San Onofre: Edison denies it was aware of plant defects

Southern California Edison, the operator of the troubled San Onofre nuclear power plant, pushed back against two lawmakers who said that the utility company was aware of defects in the plant's replacement steam generators before installing them.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and U.S. Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) sent a letter to the head of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday saying that a leaked report from steam generator manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries showed that Edison and Mitsubishi knew of problems with the design and "rejected enhanced safety modifications and avoided triggering a more rigorous license amendment and safety review process."

Edison responded in a statement just after midnight Thursday denying the allegations:

"It is simply not accurate to suggest, as the letter does, that when they were installed 'SCE and MHI were aware of serious problems with the design of San Onofre nuclear plant’s steam generators,'" the company wrote.

"Indeed, MHI, the manufacturer of the steam generators, warranted the steam generators to be free from defects for 20 years after installation. SCE would never, and did not, install steam generators that it believed would not perform safely."

The plant has been shut down for just over a year because of unusual wear on steam generator tubes that carry radioactive water. One tube leaked in January 2012, releasing a small amount of radioactive steam.

The Mitsubishi report referenced in Boxer and Markey's letter so far has not been released publicly. The lawmakers did not specify what changes Edison and Mitsubishi had chosen not to make.

Representatives of both companies, as well as of several consultants involved in the investigation of San Onofre's issues, were slated to speak to the full NRC commission Thursday.

The meeting, which was scheduled prior to Boxer's letter, will be the first time since the plant's shutdown that the full commission will have the opportunity to question Edison directly.

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Photo: Surfers riding waves at Trestles with the shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant in background. Credit:  Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times

Sushi chefs indicted for allegedly selling whale meat face prison terms

It made for a wild tale three years ago when a Santa Monica sushi restaurant abruptly shuttered its doors after it was disclosed that the hipster hangout was selling illegal whale meat.

The Hump at the Santa Monica Airport closed and its chef and parent company were charged with misdemeanors after a sting operation was captured by a documentary crew.

But now stakes have been raised. A federal grand jury has indicted the owners of the parent company and two of its one-time chefs, charging them with felonies that carry lengthy prison terms.

The two chefs and the ownership group of the Hump are charged with nine counts of conspiracy to import and sell whale meat from 2007 to 2010, a violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

The indictment accuses Typhoon Restaurant Inc., which is the parent company of the now-closed Hump restaurant, and chef Kiyoshiro Yamamoto, 48, of Culver City; and chef Susumu Ueda, 39, of Lawndale of conspiring to import and sell the meat of Sei whales, which are listed as an endangered species.

According to an indictment, Yamamoto and Ueda allegedly ordered the whale meat from Ginichi Ohira, a Japanese national who previously pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of illegally selling a marine mammal product.

Once Ohira received the whale meat in the United States, he prepared an invoice that incorrectly described the meat as fatty tuna and delivered the whale meat to the Hump, according to the indictment.

'Seal-cam' to let world see seals on the beach in La Jolla

The seals on the beach at the Children's Pool in La Jolla -- the objects of two decades of litigation and political bickering -- now have their own "seal cam" so the public can watch them all day, every day.

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner announced Thursday that a camera has been installed atop the lifeguard tower and is aimed at the beach where the seals lounge and give birth to their pups. The cam is being paid for by the nonprofit Western Alliance for Nature.

The camera is equipped with night vision capability. The cam will stream video on the mayor's website, www.sandiego.gov/mayor, and will also be on City TV Channel 24 in the city of San Diego, between council meetings.

The camera will allow an "up-close view of these amazing creatures to not just San Diegans but people all over the world," said Western Alliance for Nature co-founder Sara Win.

Amazing, yes, but also controversial. The dispute continues between people who say the seals should be allowed to remain on the beach and people who say the seals should be shooed away so that other people, particularly children, can use the beach more expansively.

Much of that dispute has occurred in federal court, where cameras are not allowed.

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Photo: Seals (and people) on the beach at the Children's Pool in La Jolla. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Petroglyphs stolen from sacred eastern Sierra site recovered

Petroglyph panels cut and chiseled off an eastern Sierra rock art site sacred to Native Americans have been recovered by federal investigators, U.S. Bureau of Land Management officials announced Thursday.

The suspected thieves have not been identified and the investigation is continuing into one of the worst acts of vandalism ever committed on the 750,000 acres of public land managed by the BLM field office in Bishop.

“Now, the healing can begin,” BLM Field Office Manager Bernadette Lovato said in an interview. “Recovery was a priority for me, and the public outrage intensified the need for them to be returned.”

Lovato declined to disclose details about the discovery, except to say, “We found all five panels by following an anonymous tip sent to us in a letter.”

