Law & Regulation

The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant is adequately designed to withstand an earthquake on a nearby major fault, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has concluded. The NRC’s conclusion was based on a detailed review of the plant’s seismic program and design, which owner-operator Pacific Gas & Electric Co. must conduct as a condition of its operating license. The San Louis Obispo County plant has been under seismic re-evaluation since the 1971 discovery of a major seismic fault, the Hosgri, about three miles offshore from the site.