July 1, 2024, SECRET NRC Notice on the BNSF railroad radiation spill to the California Department of Health, California Office of Emergency Services, and the California Energy Commission. Get the document here.
Sept. 10, 2024 – HazMat Spill Report Get the official San Benardino Fire Department Hazardous Materials (HazMat) spill report, with photos of the leaking containers, internal reports, and more. Get the document here.
March 14, 2024: Why Storing 3.6 Million Pounds of Nuclear Waste on the Beach is a Bad Idea. This fact sheet gives TESTIMONY of Public Watchdog in Southern California Edison’s Joint Application A.2202016, San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) demolition and decommissioning. This is a major rate case that occurs every three years. Click here to Get the Document.
August 2023, Performance audit of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California Department of Ratepayer Advocates (Cal Advocates) recommending that the two agencies verify the actual costs of alleged utility infrastructure projects when privately owned utilities (Edison, SDG&E and PG&E) are requesting approvals of rate hikes from CPUC. Click here to get the 89-page report
September 23, 2022, TESTIMONY of Public Watchdogs in Southern California Edison’s Joint Application A.2202016, San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) demolition and decommissioning. This is a major rate case that occurs every three years. Click here for the 11-page analysis.
September 7, 2022, FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA) request to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the calendar of Christopher T. Hanson, NRC Chair. The request is for attachments and notes indicated on the Chair’s calendar that were not included in a previous FOIA request. Get the text of the request here.
June 3, 2022, NOTICE OF INTENT (NOI) before the California Public Utilities Commission to intervene on behalf of Southern California Edison and SG&E ratepayers in the Nuclear Decommissioning Cost Triennial Proceeding (NDCTP) for the failed San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, (SONGS). Access the full Docket here. Get the NOI here.
March 23, 2022, Public Watchdogs list of San Diego County and City of San Diego elected officials, plus Assembly and California State Senators. Get the full list here.
December 6, 2021, The Supreme Court of the United States of America has declined to hear Public Watchdogs v. Southern California Edison et al. This case argued that a Ninth Circuit decision stripped district courts of jurisdiction over private litigation against NRC licensees. Get the petition here.
July 1, 2021, Amicus Curiae Brief to the Supreme Court of the United States of America from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law Environmental Advocacy Clinic, Golden Gate University School of Law, University of Michigan School of Law, Escuela De Derecho Environmental Law Clinic, and the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in Support of Public Watchdogs’ Petition for Certiorari. Get the brief here.
March, 2020, Report of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Task Force: This important report was co-chaired by Rear Admiral Len Hering, ret., and Gregory Jaczko, the former Chair of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Among other things, it recommends that Congress support the creation of a separate, federal Nuclear Waste Administration and that a Final Safety Analysis Report be conducted to study ways to mitigate loss of passive cooling in ISFSI via air vent blockage and inundation with water from rain or coastal flooding, or sand and silt from a landslide. Get the report.
May 8, 2020, 6:00AM Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Webinar on COVID-19 infections at U.S. Nuclear Facilities. Get the audio here. Get the NRC PowerPoint documents here.
February 8, 2005: Earthquake and Tsunami Report, San Diego California: This authoritative scientific report by Gerald Kuhn, one of Southern California’s most trusted geologists documents the fact that San Diego has experienced extreme tsunamis over the millennia. The report is titled Paleoseismic features as indicators of earthquake hazards in North Coastal, San Diego County, California, USA. Get the report here.
April 15, 2020, NRC Response to Public Watchdogs FOIA Request. The gist of this request was for documents showing the design basis the Nuclear Regulatory Commission used to justify the storage of deadly nuclear waste in substandard containers designed and built by Holtec International.Get the documents here.
January 21, 2020, Supplemental 2.206 Petition to NRC. Petition to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission requesting a complete halt of nuclear waste burial operations at the beachfront San Onofre Nuclear Waste Dump operated by Southern California Edison. Get the petition here.
