The Levin Letter: Government Must Do More to Remove SONGS’ Nuclear Waste
It has been more than a decade since the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) shut down, and roughly 3.6 million pounds of spent nuclear fuel still sit on our coastline, wedged between Interstate 5 and the Pacific Ocean—far from an ideal long-term solution. Since entering Congress, one of my top priorities has been the safe removal of that nuclear waste from our region.
While we still have work to do, we have made important progress in recent years that is bringing us closer to fully removing the waste from SONGS.
The spent fuel at SONGS is not just a local problem. It is part of a national failure that has left nuclear waste stranded at more than 80 sites across the country because the United States has no permanent repository. Yucca Mountain in Nevada, once intended to be that solution, was shelved more than a decade ago after sustained opposition from state leaders and residents. More recent proposals for private storage sites in Texas and New Mexico have stalled amid legal, political, and community opposition.
When I took office in 2019, this was the situation we inherited. So I got to work.
One of my first actions was to convene the San Onofre Nuclear Waste Task Force, a bipartisan group of scientists, engineers, regulators, tribal officials, environmental advocates, and community leaders to develop a serious roadmap for spent nuclear fuel removal. We built consensus around what would actually reduce risk and move fuel. The Task Force’s recommendations continue to guide my work.
I later founded the Spent Nuclear Fuel Solutions Caucus, which I co-chair with Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN), to bring together bipartisan members of Congress and restart a serious national conversation on how best to remove and store our nation’s nuclear waste.
I have worked with the Department of Energy under both Presidents Trump and Biden to restart a national collaborative program to identify new storage sites through voluntary participation. No community should be forced to host nuclear waste unless residents agree and receive appropriate benefits.
Any long-term, durable solution requires transparency, local consent, and significant federal investment. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I work to deliver the resources needed to turn plans into action. In that role, I have helped secure more than $248 million to advance this program, develop transportation infrastructure, support community engagement, and strengthen long-term management of spent nuclear fuel.
I have also introduced bipartisan legislation with Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) to prioritize the removal of spent fuel from high-risk sites like SONGS, and the Nuclear Waste Administration Act with Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) to create a new independent organization focused on managing nuclear waste efficiently and responsibly. We need sound policy in addition to funding to achieve lasting results.
There is an ongoing debate about whether reprocessing nuclear waste could solve many of these challenges. Reprocessing can reduce the volume of waste, but it also raises serious non-proliferation and security concerns. Experts have consistently told me that San Onofre’s fuel is not well suited for reprocessing because of its age, burnup characteristics, and dry-storage configuration. Even after reprocessing, high-level radioactive waste remains and must be permanently disposed of. Today, the United States does not have a commercial reprocessing industry operating at scale.
The spent nuclear fuel at SONGS will not move because one technology is treated as a silver bullet. It will move when the federal government meets its responsibility with clear policy, reliable funding, and strong community input.
That has been my priority since entering Congress.
We are making steady progress toward a national solution to our nuclear waste problem. But progress is not enough until the job is finished.
I will not stop fighting until we find the best solution to remove this waste from our coastline and protect our communities for generations to come.
By: Rep. Mike Levin
Source: Dana Point Times