John.
I wanted to make sure you saw this article in the
San Diego Union-Tribune about the latest in our efforts to remove spent fuel from the now decommissioned San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS).
If you have a subscription to the Union-Tribune, you can read the article here. Otherwise, keep scrolling to learn more.
This week, I joined U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm for a tour of SONGS, where she emphasized the government's commitment to send federal dollars to cities and towns willing to step forward and accept nuclear waste.
Spent fuel poses some environmental risks, but especially so in areas with large populations and seismic hazards. San Onofre is easily among the more concerning sites, which is why I reintroduced legislation with our neighboring Representative Darrell Issa to give priority to decommissioned plants like SONGS.
In addition, our office helped secure $40 million to move along consent-based acceptance to communities that may be attracted to hosting a storage facility by the prospect of more local jobs and economic growth.
At Thursday's tour, Secretary Granholm said her department has “gotten a lot of expressions of interest" from communities interested in hosting the nuclear waste -- a very encouraging sign.
While we have much more work to do before this waste is gone for good, we are finally making real progress.
Thank you for your ongoing support,
Mike
