LOS ANGELES – Friends of the Earth has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Energy for its faulty environmental review associated with a $1.1 billion award to continue operating Diablo Canyon, California’s last remaining nuclear power plant.   The award is being provided to Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) pursuant to the U.S. Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) Program, which was created to assist the country’s aging nuclear fleet in the event of financial difficulties. In July 2023, DOE published a final Environmental Impact Statement, which largely relies on outdated analysis com ..read more

WASHINGTON – Today, Mothers for Peace, Environmental Working Group, and Friends of the Earth filed a motion to intervene and a hearing request in PG&E’s applications to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which seek to relicense Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant to operate for 20 more years. The groups have also submitted an enforcement petition to NRC Commissioners seeking immediate closure of Diablo Canyon due to unacceptable, significant earthquake risks that recently came to light.   PG&E applied to the NRC in Nov. 2023 to relicense the nuclear power plant despite delays ..read more

WASHINGTON – Today, San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace (SLOMFP), Friends of the Earth (FOE), and Environmental Working Group (EWG) filed a petition asserting that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) does not have legal authority to extend the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant’s operating licenses past its scheduled shutdown dates of 2024 for Unit 1 and 2025 for Unit 2.     The groups’ petition followed two letters to the NRC on November 17, 2022 and December 6, 2022, warning the agency that it would violate federal law if it accepted Pacific Gas & Electric’s ..read more

SAN FRANCISCO – Today, Friends of the Earth put forward a strong showing at its first court hearing in litigation against PG&E to prevent breach of a contract to retire Diablo Canyon, California’s last remaining nuclear power plant, when its current operating licenses expire in 2024 and 2025.  Friends of the Earth initiated its lawsuit in April against PG&E and others to prevent breach of contract. The case comes amid PG&E reneging on the 2016 contract in response to state legislation that passed in 2022 providing financial incentives and preserving the option of operating Dia ..read more

SAN FRANCISCO – Today, Friends of the Earth and Mothers for Peace filed a lawsuit against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for violating federal law when it rejected the groups’ request for a public hearing over outdated inspections at Diablo Canyon, California’s last remaining nuclear power plant.   In 2006, the NRC amended Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s (PG&E’s) operating license for Diablo Canyon Unit 1 to set a deadline of 2009 for PG&E to test the integrity of the pressure vessel that holds the highly radioa ..read more

SAN FRANCISCO – Today, a California court dismissed Friends of the Earth’s lawsuit against PG&E and others to prevent breach of a contract to retire Diablo Canyon, California’s last remaining nuclear power plant, when its current operating licenses expire in 2024 and 2025.   Friends of the Earth initiated its lawsuit in April against PG&E and others to prevent breach of contract. The case comes amid PG&E reneging on the 2016 contract in response to state legislation that passed in 2022 providing financial incentives and preserving the option of operating Diablo Canyon for five ..read more

SACRAMENTO – Early Thursday morning the California legislature voted to pass a measure supported by Governor Gavin Newsom to extend the life of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant.  Erich Pica, President of Friends of the Earth, issued the following statement in response: Governor Newsom’s shameful proposal to keep Diablo Canyon open undermines almost 10 years of advocacy and agreement to responsibly retire the plant by 2025 and continue California’s clean energy transition. Allowing these nuclear power reactors to operate beyond 2025 exposes the surrounding communities and en ..read more

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Ignoring longstanding precedents, statutes and regulations, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission today gave Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) the greenlight to operate California’s last remaining nuclear plant for up to 20 years without a safety review or a license renewal.    In its March 2 decision, the NRC exempted PG&E from regulations that required a license renewal review by the NRC before the reactors could operate beyond their operating license expiration dates.    The decision is unprecedented. The NRC has never approved an exemp ..read more

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIF. – Today, technical staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) refused a request by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to resume reviewing a 2009 license renewal application the company formally withdrew from NRC consideration in 2018. The Staff’s decision affirmed recent arguments in the petition by San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace (SLOMFP), Friends of the Earth (FoE), and Environmental Working Group (EWG) that resuming review of PG&E’s withdrawn license renewal application would be unlawful. The organizations demanded that th ..read more

WASHINGTON – Today, Friends of the Earth U.S. launched advertisements regarding Governor Gavin Newsom’s administrative push to extend the operation of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. In these advertisements, Friends of the Earth demands that the Newsom administration proceed with the retirement of the plant as planned and withdraw his legislative request.  “The Governor’s decision to try and extend the life of Diablo Canyon is reckless beyond belief,” said Erich Pica, President at Friends of the Earth U.S. “This ad campaign is meant to bring light to the serious problem that this ..read more