The California Coastal Commission (CCC) concluded that a compensatory mitigation program was the most cost-effective means of addressing the adverse impacts to living marine resources caused by the operation of SONGS Units 2 and 3 and they further conditioned SCE’s Coastal Development Permit for SONGS to require the following mitigation elements:
- Create or substantially restore at least 150 acres of Southern California wetlands, as out-of-kind compensatory mitigation for Bight-wide fish losses
- Construct an artificial reef that is large enough to sustain at least 150 acres of giant kelp, 28 tons of reef fish and other associated biota along with payment of $3.6 million to Ocean Resources Enhancement Hatchery Program (OREHP) to fund a fish hatchery program as compensatory in-kind mitigation for adverse impacts to the San Onofre kelp forest.
- Installation of fish behavioral barrier devices in the sea water intake systems at SONGS as avoidance mitigation for losses of local midwater fish, and
- Provide the funds necessary for technical oversight, monitoring, and performance assessment of the mitigation projects, to be done by independent contract scientists working under the direction of the Executive Director the CCC.
In 2015 the CCC notified SCE that they had met the intent and requirements for the installation of fish behavioral barrier devices and no further action for this mitigation element was needed as long as the reductions in intake flows are maintained.
