XIV. CEQA Review

CEQA requires the Commission to consider the environmental consequences of its discretionary decisions. In this proceeding, the Commission is the lead agency under CEQA with respect to the environmental review of the SGRP, and preparation of the Final EIR. Accordingly, we employed environmental consultants to prepare an EIR evaluating the SGRP. The purpose of the EIR is to identify potentially significant environmental effects associated with the SGRP, and propose mitigation measures and alternatives that would minimize environmental consequences.

During the course of the CEQA review, we provided various opportunities for public involvement, as required by CEQA, and took advantage of the public input received. We issued a Notice of Preparation of an EIR on October 1, 2004, and distributed it to the State Clearinghouse and other federal, State, and local agencies that may be affected by the SGRP. The Notice of Preparation was also mailed to 160 interested or affected individuals, including nearby residents, public agencies, private organizations, and interest groups. Interested parties had 30 days to submit comments regarding the scope of the EIR. In addition, we held three scoping meetings prior to the final selection of alternatives and the preparation of the analysis presented in the Draft EIR. The scoping meetings were attended by approximately 34 individuals including representatives of organizations, interest groups and government agencies. These meetings provided us with public input on the proper scope and content of the EIR.

The Commission staff (staff) subsequently issued a scoping report summarizing the issues and concerns identified during the scoping process. It was made available for public review at local EIR Information Repositories and on the Internet. The scoping report determined that an EIR is required. The staff then hired an environmental consultant, and supervised its work on the Draft EIR. On April 15, 2005, the Draft EIR was published. We then held two public informational workshops to describe the SGRP, the findings of the Draft EIR, and how to participate in the Commission's decision-making process. The public review and comment period for the Draft EIR ended on May 31, 2005. Comments on the Draft EIR are addressed in the Final EIR which was released on September 21, 2005.

The Commission, as the lead agency, must certify the Final EIR before the SGRP may be approved. Certification consists of two steps. First, the Commission must conclude that the Final EIR has been completed in compliance with CEQA; and second, the Commission must have reviewed and considered the Final EIR prior to approving the SGRP. Additionally, the Commission must find that the Final EIR reflects its independent judgment.⁴⁹

The Final EIR includes the Draft EIR, along with the comments received on the Draft EIR, individual responses to the comments, and revisions as necessary in response to those comments and other information received. It utilizes an interdisciplinary approach that ensures the integrated use of the natural and social sciences and the consideration of qualitative as well as quantitative factors. It is organized and written so that it is meaningful and useful to decision-makers and the public. Therefore, the Final EIR is competent, comprehensive, and in compliance with CEQA.

The Final EIR analyzes the environmental impacts of the SGRP and alternatives. CEQA provides that agency approval of a project or an alternative may require modifications or mitigations to avoid significant effects on the environment. If specified conditions make mitigation measures or alternatives identified in the Final EIR infeasible, the measures must be identified, and the agency must explain how project benefits outweigh significant effects on the environment.

The Final EIR identifies potential environmental impacts of the SGRP and alternatives in the areas of air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, geology, soils, paleontology, hazardous materials, hydrology and water quality, land use and recreation, military operations, noise and vibration, public services, socioeconomics, system and transportation safety, traffic and circulation, and visual resources. The Commission has no power to regulate or condition the SGRP with respect to safety issues, nuclear materials handling and storage issues including facility design. However, the Final EIR analyzes SGRP activities that are exclusively regulated by the federal government to provide full disclosure of potential environmental safety impacts associated with the SGRP.⁵⁰

The Final EIR evaluates the environmental impacts of the SGRP against a baseline. In this case, the baseline is the environmental conditions that existed in the area where the SGRP will be performed in October 2004 when the Notice of Preparation of an EIR was published. The baseline includes SONGS as an operating power plant, as well as radioactive waste storage facilities, electric transmission infrastructure, other existing facilities, and its current NRC operating licenses.

The SGRP consists of four major phases:

· Replacement Steam Generator Transport Phase (Transport Phase)-This includes the transportation of the replacement steam generators from the overseas manufacturer to SONGS.

· Replacement Steam Generator Staging and Preparation Phase (Staging Phase)-This includes the staging and preparation of facilities, areas, equipment, workers, and the replacement steam generators to allow for their installation.

· Original Steam Generator Removal, Staging and Disposal Phase (Removal Phase)-This includes the removal of the original steam generators from the containment structures, and transporting them to an off-site location for disposal.

· Replacement Steam Generator Installation and Return to Service Phase (Installation Phase)-This includes the installation of the replacement steam generators, and returning SONGS to service.

The Final EIR analyzes two alternative transport routes for the Transport Phase, one alternative for the Removal Phase (on-site storage of the original steam generators), and a no-project alternative. For the SGRP as a whole, it finds that there are no environmental impacts that are significant and immitigable (Class I impacts), and identifies environmental impacts that may be mitigated or avoided.⁵¹ The Final EIR finds that, in the Transport Phase, the environmentally superior alternative is to transport the replacement steam generators inland through Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base to the SONGS site. This is primarily due to the fact that ground transportation of the replacement steam generators would take place almost completely on paved roads, thus avoiding environmental impacts on San Onofre State Beach and the San Onofre Bluffs. For the Staging and Installation Phases, no environmentally superior alternative was identified. For the Removal Phase, off-site disposal of the original steam generators is found to be environmentally superior to on-site storage. In addition, the environmentally superior alternatives for the Transport and Removal Phases, combined with SCE's proposals for the Staging and Installation Phases, are found to be superior to the no project alternative.

The Final EIR identifies environmental effects of the SGRP that may be mitigated to less than significant levels or avoided. The adoption and implementation of these mitigation measures was assumed in the determination of environmental impact levels in the Final EIR. With these mitigation measures, the Final EIR concludes that all potential environmental effects can be mitigated to less than significant levels. The mitigation measures identified in the Final EIR are reasonable and feasible. Therefore, we will adopt them and make implementation of them a condition of our approval of the SGRP.

The Final EIR includes the Mitigation Monitoring, Compliance and Reporting Program (MMCRP). The purpose of the MMCRP is to ensure that the mitigation measures in the Final EIR are implemented. We have reviewed the MMCRP and find that it conforms to the recommendations in the Final EIR for measures required to mitigate or avoid environmental effects of the SGRP. Therefore, we will adopt the MMCRP.

As discussed above, we have reviewed the Final EIR as part of our consideration of the whether to approve the SGRP. Based on that review, we find that the Final EIR represents our independent judgment regarding the environmental impact of the SGRP. For the above reasons, we certify the Final EIR for the SGRP in compliance with CEQA. The executive summary of the Final EIR, including the mitigation measures for the SGRP, is included herein as Attachment B.

⁴⁹ Pub. Res. Code Section 21082.1(c)(3).

⁵⁰ The NRC is responsible for the licensing and oversight of SONGS, and has pre-emptive jurisdiction over state and local regulations regarding the use, storage, and transportation of nuclear materials, and public safety.

⁵¹ CEQA classifies environmental impacts as: Class I (significant and immitigable), Class II (less than significant with mitigation incorporated), Class III (less than significant), and Class IV (beneficial).