Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
6/20/2014
The legislation package aimed at stopping the construction of the proposed Canadian low-level radioactive waste repository passed the Michigan state Senate unanimously late last week. Ontario Power Generation’s planned low and intermediate deep geologic repository located in Kincardine, Ont. near the Great Lakes has drawn the ire of citizens on both sides of the border because of its proximity to one of the world’s largest sources of fresh water. “[This] vote shows the Michigan Senate is united in its opposition to this proposed facility,” Sen. Phil Pavlov (R-St. Clair Township), the bill’s sponsor, said in a statement. “We’ve heard from residents all across the state about this flawed plan, and it needs to be stopped. Not only would this nuclear dump threaten the health of natural resources in Michigan, it could critically damage the ecosystem of the entire Great Lakes basin.”
The legislation includes a resolution that calls on President Barrack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry to submit a letter of reference or to request a binding decision from the International Joint Commission, the inter-country organization established to settle disputes surrounding the Great Lakes. Additional legislation would ban the importation of radioactive waste into Michigan while extending the ban on nuclear waste disposal to include Class C waste and also create the Great Lakes Protection Radioactive Waste Advisory Board to analyze the public health consequences of the proposed site. The bills now move to the House, but movement on the House side is unlikely to occur until the middle of July due to the session schedule.
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. 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.
