NRC ISSUES FINAL SAFETY EVALUATION REPORT FOR 

DIABLO CANYON NUCLEAR POWER PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued its safety evaluation report (SER) for the 

proposed renewal of the operating licenses for the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and 2. 

In a letter dated April 10, Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) requested that NRC defer 

issuance of the renewed operating licenses, due to a delay in receiving a coastal consistency 

certification from the State of California only after PG&E has completed a 3D seismic study. In a 

response letter dated May 31, NRC notified PG&E that future milestones for the review of the license 

renewal application will be delayed with the exception of the issuance of the SER. The schedule for 

future milestones will be determined based on a timeline consistent with PG&E’s expected receipt of 

a coastal consistency certification. Additionally, the SER will be supplemented, as necessary, prior to 

finalizing a decision on license renewal.

The SER report documents the results of the NRC staff’s review of the license renewal 

application and site audits of the plant’s aging management programs to address the safety of plant 

operations during the period of extended operation. Overall, the results show that the applicant has 

identified actions that have been or will be taken to manage the effects of aging in the appropriate 

safety systems, structures and components of the plant, and that their functions will be maintained 

during the period of extended operation. 

Issuing the SER is a significant milestone in the license renewal review process. This process 

proceeds along two tracks – one for review of safety issues and another for environmental issues. The 

staff is still in the process of reviewing the environmental part of the Diablo Canyon plant’s license 

renewal application. That review must be completed before a final decision is made on the renewal.

The SER and the license renewal application will be provided on a delayed schedule to the 

agency’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS), an independent body of experts that 

advises the Commission on reactor safety matters. The ACRS will discuss the SER during one of its 

monthly public meetings, the schedule of which will be determined at a later date and will be posted 

on the NRC website at: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/public-meetings/index.cfm. The ACRS 

will then issue a letter to the Commission discussing the results of its review.

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001

E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov Site: www.nrc.gov

Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov

No. 11-095 June 2, 2011
In a letter dated June 2, Brian Holian, director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation’s 

Division of License Renewal, provided PG&E with the SER. The SER will be available on the 

NRC’s website at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/diablo-canyon.html. 

PG&E submitted an application to the NRC in November 2009 to extend the plant licenses by 

20 years for each unit. The plant, operated by PG&E, is located in Avila Beach, Calif. The current 

40-year operating licenses for Diablo Canyon’s Units 1 and 2 are due to expire on Nov. 2, 2024, and 

Aug. 26, 2025, respectively.

Documents related to Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and 2 are located at the 

following locations: The San Luis Obispo Public Library, 995 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo,

Calif. 93401, and at the Paso Robles Public Library, 1000 Spring Street, Paso Robles, Calif. 93446.

Additional information concerning license renewal in general and the Diablo Canyon’s

application in particular can be found at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/license-renewal-bg.html and

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html respectively.

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