Edison Reveals Its Plans to Compensate for Fish Kill : Environment: Reef, wetland restorations to make up for marine life losses at San Onofre nuclear power plant.

Southern California Edison executives Friday outlined plans to implement a series of state recommendations to mitigate the killing of tons of fish and kelp at the firm’s San Onofre nuclear power plant.

During a news conference held at an Edison power plant in Huntington Beach, the company executives said they are preparing to build a 300-acre artificial kelp reef, restore 150 acres in wetlands along the Southern California coast and upgrade San Onofre’s fish protection system, among other measures.

Those steps are the chief proposals made by the state Coastal Commission staff after analyzing a 15-year study completed in 1989 on the nuclear plant’s environmental effects. That report concludes that the damages amount to a violation of federal law, a charge Edison disputes.

Nonetheless, the utility executives said they will not challenge the recommended measures, which the Coastal Commission will consider imposing at a public hearing Tuesday at Huntington Beach City Hall. Meeting the requirements would cost Edison $30 million to $40 million, estimated Frank Melone, Edison’s senior engineer in environmental affairs.

The nuclear facility’s cooling system sucks up and kills 21 to 57 tons of fish each year, the environmental report compiled by three biologists said. The plant then discharges debris-filled water into the ocean, blocking natural light to the ocean floor and depleting 60% of the area’s kelp beds, the report said.

To offset those problems, Edison, in cooperation with state and federal environmental agencies, would restore 150 acres of degraded wetland between Point Conception and Baja California.

The firm is considering five sites for restoration, including 17 acres of parched, former wetland it owns next to its Huntington Beach plant, Melone said. The other favored sites are San Dieguito Lagoon in Del Mar, the Tijuana River Estuary in Imperial Beach, Ballona Creek Wetlands in Marina del Rey and the Los Cerritos Wetlands in Seal Beach, he said.

If the commission approves the recommended mitigation plan, the wetland restoration will get under way within a year, Melone said.

The firm would have one year to evaluate potential sites for the offshore artificial reef, which enables kelp to grow readily. After that, it would build a small, demonstration reef, which would be monitored for three years. The full, 300-acre reef would be built within six years, Melone said.

Edison would also take steps to improve the San Onofre system of separating fish from sea water. By installing high-intensity lamps within the system, the firm may be able to divert more fish back into the ocean, Melone said.