General Information About DCISC
Formation of the Independent Safety Committee
The Diablo Canyon Independent Safety Committee (DCISC) was established as a part of a settlement agreement entered into in June 1988 between the Division of Ratepayer Advocates of the California Public Utilities Commission (“PUC”), the Attorney General for the State of California, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company(“PG&E”) concerning the operation of the two units of PG&E’s Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant (“Diablo Canyon”). The agreement provided that:
“An Independent Safety Committee shall be established consisting of three members, one each appointed by the Governor of the State of California, the Attorney General and the Chairperson of the California Energy Commission, respectively, serving staggered three-year terms. The Committee shall review Diablo Canyon operations for the purpose of assessing the safety of operations and suggesting any recommendations for safe operations. Neither the Committee nor its members shall have any responsibility or authority for plant operations, and they shall have no authority to direct PG&E personnel. The Committee shall conform in all respects to applicable federal laws, regulations and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (‘NRC’) policies.”
The agreement further provided that:
- The DCISC shall have the right to receive certain operating reports and records of Diablo Canyon
- The DCISC shall have the right to conduct an annual examination of the Diablo Canyon site and such other supplementary visits to the plant site as it may deem appropriate
- The DCISC is to prepare an annual report, and such interim reports as may be appropriate, which shall include any recommendations of the Committee.
The DCISC publishes its Annual Report in November or December for the fiscal year ending June 30. In addition to summarizing its activities and review of Diablo Canyon operations, the Annual Report also documents the Members’ conclusions and recommendations regarding Diablo Canyon operational safety. Including those recommendations made in the 17th Annual Report, the DCISC has made 207 formal recommendations for improving the safety of Diablo Canyon operations. PG&E provides a written response to each recommendation which is published with the Annual Report. The Committee then reviews PG&E’s response and, if the DCISC is dissatisfied with PG&E’s final response to any recommendation, the DCISC may raise the matter with the PUC, with any or all of the Committee Members’ appointing entities or with the NRC. To date, PG&E has ultimately responded appropriately to each of the DCISC recommendations. The latest Annual Report is available on the DCISC website and all of the DCISC Annual Reports are available for review by any interested members of the public at the Reference Department at the R. E. Kennedy Library, located on the campus of California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo.
In May of 1997, in response to the electric utility rate deregulation mandated by the California legislature, the PUC issued a Decision which found that the DCISC remains a key element of monitoring the safe operation of Diablo Canyon. The Decision ordered that the DCISC remain in existence until further order of the PUC.
DCISC Operation: Public Meetings & Fact-findings
The DCISC typically conducts three public meetings each year in the San Luis Obispo area. Dates, times and locations for these meetings are posted on the Committee’s website, advertised in local newspapers and notices are sent to other news media and those persons who have requested advanced notice of the public meetings. All meetings include an opportunity for the public to address comments and provide information to the Committee Members. PG&E representatives are present to make informational presentations to the Committee on topics requested by the Members. Certain public meetings may include a tour of the plant with the Committee which is open to a limited number of members of the public on a first come first served basis, governmental representatives and members of the media. The meeting agenda and supporting documents, as well as a transcript of discussion at the public meetings, are on file and available to members of the public at the Reference Department at the R. E. Kennedy Library.
The DCISC conducts numerous Fact-finding visits by individual Committee Members and consultants to the plant site and to other locations as necessary to assess issues, review plant programs and activities, interview and meet with PG&E management and employees, follow-up on current items on the DCISC’s Open Items List and to identify agenda items for future public meetings. These Fact-finding visits generally occupy one or two intensive days of research and investigation concerning PG&E’s current activities and programs. Committee representatives also frequently observe meetings of PG&E’s internal safety review organizations and committees. A detailed written report, summarizing their activities, is prepared for each Fact-finding visit by the participants. Comments concerning these reports are sought from each of the other Members and consultants and, when approved by the Committee at a public meeting, the Fact-finding reports are provided to PG&E. Fact-finding reports are included as a part of the Committee’s Annual Report and represent a valuable and useful tool for the Members, consultants and PG&E. The Committee’s Fact-finding visits constitute a vital and important aspect of the Committee’s safety review function.
Appointment of DCISC Members
A request for applications is publicly noticed. The members of the DCISC are selected from a list of candidates nominated by the PUC. Candidates must be persons with knowledge, background and experience in the field of nuclear power facilities and nuclear safety issues. In July, 1989, when PUC President G. Mitchell Wilk announced a list of nine candidates nominated for appointment to the DCISC, he noted that “an independent safety committee clearly requires members who could demonstrate objectivity and independence. For this reason, none of the nominees has testified for PG&E or any other party before the PUC or the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in any proceeding regarding Diablo Canyon.”
Public Comment and Communication
The DCISC provides extensive publicly available information concerning Diablo Canyon. Transcripts and minutes of each public meeting and reports of each Fact-finding meeting and an extensive annual report on the safety of Diablo Canyon’s operations are available by contacting the committee or at the R. E. Kennedy Library.