Policy and licensing / California
California Public Resources Code § 25524.2: waste-disposal condition
California's current code conditions land-use permission and commission certification for a nuclear fission thermal powerplant on a high-level-waste disposal finding and a report to the Legislature. The 1994 amendment took effect on 1 January 1995. Named existing units are excepted. This is not an SMR-only statute and it does not approve a reactor.
- Category
- Laws, rules and executive directives
- Status
- In effect
- Instrument
- statute · Cal. Pub. Res. Code § 25524.2 (amended by Stats. 1994, Ch. 1145, Sec. 17)
- Issued by
- California Legislature
- Jurisdiction
- California
- Affects
- Siting
- In effect from
- 1 Jan 1995 · actual · day
- Expiry or completion
- None recorded
- Operative text
- California Law: Public Resources Code section 25524.2 (California Law current section, opened 4 October 2026)
- Last checked · next review
- 2026-10-04 · 2027-04-15
Legal and geographic scope
Current California code. Except named Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 and San Onofre Units 2 and 3, no nuclear fission thermal powerplant may receive a land-use permit or, where applicable, commission certification until the commission finds that an approved demonstrated technology or means exists for disposal of high-level nuclear waste and reports that finding to the Legislature. The disposal definition is a method for permanent and terminal disposition; the section does not require disposal facilities to exist when the finding is made. Permanent construction may not start until the section is met. The section states no reactor-size class, and it is not an NRC licensing bar.
Not approved or still pending
The opened code does not record a commission finding that the waste-disposal condition is met or unmet. It does not approve any plant. A California location does not bring a tracked project under this section.
Dated lifecycle
- 1 Jan 1995 · actual · day · Amended — The official code says this section was amended by 1994 chapter 1145, section 17, effective 1 January 1995. It conditions state land use and certification on a high-level-waste finding. It does not approve a plant. (California Law: Public Resources Code section 25524.2)
Definitions in this instrument
- technology or means for the disposal of high-level nuclear waste (§ 25524.2(c)): A method for the permanent and terminal disposition of high-level nuclear waste. The section does not require disposal facilities to be available when the commission makes its finding, and the disposition does not preclude an approved process for retrieval.
Legal definition used by this instrument only; SMRMap's inclusion rule for SMRs is separate and unchanged.
Related instruments
Projects or designs named by the source
- None. Location in this jurisdiction does not make a project eligible for, or approved under, this measure.
Sources
- California Law: Public Resources Code section 25524.2 (government_primary, accessed 2026-10-04)