“The panels are currently being held as evidence,” she said. “After a prosecution, perhaps they may eventually be put on public display somehow, but that will be up to Paiute-Shoshone tribal leaders.”

“I feels real good to have them come back home,” Paiute tribal historic preservation officer Raymond Andrews said in an interview.

Investigators believe the vandals used ladders, chisels, electric generators and power saws to remove the panels from cliffs in an arid high-desert region known as Volcanic Tablelands, about 15 miles north of Bishop. The thieves gouged holes in the rock and sheared off slabs that were up to 15 feet above ground and two feet high and wide.

Environmental lawsuit against state bullet train settled

The state's bullet train agency said Monday that it settled one of three pending environmental lawsuits brought against the project in the Central Valley.

The city of Chowchilla agreed to drop its suit, the California High-Speed Rail Authority announced. The agreement provides that the city can get its attorney fees of up to $300,000 reimbursed.

The authority has faced three suits combined that were brought under the California Environmental Quality Act. In addition to the Chowchilla case, they included one brought by Madera Farm Bureau, Madera County, the Chowchilla Water District and others that allege the authority failed to consider all of the impacts of the project. The third suit involved a private company. The two remaining suits are going forward.

An earlier legal effort by the plaintiffs to get an injunction that would have halted the project was rejected by a judge, leaving the dispute to be resolved in an April trial. The inability to get an injunction appeared to dim the prospect that the localities could win their case.

In addition to the environmental lawsuits, the authority is facing a suit that alleges the bullet train project does not conform to restrictions placed on it by voters when they approved a $9.95-billion bond measure in 2008. The suit alleges that the rail agency lacks all of the funding necessary to complete an initial usable segment once construction begins, an apparent requirement contained in the bond measure.

The authority hopes to begin construction in Madera and Fresno counties on the first 29-mile segment of the rail in July, and hailed the Chowchilla settlement as bringing the start of construction a step closer.

“We greatly appreciate the city of Chowchilla’s willingness to come to the table and work with the authority to resolve this case,” said Jeff Morales, the rail authority's chief executive officer.

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$50-million interpretive center planned for Ballona Wetlands

The Annenberg Foundation plans to build a $50-million interpretive center in the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve under an agreement to be signed Monday with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Officials aim to make the center a place for people to “come to learn how nature works and how each of them is a part of it,” said Charlton H. “Chuck” Bonham, fish and wildlife director.

The announcement marked rare movement in the state’s efforts to restore one of Southern California’s few remaining wetlands and open it to the public. Activists, developers and government agencies have wrangled for decades over the fate of the 600 acres between Marina del Rey and Westchester.

One wetlands activist decried the Annenberg plan as a theft of public land slated for wildlife habitat.

“I’m shocked and disappointed that the Annenberg Foundation would even entertain the idea of destroying land acquired for wildlife habitat and using it for a building, a restaurant and a parking lot,” said Marcia Hanscom, executive director of the Ballona Institute, a nonprofit corporation.

But Lisa Fimiani, executive director of Friends of Ballona Wetlands, said her group has embraced Annenberg’s involvement and investment. She said that the acre proposed for the building site is already in poor condition and that Annenberg plans to improve the adjoining ball fields as part of the project. “We welcome them,” she said.

Officials said that details of the Annenberg plan were still evolving but that key elements would include educational programs and exhibits about wetlands, human-wildlife interactions and the history of Native Americans in the area.

The 46,000-square-foot project would tentatively include an auditorium, classrooms, a public lobby, exhibits on wildlife and domestic animals, facilities for an animal adoption and care program, veterinary facilities for animals on site, retail space and parking and office space for staff. A snack bar is also a possibility.

The State Coastal Conservancy and the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission would be parties to the agreement.

Nuclear commission pushes back decision on San Onofre

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has pushed back the date when it could make a decision on the fate of the San Onofre nuclear plant.

The plant has been shut down for nearly a year because of issues with unusual wear on its steam generator tubes, which carry radioactive water. The NRC is weighing a proposal by plant operator Southern California Edison to restart one of the two units and run it at partial power, which the company says would alleviate the conditions that led to the wear.

The commission had previously said it might make a decision as soon as March. But it is now projecting a late April or early May date. 

NRC spokesman Victor Dricks said the timeline was extended because additional on-site inspections were required. The schedule remains tentative, he said.

Edison said in a statement: "As we have said from the beginning, there is no timeline on safety. SCE is confident in its submitted response and restart plan and is currently working on our response to technical questions from the NRC."

It would take several weeks to restart the plant if the NRC gives the go ahead, meaning that the unit could potentially be back online by summer.

