SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) " California regulators are considering whether to drop their longstanding environmental objections to the state's last nuclear power plant in return for its promise to close early. California's largest utility and environmental groups announced a deal last week to close the Central California twin-reactor facility by 2025. Fears about the seismic faults near the plant have dogged the project since its conception in the 1960s, and helped spark the national anti-nuclear power movement. The commission is the first of multiple regulatory hurdles facing the agreement to shut down the 31-year-old plant nearly 20 years ahead of its planned termination. The State Lands Commission will consider foregoing an environmental review before renewing a contract with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. in light of its agreement to close Diablo Canyon in nine years.

Source: New Zealand Herald June 28, 2016 06:33 UTC