Federal regulators Thursday turned away a request from environmental activists to idle California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant to determine if its reactors can withstand strong shaking from nearby earthquake faults.
However, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission decision left unresolved questions about whether the agency allowed owner Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to operate outside the requirements of its federal license.
That issue was referred to an administrative judge at the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, an arm of the NRC.
The decision asked the board to consider “whether the NRC granted PG&E greater authority than that provided by its existing licenses, or otherwise altered the terms of PG&E’s existing licenses.”
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