LAGUNA BEACH : Early San Onofre Closure Endorsed

The city, which declared itself a “nuclear-free zone” in the mid-1980s, has endorsed the early closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in San Diego County.

The City Council’s 3-2 vote Tuesday night came two weeks after the San Clemente City Council landed on the opposite side of the issue, voting to keep the plant open.

Laguna Beach council members cited public safety as their main reason for supporting the proposed closure of the state’s oldest nuclear plant, on the coast between San Clemente and Oceanside.

The state’s Public Utilities Commission has recommended that the station be shut down by 1998, 15 years ahead of schedule, on the grounds that it is too expensive to operate.

“That’s 15 years less we have to worry about a major incident,” Councilman Robert F. Gentry said. “It just seemed to me the smartest thing to do is to protect the citizens of Laguna Beach and support that early closure and give us more time without the threat of a major incident in San Onofre.”

Southern California Edison, which runs the plant and is the largest shareholder, is opposing the closure.

Proponents of the closure say it would be cheaper to shut down the station and switch to alternative energy sources, including solar power and natural gas. Opponents, however, say the plant provides $250 million in annual revenue for surrounding communities and closing it would further deflate an already sagging economy.

Before voting, the Laguna Beach council heard testimony from residents, including plant workers worried about losing their jobs and locals concerned about a possible nuclear accident.

Gentry said his major concern involves the plant’s evacuation plan, which calls for Laguna Beach residents, in case of emergency, to “stay in our homes and close our windows” while residents closer to the station are evacuated.

“I was very concerned that it was unworkable,” Gentry said.

But Councilman Wayne Peterson, who along with Kathleen Blackburn cast the dissenting votes, said the council had “absolutely no facts” upon which to make a decision.

“We had a lot of emotional discussion by a very limited segment of the community and no real facts,” Peterson said.

In drafting their motion, the council majority also said they favored retraining the plant workers. San Onofre, which supplies 12% of the power used by Southern California Edison customers, provides some 3,000 jobs.

Southern California Edison owns about 75% of the plant while San Diego Gas & Electric Co. and city-owned utilities in Anaheim and Riverside own the remainder.

The council’s action is only advisory.