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June I 1, 2019

The Honorable Kristine Svinicki

Chairwoman
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, DC 20555-000 l

Dear Chairman Svinicki,

1 write to fbllow up 011 my letter to you dated April 15, 2019, calling for a full-time inspector to
be assigned to the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The letter. sent nearJy two
months ago, ,vus signed by hoth Qf California's Senators and five Members of Congress whose
c.onstituents are directly 1n1pacted by your oversight responsibiJitics at SONGS. We have yet to
receive a v.Titten rcsp,mse from you or any other Nudear Regulatory Conunission (NRC)
ollicial. This lack ofresponsc i$ particularly c<Jncerning in light of the Commission's May 21.
2019, determination allowing Southern Calil<.nnia Edison and Iloltcc International to resume
spent fuel loading.

On June 7, 2019, the I louse Ov~rsight Committee held a hearing that I participated in examining
federal spent nuclear fuel policies and safety at SONGS, NRC Region IV Administrator Scott
Morris testified on bchal r of the Commission. During the hearing, Administrator Morris
confirmed that the follO'wing facts about occurrences at SONGS over the fast year:
• The August 2018 ••near-miss" incident at SONGS was caused hy deficiencies in Southern
California Edison's training, equipment, procedures, and oversight.
• Southern California Edis(m's staff at SONGS were not properly trained, ce11ified, and
supervised.
• Southcm CaMomia Edison failed to formally report tho August 2018 ''near-miss"
incident \'l-'ithiu the timeframe required by lhe NRC.
• A simiJar event had previously taken place at SONGS, but Southern California Edison
did not take c<.mectivc action to ensure such an event would not happen again.
• The August 2018 "nearemiss" and reporting deficiencies led to the NRC assessing
Southern California Edison with a Level U violation.
• 11 is nt1t common for NRC licensees to receive Level II violations.
• Southern California Edison inspected only eight of l'hc 29 canisters that have.been
downloaded into the independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) at SONGS.
Administralor Morris's testimony further illustrated the extmordinary record of non-compliance
at SONGS. Southern California Edison's violation stemming from its failure. to report the August
2019 '"ncar~miss" in a timely manner demonstrates that the Commission cannut rely on its
licensee to seJf:.report. As .such. periodic inspections are inadequate to provide local communities
ihe level of safc1y and transparency that they deserve. With this in mind, I reiterate my call for a
full-time inspector to verify that all spent fuel loading activities at SONGS complywithNRC
safoty requirements.

Additionally~ Jwas disappointed to learn that Southern California Edison and the NRC visually
assessed only eight of the 29 loaded canisters I.ii SONGS. The facility's location presents unique
enviromnental threats and elevated hazard to canister integrity, including seismic activity and
corrosive ocean air. Southern California Edison has infonned me that it costed approximately
$400,000 in total for the eight visual in~pections. The cost of additional inspections is a small
price to pay for greater certainty about canister conditions, especially given the $4. 7 billion price
tag for the decommissioning of SONGS. 1 l urg_c you to immediately require the visual inspection
or the remaining 21 canisters.

Please provide a response to this leUer nu later than June 24, 2019. Thank )'OU.

Sinccrclv.., .'

MIKE I ,F.VIN
Member of Congress

1 Sforza, Teri. 30 April 2018. "Ho,.,, much should it cost LU pay fi)r San Ono Ire nui;:Jenr phmt's !lhutdown? llere's

how you can weigh in!' The Orange Coun()' Register.

2
CC: Scott Morris, Administrator, Region lV 1 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

3
Mccloskey, Bridin

Attachments: 2019-06-11 Letter to NRC Full-Time Inspector and Visual lnspections.pdf

From: Gilbert, Jonathan <Jonathan.Gilbert@mail.house.gov>

Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2019 9:41 AM
To: Moreno, Angel <Angel.Moreno @nrc.gov>
Cc: Krahel, Kyle <Kyle.Krahel @mail.house.gov>
Subject: [External_Sender] Letter from Rep. Levin re Full-Time Inspector and Visual Inspections

Hi Angel - Please find attached a letter from Rep. Levin following up on the delegation's previous letter calling for a full-
time inspector. We have yet to receive a response on the letter sent two months ago.

I'd appreciate if you could share the letter with Region IV, as Administrator Morris is copied on the letter.

Thank you.

Jonathan

Jonathan Gilbert
Legislative Director
Phone: 202-225-3906

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