NRC Postpones Diablo Canyon Decision for Seismic Studies

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has agreed to postpone making a final decision about relicensing the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in Avila Beach until supplemental seismic safety studies have been completed. Until now, the NRC had insisted that such seismic concerns should not be included in relicensing matters, which focus instead on the age of the plants’ parts. The NRC’s announcement came in response to considerable political heat from the likes of Congressmember Lois Capps, U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, and State Senator Sam Blakeslee in the wake of the Japanese nuclear power plant disaster this March.