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Board votes to join Diablo Canyon 2045 Coalition after public debate on safety and mitigation
Summary
The Board voted to join the Diablo Canyon 2045 Coalition amid public testimony both supporting the plant for jobs and grid reliability and opposing extended operation without stronger guarantees on safety and mitigation funding; state legislators urged more review and delay.
The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted June 16 to approve joining the Diablo Canyon 2045 Coalition, a statewide coalition advocating potential extension of Diablo Canyon Power Plant operations. The vote followed extended public comment that split between labor and business supporters and environmental, public-safety and school-funding critics.
Supporters at the meeting—trade union representatives, Pacific Gas & Electric staff and others—argued the plant provides high-quality jobs and grid reliability and that participation gives the county a seat at state-level policy discussions. Maureen Zawalek (PG&E nuclear engineer) and David Baldwin (Plumbers and Pipefitters union) urged the board to support continued operation, noting oversight bodies including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Diablo Canyon Independent Safety Committee.
Opponents, including local activists and representatives of San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace and others, urged the board to remove the item from the consent agenda for full public debate. They argued key safety and fiscal questions remain—citing unresolved reactor embrittlement testing results, seismic assessments, and the loss of earlier unitary-tax mitigation funding—and said joining a coalition focused on extending operations through 2045 is premature. Letters read into the record from state legislators (Sen. John Laird, Assemblymember Addis) recommended postponing commitments until outstanding safety and community-benefit questions are resolved.
In deliberations Supervisors weighed safety, jobs and fiscal implications. Several supervisors said federal and state regulators have reviewed plant safety; others emphasized ensuring the county secures commitments for local mitigation funding if operations are extended. The board approved joining the coalition by roll call vote.
The item drew strong public interest; proponents highlighted workforce and economic benefits, while opponents asked for clearer assurances and oversight mechanisms to ensure that local schools and services would receive benefits tied to extended operations.
