California Attorney General Joins Coalition Opposing NRC Rollbacks of Nuclear Safety Oversight
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on November 10 that he joined two multistate comment letters opposing U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) rulemakings that would reduce regulatory oversight of radioactive byproduct materials and of the construction, operation, and decommissioning of traditional and advanced reactors.
Bonta's office said the rulemakings are part of the NRC's wholesale revision of nuclear safety rules and include significantly expanding exemptions for radioactive byproduct materials and reducing earthquake planning requirements. The letters argue that administrative efficiency should not supersede public and environmental safety, raise multiple red flags, and contend the changes would violate the National Environmental Policy Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the NRC's mission.
Bonta said deregulation is risky where nuclear energy is concerned, noting California's awareness of vulnerabilities at aging reactors including the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, shut down in 2013, and urged the NRC to proactively address vulnerabilities, especially amid an anticipated nationwide nuclear buildout. The Trump Administration has been rewriting nuclear protections under Executive Order 14300, and the NRC continued its revision on October 5.
(Source: California Attorney General's Office)
Source: California Attorney General's Office
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：加州总检察长办公室大楼（Sacramento）。Coolcaesar 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The California Attorney General's office building in Sacramento. Photo by Coolcaesar, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
