Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant, Creative Commons usage, by Tracey Adams

CLAWS says NO to Diablo

Committees for Land, Air, Water and Species (CLAWS) signed on to the letter sent by Jane Swanson of Mothers for Peace, along with 66 other groups, to reiterate that the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant must be closed, on schedule and as planned. It's overdue and seriously unsafe. 

We were delighted to see the media release sent by Mothers for Peace get picked up, with features in the New York Times as well as Associated Press. Here's the news:

67 Organizations Push Back

Against Efforts to Extend Operation

of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant 

In response to Governor Newsom’s suggestion to extend the operating life of Diablo Canyon nuclear facility beyond its planned closure dates of 2024 and 2025, 67 organizations from across the country sent him a letter of protest on May 17, 2022.

Jane Swanson of Mothers for Peace states, “There is nothing smart about continuing to operate Diablo Canyon beyond its current licenses. It is old, dirty, dangerous, and expensive! Let’s invest California’s surplus money in clean and safe energy resources, conservation, and efficiency.”

CLAWS Sends Notice of Intent to Sue in Federal Court Over the City of Lompoc’s 15 Year Water Pollution Problem

The Committees for Land, Air, Water and Species (CLAWS) today sent formal notice of its intent to file a federal Clean Water Act action against the City of Lompoc unless officials commit to fixing water pollution problems at the City’s Corporate Yard. “The City has known about serious water pollution problems, including heavy metals, at the Yard for a very long time. Compared to data from 2003, water pollution tests in 2017 show virtually no change in contaminant discharges to San Miguelito Creek, the Santa Ynez River and estuary, and ultimately the Pacific Ocean,” said Board President Michael Gibian. “CLAWS decided to take this taken action because the City appears unwilling to fix obvious problems on its own,” he lamented.

The Clean Water Act’s objectives are to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters.” To this end, the Act prohibits the Corporate Yard from discharging pollutants except in compliance with California’s Industrial Stormwater Permit.[1]  California’s permit is a flexible regulatory instrument that relies almost exclusively on self-implementation and self-regulation.  Facilities are not subject to legal enforcement for one, or even two years, of polluted discharges, so long as the operators are making genuine attempts to identify and fix problems.

“We were surprised to find that the City has been self-reporting major pollution problems to the State for at least the last 15 years.  The data tell a clear story,” said attorney Jesse Swanhuyser of Anacapa Law Group, Inc, “officials have not taken the problem seriously. We hope to work with the City to avoid spending taxpayer monies on litigation, and instead focus on getting the Yard ship-shape before rain falls next winter. The fixes in this situation are likely inexpensive and easy to implement.”