Aims to fast-track plan to bury used nuclear fuel
The federal government has published official notice that it is considering the deep geological repository for used nuclear fuel as a project of national interest under the Building Canada Act.
If accepted, the project would no longer have to be approved under federal or provincial environmental assessment regulations. Instead, it would be subjected to an as yet unnamed review process that would aim to ensure it is done safely and with the least environmental impact.
(The deep geological repository will also have to be re- viewed, approved, and licenced by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, whether or not it is declared a project of national interest.)
The announcement appeared in the Canada Gazette September 19, and two things it omitted has We the Nuclear-free North especially concerned:
The listing does not mention the transportation of used nuclear fuel bundles (almost six million of them) from their current locations (mostly at the nuclear plants in southern Ontario, more than a thousand kilometres away) to the pro- posed site eighty-five kilometres northwest of Atikokan. It specifically refers to transportation “within the project site” only.
In its initial proposal to the Impact Assessment Agency, the NWMO argued that the transportation of the used fuel to the deep geological repository site did not need to be considered in the project assessment. National highway and safety regulations would apply to those shipments and would be sufficient to ensure their safety and cover their environmental impact.
But after getting more than a thousand objections from the public to that idea, the Impact Assessment Agency ordered the NWMO to include transportation to the site in its project proposal.
The listing states the project will “occur over approximately 160 years.” That ignores long-term monitoring; the used fuel will remain dangerously radio- active for a million years. Will this become a ‘bury it and forget it’ project?
With the publication in the Canada Gazette, the proposal to make the repository a project of national interest enters a six- week comment period. Public comments on the proposal will be accepted until October 26 at DGRComment-CommentaireDSCGP@mpo-bgp.gc.ca.
Federal support
The federal government says the project would help align Canada’s growing nuclear sector, support energy security and economic competitiveness, create long-term employment opportunities, ensure Canada maintains its world-class safety standards, and generate lasting benefits for Indigenous communities and the region. It also supports Canada’s long-term clean energy future by helping sustain a reliable, low-carbon electricity system for generations.
“Canada is a tier one nuclear nation and bringing that leadership into the 21st century under our Nuclear Energy Strategy means managing every part of the nuclear fuel cycle – so we can not only build big things, but do it safely,” said Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson,
“The proposed deep geological repository would support the long-term sustainability of Canada’s nuclear sector, strengthen energy security, and create lasting economic opportunities for local com- munities and across Ontario and beyond. As this process moves forward, we remain committed to meaningful Indigenous engagement, public participation, and rigorous decision-making on behalf of Canadians.”
Questioning
We the Nuclear-free North, a coalition of northern environ- mental and community groups, has led the questioning of the project for a decade, starting well before the Nuclear Waste Management Organization settled on the site northwest of Atikokan.
“If the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s project was sound and they could make the safety case for their nuclear waste transportation and burial project there would be no hesitation on the part of the nuclear industry or the federal government to have it subject to a comprehensive and independent assessment,” said Brennain Lloyd, project coordinator with Northwatch, a member of the coalition.
“This move to shield the deep geological repository scheme from scrutiny says it all – the NWMO’s concept can’t stand up to technical or public review. But limiting its review will not limit its impact.”
“Considering the project’s novelty, scale, duration, and potential for long-lived and irreversible effects from transporting and burying such an unprecedented volume of highly radioactive nuclear waste, it would be absolutely reckless for the government to fast track the approval of this project,” said Mary Veltri of Environment North, another member of the We the Nuclear-free North coalition.
“The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada is the sole body with the mandate and expertise to evaluate the environmental, health, social, economic, cumulative, and rights-related impacts of major federal industrial projects. It must remain the lead authority for nuclear-related impact assessments.”