January 21, 2020, Transcript of 2.206 Petition Conference. Yesterday, Public Watchdogs’ attorneys made a 28-minute presentation to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission requesting enforcement action against Southern California Edison and an immediate halt to the ongoing burial of deadly radioactive nuclear waste on our public beach at the failed San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). In an abundance of caution, and a deep concern that the NRC may not publish the proceedings on its SONGS Cask Loading web page, Public Watchdogs has published the transcript. Get it here.
October 21, 2019, Emergency Petition for Writ of Mandamus. This emergency request to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals seeks a writ that will compel the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to halt the burial of nuclear waste on the beach at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in a tsunami inundation zone, near a major earthquake fault line, in “canisters that are “damaged, defective, and not properly designed …” Get the full 1600 page document here.
October 11, 2019, Letter to the California Coastal Commission urging the Commission to postpone its vote allowing the destruction of the spent fuel pools at the failed San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station owned by Southern California Edison. The spent fuel pools are vital to public safety. The letter also states that that the parties failed to provide adequate documentation to the public in a timely manner. Get the letter here.
September 24, 2019: Today, the nonprofit advocacy group Public Watchdogs announced that it has filed a 2.206 petition with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission requesting an immediate halt to the ongoing transfer and storage of deadly nuclear waste at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Get it here.
August 29, 2019, Public Watchdogs Complaint in United States District Court for (1) Violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C §§ 702, et seq.) (2) Public Nuisance (Cal. Civ. Code §§ 3479-3480) (3) Strict Products Liability. Get the complaint here.
August 28, 2019, Public Watchdogs files a request for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) in in United States District Court, Southern District. Get the TRO here, or read the press release here.
Public Watchdogs’ Right To Know newsletter, Summer, 2018
Bar graph in pdf format showing how many billions of dollars that San Diego and Orange County ratepayers are being forced to pay as the result of the publicly funded bailout of Southern California Edison’s failed nuclear reactors. The case was settled in secret behind closed doors without public hearings by the alleged consumer group Citizens Oversight, and the putative “consumer” law firm of Aguirre & Severson LLP, who took $5.4 million in utility payola to settle the case. Get the one page pdf here.
Public Watchdogs’ letter of protest to NRC Region IV, Linda Howell. On September 9, 2018, Linda Howell, the Deputy Division Manager of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Region IV denied Public Watchdogs the right to witness and observe an alleged “inspection” of Southern California Edsion’s failed San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). This is our letter protesting the NRC’s secrecy and lack of transparency. It is our belief that the NRC inspection is a sham. Get the Public Watchdogs press release on this incident here.
The alleged “Settlement to Move The Nuclear Waste” is a deep betrayal of the public’s trust. This deal represents the ratification of Southern California Edison’s decision to bury nuclear waste on the beach at San Onofre in exchange for weak promises to seek an alternative location. Attorneys for the plaintiffs received nearly $1 million dollars to drop the lawsuit, which allowed Southern California Edison to begin the burial of millions of pounds of deadly nuclear waste on the beach at San Onofre State Beach Park in a containment system that is only guaranteed to last 10 years. Get the Settlement.
Public Watchdogs has filed formal comments on a proposed decision before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to bail out Southern California Edison (SCE) for its failed SONGS nuclear reactors. The comments give 19 good arguments against the bailout. Among other things, it argues that SCE recklessly installed experimental nuclear equipment without the proper licenses from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and warns the Commission that if the CPUC approves the bailout, it is completing an alleged conspiracy to defraud California ratepayers, as documented by a Department of Justice Special Investigation. The document is titled Investigation 12-10-013, PUBLIC WATCHDOGS’ COMMENTS REGARDING ALJ’S JUNE 22, 2018 PROPOSED DECISION ADOPTING MODIFIED 2018 SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT. Get the full comments here.
16 Frequently asked questions about living near nuclear waste
A helpful list of 16 of the most commonly asked questions about the nuclear waste being stored on the beach at the Southern California Edison Nuclear Waste Dump., written by our friend and concerned citizen, Dr. Roger Johnson
PUBLIC WATCHDOGS’ MOTION TO SET ASIDE RULING TO RESCIND THE JULY 18, 2018 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION HEARING (PPH)
Pursuant to Rule 11.1 of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, Public Watchdogs requests a ruling setting aside the June 28, 2018 Administrative Law Judge’s Ruling Modifying Schedule and Providing Information To Public Regarding Comment on Proposed Decision.
