Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
5/23/2014
A group of Michigan state lawmakers introduced a set of legislation this week that aims to protect the Great Lakes region from a proposed Canadian deep geologic repository for low and intermediate radioactive waste in Kincardine, Ont. Ontario Power Generation’s planned repository has received sharp criticism from both state and congressional lawmakers in the United States who fear that an accident could lead to the contamination of the one of the world’s largest fresh-water supplies. One of the bills put forth this week, led by state Sen. Phil Pavlov (R-St. Clair Township), calls on President Barrack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry to submit a letter of reference or request a binding decision from the International Joint Commission, the inter-country organization established to settle disputes surrounding the Great Lakes. “This proposed facility would pose a critical threat to the health of the Great Lakes and other natural resources throughout Michigan,” Pavlov said in a statement. “I take very seriously my duty as a legislator to protect our natural resources and public health. That is why I will continue to fight the development of this site and ask my fellow residents to join in this effort.”
In addition, the bills would also ban the importation of radioactive waste into Michigan while extending the ban on nuclear waste disposal to include Class C waste. “The Great Lakes are Michigan’s most valuable natural resource, not only for our ecosystem but for our economy as well,” State Sen. Mike Green (R-Mayville), a co-sponsor of the legislation, said in a statement. “Michigan has a long history of protecting this resource and that’s what we are joining together to do today.”
The bills would also create the Great Lakes Protection Radioactive Waste Advisory Board to analyze the public health consequences of the proposed site. Pavlov said he hopes this panel will help illuminate the risks in a more concrete manner. “I will ask the board to set an aggressive timetable and conduct public hearings on the matter to determine a wide range of potential impacts,” Pavlov said. “This information-gathering effort and the conclusions from the panel can help bring to light key potential risks from the proposed facility and hopefully help to attract additional national and international attention to calling the facility to a halt.”
Environmental Groups Applaud the Effort
Regional environmental groups praised the proposed legislation and have urged Canada to reconsider the proposed repository. “Burying nuclear waste a quarter-mile from the Great Lakes is a shockingly bad idea—it poses a serious threat to people, fish, wildlife and the lakes themselves,” said Andy Buchsbaum, regional executive director for the National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes Regional Center. “We support this legislative package that asks Canada to reconsider its plan to store large amounts of radioactive waste on the shores of Lake Huron. It’s time to go back to the drawing board to find a solution that doesn’t put our Great Lakes, environment, communities and economy at risk.”
Erin McDonough, executive director of the Michigan United Conservation Club, added: “As we all get ready to take our families boating, swimming and fishing in the Great Lakes this summer, the implications of this proposed project are really brought home. We appreciate the leadership Senator Pavlov and his legislative partners are showing in proactively addressing the serious issue of burying nuclear waste along Lake Huron’s shoreline.”
OPG Says Repository Would be Protective of Human Health
OPG did not respond to calls for comment this week, but the company has previously maintained that the site is protective of human health. OPG spokesman Neal Kelly toldRW Monitor last year that OPG has been working with U.S. agencies to show that no adverse impacts would result. “OPG’s studies and the independent studies of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the United States Environmental Protection Agency show that the project will have no adverse impact on the environment or the lake,” Kelly said. “In 2012, both the EPA and the Department of Environmental Quality in Lansing Michigan reviewed our studies and both provided comment.” The EPA said in a report that the site “is isolated from surface and drinking water,” Kelly said.
The proposed repository would be located beneath OPG’s Bruce nuclear facility. OPG plans on storing low and intermediate waste from its Bruce, Pickering, and Darlington power stations at the proposed repository, which would be located 680 meters (approximately 744 yards) below the surface in an isolated rock formation of shale and limestone. The review of the proposal to build the DGR has had its fair share of complaints, though. Most notably, a portion of the Michigan congressional delegation wrote to Secretary of State John Kerry back in October calling on the U.S. government to intervene to prevent the construction of the facility. Currently, the licensing of the facility is under review by a Joint Review Panel under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. After the public comment period, the review panel will submit an environmental assessment report within 90 days to the federal Minister of the Environment with its recommendations for the path forward. Once the federal government gives the go-ahead, the review panel can issue a license to prepare a site and construct the facility.
