Politics & Government

Coastal Commission to Review Edison Reef Project

Researchers of the Wheeler North Reef, built to mitigate the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station's impacts, will present their findings Monday.

The Wheeler North Reef, a 152-acre artificial kelp reef, is under review by the California Coastal Commission Monday at their Ocean Institute workshop.

The state tasked Southern California Edison to build the artificial reef to make up for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Stations effect on kelp off the coast of San Onofre State Beach.

The plant uses seawater to cool and condense the steam it uses to turn turbines to make electricity. When plant operators release the seawater back into the ocean, it's a few degrees warmer than the surrounding waters. Kelp survives only in colder water.

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Edison teamed up with UC Santa Barbara to create the reef; what one researcher says may be the largest man-made reef on the planet. The 152 acres of the project, plus an additional 22 acres of experimental reef, knit together naturally occurring kelp fields to create a 400-acre forest under the ocean.

The reef finished construction about three years ago.

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As of summer, 2011, researchers said the reef was healthy. The Monday meeting will provide officials with an update on its progress.

The meeting will be from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point Harbor, 24200 Dana Point Harbor Drive.


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