California Public Utilities Commission Investigation 12-10-013
Motion for ruling to improve notice of the July 18, 2018 Public Participation Hearing (PPH) to affected public and ratepayers; and to state in the PPH Notices and PPH PowerPoint Presentation (1) that SONGS failed due to a Radiation Leak, and (2) that the Federal Court Agreement requires Southern California Edison (SCE) to make a direct payment of alleged attorneys’ fees and Costs to Attorneys representing two of the Joint Parties
Documentation of Grave Robbery by Southern California Edison Contractors. This NAGPRA notice documents how a callow Southern California Edison Contractor dug up the graves of the ancestors of the Juaneno Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation, and secretly stored the bones for 27 years before returning them to the tribe. The graves were destroyed during the construction of the now-shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). These documents have become an important part of Public Watchdogs’ Federal lawsuit against the Department of Defense, which improperly allowed Edison to build the USA’s largest privately operated nuclear waste dump on the beach at San Onofre State Beach Park. Get a copy of the letter to the Federal Judge here. Words like pusillanimous and craven fail to describe Edison’s unseemly deportment and disrespect in regards to human graves.
Public Watchdogs’ OPENING BRIEF before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on the ratepayer-funded bailout of Southern California Edison’s failed Replacement Steam Generators (RSGs) at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS).
This brief argues that the CPUC can not lawfully approve a $5.4 million payday to attorneys in an illicit out-of-court settlement that has resulted in a multi-billion dollar bailout of Southern California Edison at your expense. At this time, Public Watchdogs is the only intervenor fighting what we believe is an unconscionable and illegal corporate bailout.
California Public Utilities Commission Joint Ruling granting limited party status to Public Watchdogs grants pursuant to Rule1 1.4(c). Rule 1.4(c).
Public Watchdogs’ MOTION FOR PARTY STATUS before the California Public Utilities Commission on the ratepayer-funded bailout of Southern California Edison’s failed Replacement Steam Generators (RSGs) at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS).
This motion argues that the California Public Utilities Commission should not approve an out-of-court settlement. Southern California Edison has responded to the Motion. Now, Edison’s attorneys are representing their former foes at Citizens Oversight, Aguirre & Severson, and the alleged consumer advocates at TURN, The Utility Reform Network, and others. All of these groups are lining up for their share of the billions of dollars they have helped award Edison.
Public Watchdogs’ legal action to revoke the permit allowing the burial of deadly radioactive nuclear waste at San Onofre State Beach Park.
Get the Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief
This action argues that under an act of congress, the Coastal Commission had zero authority to issue a permit allowing the burial of high-level nuclear waste on the beach at San Onofre. Get the complaint.
Letter from U.S. Navy to Coastal Commission informing the Commission is has zero authority to issue a permit allowing the construction of a nuclear waste dump at San Onofre
This letter informed the California Coastal Commission in 2015 that it does not have the legal jurisdiction to issue a permit to Southern California Edison for the construction of a nuclear waste dump on U.S, Government property. In its zeal to accommodate Edison, the Coastal Commission ignored the letter in violation of Public Law 88-83.
Talking Points: Ten Reasons Why Storing Nuclear Waste on the beach is a bad idea
Get this brief overview as a Web page here, or as a print-friendly one-page pdf here. Updated 11-24-17
This report exposes Southern California Edison and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for lax enforcement of common-sense safety precautions against terrorist threats, earthquakes, and tsunamis at the failed nuclear reactors; and for unlawfully waiving common-sense safety and security measures designed to protect the public. Get the report here.
Watch video here. Get radio interview here. Get June 16 Reader story here
Earthquake Bay – Why a nuclear accident at San Onofre is unavoidable
This independent evaluation of geological hazards at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in San Diego and Orange Counties asserts that a radioactive release at San Onofre State Beach Park is unavoidable. Get the report.
Edison is storing deadly nuke waste in containers that are guaranteed to last ten years.
