RWQCB issues new discharge order for SONGS decommissioning

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

Southern California Edison, which is the majority owner of the former San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, plans to terminate discharges from SONGS into the Pacific Ocean by 2028 and the decommissioning is expected to be complete by 2051.

Although ocean water is no longer needed for power plant cooling purposes, the continued intake of ocean water is needed for the ongoing operation of saltwater pumps to discharge wastewater from the decommissioning activities through the Unit 2 ocean outfall.

On April 12, the Regional Water Quality Control Board unanimously...