Southern California got through last summer without blackouts in the absence of San Onofre's 2,200 megawatts of power, but some of the measures taken to replace the plant were temporary. Energy officials have been working on a backup plan for this summer, should the plant remain out of service.

The commission has a public meeting on San Onofre scheduled for Feb. 12 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Capo Beach Church in Capistrano Beach to give an update on the status of its review.

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Photo: Surfers work the waves at Lower Trestles near San Clemente while the darkened San Onofre nuclear plant rises up in the background. Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

Santa Monica cracks down on dry cleaners' 'green' ads

Six dry-cleaning establishments in Santa Monica have agreed to stop making unsubstantiated environmental claims in their advertising, the city attorney's office said Tuesday.

An investigation by consumer protection and environmental officials showed that the cleaners could not support claims that their operations were "non-toxic," "environmentally safe" and "environmentally friendly."

The six businesses are: Cleaner by Nature, Courtyard Cleaners, Dry Clean Express, Eco Cleaners, Plaza Cleaners and TJ Cleaners.

One of the six uses "Green Earth," made from a chemical known as D5. The others use a hydrocarbon-based process. Both are generally recognized as being safer than perchloroethylene, a known cancer-causer that is being phased out in California.

"We're glad these companies have started using less-toxic chemicals, but marketing them as 'eco-friendly' just goes too far," said Dean Kubani, director of the city's Office of Sustainability and the Environment.

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State agency says U.S. cleared wildlife habitat without permit

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must provide information to a regulatory agency by Feb. 11 about its decision to clear 43 acres of wetlands in the Sepulveda Basin and fill in a pond used by migrating waterfowl.

The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board issued the directive Wednesday. Sepulveda Basin is an engineered flood control zone for the river.

"The corps did not notify us before it proceeded to destroy wetlands, and that is a great concern to us," said Maria Mehranian, chairwoman of the water quality control board. "The federal Clean Water Act requires anyone working in wetlands to obtain a permit from us. They failed to do so."

The board will determine later whether enforcement actions are needed to prevent such unauthorized activities in the future, the agency said in a letter to the corps.

Col. Mark Toy, head of the corps' Los Angeles district, was unavailable for comment. But corps spokesman Jay Field said, "We are working with the Regional Water Quality Control Board to provide information we believe will address any concerns."

Environmental group pushes for hearing on San Onofre restart

The environmental group Friends of the Earth made its case to federal regulators Wednesday that Southern California Edison should be barred from restarting the San Onofre nuclear plant unless it goes through a trial-like hearing process.

The meeting Wednesday between Friends of the Earth and a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission review board was the latest step in a dispute that has been going on for more than six months.

San Onofre has been closed for nearly a year because of unusual wear on tubes at the plant, which resulted in a small leak of radioactive steam last January. The tubes are part of four giant steam generators that Edison replaced in 2010 and 2011.

An NRC investigation found that the issues arose because computer modeling by manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries failed to accurately predict the flow of steam and water in the generators, leading the tubes to vibrate excessively and rub against support structures and adjacent tubes. 

Friends of the Earth alleges that the "root cause" of the issue was design changes ordered by Edison, and that the company should have requested a license amendment for the changes made between the old and new steam generators.

If the NRC petition review board agrees, the group argued, it should take enforcement action by suspending the plant's license until Edison applies for a license amendment for all the design changes.

The new steam generators used a different alloy for the tubing, increased the number of tubes and have changes in the design of the support structures. Edison has said that the changes were made to improve the equipment's performance and were in line with industry standards.

But Arnie Gundersen, a consultant for Friends of the Earth, contended that a more thorough review of the changes by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission might have prevented the defects.

In Wednesday's presentation, Friends of the Earth argued that the problems were foreseeable and that "Edison should have notified the NRC that the significance of all the changes required" a license amendment.

"In the past 10 years, nobody has screwed up a piece of equipment more than the steam generators at San Onofre," Gundersen told the board.

Edison did apply for and receive a license amendment in connection with the replacement steam generators, but not for the design changes.

Edison spokeswoman Maureen Brown said that since the early 1980s, most steam generator replacements have been done without license amendments -- unless the replacement was done in connection with another change, such as increasing the power the plant is licensed to produce.

In its filing with the NRC, Edison argued that NRC staff had already reviewed the process followed for the design changes -- both when the generators were installed and as part of the more recent investigation -- and that there was no way to foresee that Mitsubishi's computer model would fail to predict a potential issue.

It is unclear when the review board will issue a decision.

A separate but related petition by Friends of the Earth is pending before another NRC board. Meanwhile, the commission is also reviewing Edison's restart plan for San Onofre and may make a decision on that issue in March.

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Photo: San Onofre has been shuttered for nearly a year because of unusual wear on tubes at the plant. Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times