Rep. Levin Pushes Out-of-State Campuses for San Onofre Nuclear Waste

Federal energy policy and congressional control are converging ahead of Tuesday's election as Democratic Rep. Mike Levin advances a bipartisan push to move spent nuclear fuel off the Southern California coast at San Onofre, according to a CalMatters report published by the Mountain View Voice.

Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses and the $33M Atlas Railcar

The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station ceased operating in 2013 after a newly installed steam generator failed and began formal decommissioning in 2020. Although 700 million tons of building material have been hauled away from the site, the plant's spent nuclear fuel rods remain in steel and concrete dry-storage canisters on the beach near earthquake faults and Camp Pendleton after the federal government missed its 1998 disposal pledge and cancelled Nevada's Yucca Mountain project in 2010:

• Five Potential Host States: Levin—who has worked on the issue for 8 years—is proposing Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses that would recycle portions of spent fuel and store remaining waste in exchange for regional economic development. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 5 states—Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Idaho—have stepped forward as potential hosts, following community-consent models in Canada and Finland, with U.S. sites potentially operating by the late 2030s.
• Spent Fuel Prioritization Act & Atlas Railcar: Alongside Republican co-authors Rep. Darrell Issa of San Diego and Rep. Young Kim of Orange County, Levin introduced the Spent Fuel Prioritization Act (now awaiting consideration in the House Energy and Commerce Committee) as well as legislation requiring canisters to last 100 years instead of 40 years. Next year, the Department of Energy's 12-axle Atlas Railcar System—built over 10 years at a cost of $33 million and capable of carrying nearly half a million pounds of spent fuel—is scheduled to complete testing and move its first spent fuel rods from Virginia to Idaho.

2026 Midterm Campaign Closes With More Than 54 Million Votes Cast

Nationally, with more than 54 million votes already cast ahead of Tuesday's midterm elections, both parties spent the final weekend campaigning across battleground states, the Associated Press reported via KCBS Radio. President Donald Trump spoke for 2 hours in Dubuque, Iowa—where voters Jon Lutz (60) and Wendy Kuenzler (44, backing U.S. Senate nominee Ashley Hinson) attended while Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rob Sand campaigned statewide—before holding an outdoor airport rally in Salina, Kansas, attended by Atchison restaurant owner Liz Wagner (59, who traveled 165 miles / 266 kilometers). While National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Sen. Tim Scott predicted the GOP would hold the Senate, outgoing Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) told CNN's State of the Union that tariffs are unpopular in the Midwest, and in Michigan, Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens endorsed Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers over Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, prompting Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, DSCC Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and Sen. Bernie Sanders to reaffirm party support for El-Sayed.