San Onofre
Southern California Edison Co., which owns the San Onofre nuclear plant, announced Thursday that it has agreed to pay $4.7 million to the state Department of Parks and Recreation under an agreement with the California Coastal Commission to expand the campground at San Onofre State Beach.
To get commission approval to build the second and third units at the reactor, the utility company was required to “mitigate” the reactor’s impact on coastal access.
The $4.7 million will pay to build 160 campsites, a campfire center, roads and a nature center in the San Mateo area of the state beach, which is east of Interstate 5. A mile-long trail and road, which will go underneath the freeway, will connect the campground and the beach.
The state already has 220 campsites east of the freeway.
The initial agreement between the Coastal Commission and the utility was reached in 1982 for a $3-million payment. A third-party legal challenge, since resolved, put the payment on hold; in the interim, $1.7 million accrued in interest.
The nuclear plant and state campgrounds are on land leased from the Marine Corps.
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