As PG&E’s aging Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant is up for a 20-year federal license renewal, one scientist cites new GPS data to suggest there’s a looming seismic threat from an active thrust fault that extends under the plant. But other experts say he is overstating the risk.

“It's deeply concerning,” said seismologist Peter Bird, an emeritus professor at UCLA, who was commissioned by the anti-Diablo group Mothers for Peace to analyze the seismic risk to plant on the San Luis Obispo county coastline.

Bird’s analysis – submitted as part of a petition to shut down the plant -- highlights the risk from a portion of the San Luis Bay thrust fault that he says extends under the plant and along the coastline.

At the time the plant was built, no seismic fault had been identified. While sever

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