difference.”

RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/1724797367815777

For more information, visit http://CitizensOversight.org

Project: http://copswiki.org/Common/StopNukeDump

Event: http://copswiki.org/Common/M1788