LOS ANGELES (AP) — Environmentalists accused federal regulators of conducting a bogus review of a proposal to restart the damaged San Onofre nuclear power plant on the California coast, and nearby residents demanded the abandonment of the plan and the shutdown of the plant.

Just days after Southern California Edison asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for permission to repair and start the Unit 2 reactor, then run it at reduced power, the agency is facing pressure from groups critical of the nuclear power industry to initiate a review that could take months or even years to complete.