Governor Brown signs bill to help ease impacts of Diablo Canyon Power Plant
Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 1090 into law on Wednesday that will ease local and statewide impacts of the impending closure of the last nuclear power plant in California.
The new law was introduced in March by Senator Bill Monning (D-Carmel) and Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo) to call on the California Public Utilities Commission to approve elements of the Joint Proposal of PG&E and others to retire the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, as laid out in the community impact mitigation settlement.
“This law will help ensure the safety, health and economic security of our community as we transition to a post-Diablo Canyon economy and environment,” said John Allan Peschong, the Board of Supervisors Chair and District 1 Supervisor for the County of San Luis Obispo.
Senate Bill 1090 will result in full funding of the $350 million employee retention program, the community impact mitigation settlement of $85 million, and the integrated resources plan to ensure that there is no increase in greenhouse gas emissions due to the retirement of the Diablo Canyon Plant.
“SB 1090 provides one-time economic assistance for communities that have shouldered the burden of living with a nuclear power plant in their backyard for the last three decades to provide the rest of the State with clean, reliable power,” said San Luis Obispo City Manager Derek Johnson. “This is a positive step forward and the first step of many that we need to take to address the economic impacts of Diablo Canyon’s planned closure in 2025.”
Congressmen Salud Carbajal issued the following statement on the approval of the bill.
“I am grateful to both Senator Monning and Assemblymember Cunningham for their tenacity in securing this funding following the CPUC’s ruling. These resources are critical in preparing our community for this transition by retraining the local skilled workforce and addressing the need for new energy sources on the Central Coast. I will continue working to secure federal resources to further offset the economic impact of this decommissioning while encouraging renewable energy development in our region.”
Justin Fareed issued the following statement on the approval of the bill.
“I’m glad to see this agreement now set in stone, however, throwing water on a grease fire doesn’t put out the flame. The collateral damage caused by the closure of Diablo is widespread and it affects every corner of our community. There is more that can be done at the federal level to help rescue these lost local jobs. We should work to repurpose the facility–turning it into a desalination plant–providing a solution to our water crisis and injecting growth into the local economy.”