These legal documents, secured by San Onofre Safety, show that the thin-walled canisters that Southern California Edison will use to store deadly nuclear waste are only guaranteed to to last ten to 25 years, and have a “design life” of only 60-years. The containers, known as the Holtec International Hi-Storm Umax, have been called “Chernobyl Cans” because each of the 75 canisters will contain the radiation equivalent of at least one Chernobyl disaster. The deadly plutonium inside the containers is lethal to all human life for at least 250,000 years. The uranium in each Chernobyl Can is deadly to all life for millions of years. Get the documents here.
California Energy Commission objections to faulty emergency response plans at SONGS
This letter from California Energy Commission Chair (CEC), Robert B. Weisenmiller, articulates scathing objections to Southern California Edison’s plans to eliminate Federally required emergency response capability at the failed San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). Additionally during Southern California Edison’s Off-site Emergency Planning application process, CEC Chair Weisenmiller also filed his vehement opposition to the NRC; See ‘State Consultation’, (see pages 23-30).
The Warsaw Poland Notes
These handwritten notes prove that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) sets its rates secretly in foreign countries.
It is illegal for utilities to hold secret rate-setting meetings. That’s why they do it in foreign countries. These handwritten notes between the president of CPUC and Southern California Edison were a blue-print for the illegally brokered “out-of-court settlement” that cost the average SDGE&E and Edison customer $1,600.00 in increased electric rates with a $4 billion bailout. Get the dirty details in President Peevey’s own handwriting. Get the notes and the dirty details here.
Sworn Affidavit of California Attorney General Special Agent
This Criminal affidavit alleges collusion and secret utility rate-setting meetings between Southern California Edison executives and top California Public Utilities Commission Judges and Commissioners. This affidavit shows how Edison and CPUC worked together in a team fashion to unlawfully charge ratepayers for the multi-billion dollar publicly funded bailout of SONGS. Get it here.
LIST OF ALL DECOMMISSIONED NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS IN USA
Public Watchdogs Comments to the California Lands Commission regarding its plans to avoid conducting and Environmental Impact Report on the deadly beachfront nuclear waste dump at San Onofre State Park Beach.
Del Mar Sea Level Rise Risk Assessment and vulnerability reports
Radioactive Effluent and Environmental Reports (www.nrc.gov) for San Onofre Units 2 and 3
Plant-Specific Actions (www.nrc.gov) in Response to the Japan Nuclear Accident: San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Unit 2
Public Watchdogs comments on EPA proposed revisions to water guidelines.
The Federal government’s under the radar plan to increase allowable radiation in drinking water Public Watchdog filed comments to the EPA yesterday protesting the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to increase allowable radiation levels in drinking water.
Statement to the NRC on “Redlining” at San Onofre.
These comments to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission were submitted by Vinod Arora, a former Southern California Edsion Safety Engineer who worked at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The report asserts that the failure of Unit 3 was the caused when SONGS’ operators ran the system beyond its designed limits until it broke. For a lay-persons summary of the report, read our press release.
Does Edison owe YOU money for storage of spent nuclear fuel?
Southern California Edison has made hundreds of millions of dollars suing the Department of Energy for the costs associated with storing nuclear waste on the beach at San Onofre State Beach Park. This white paper concludes that Edison may owe you money. Public Watchdogs believes that these accounts must be audited by a credible third-party (i.e. not the California Public Utilities Commission or other ethically compromised government agencies). Fiduciary Responsibility for SNF Disposal White Paper 02-24-2016-FINAL
Water Hammer Warning! This alarming letter by Southern California Edison’s Dwight Nunn warns Mitsubishi that its plans for Replacement Steam Generators at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station may be fatally flawed due to Water Hammers.
Nuclear Regulatory AIT Report on Failures at San Onofre
A series of confidential internal reports from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s AIT (Augmented Inspection Team) on what went wrong at the San Onofre nuclear Generating Station. These documents were disclosed to AVP Arora International under the Freedom Of Information Act. These comments to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission were submitted by Vinod Arora, a former Southern California Edsion Safety Engineer who worked at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The report asserts that the failure of Unit 3 was the caused when SONGS’ operators ran the system beyond its designed limits until it broke. For a lay-persons summary of the report, read our press release.