The Canadian government said Friday it has formally terminated its environmental review of a now-canceled proposal from Ontario Power Generation (OPG) for deep geologic disposal of radioactive waste on the grounds of its Bruce nuclear power plant.
“The Minister of Environment and Climate Change has terminated the environmental assessment of the Deep Geologic Repository for Low and Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste Project (the Project) pursuant to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012,” according to a brief notice posted online. “Ontario Power Generation notified the Minister that it wishes to terminate the federal environmental assessment for the Project.”
The utility announced in February it would not move ahead with its plan, after members of the regional Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON) voted 1,058 to 170 against supporting the deep geologic repository for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste. The OPG construction license application with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has also been withdrawn, the Detroit Free Press reported this week.
The facility in the municipality of Kincardine would have held 200,000 cubic meters of low- and intermediate-level waste from 18 nuclear reactors at OPG’s Bruce, Darlington, and Pickering power plants. The waste would have been permanently buried 680 meters underground, less than 1 mile from Lake Huron. Ninety-percent of the holding is low-level waste, such as metals, concrete, and incinerated materials.
While Ontario Power Generation said its facility was designed and located to ensure no radiation escaped, the plan drew sharp criticism from both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border given the proximity to the Great Lakes. Lawmakers from upper-Midwest states were particularly vocal in their opposition.
“Canada’s proposal to permanently store millions of tons of nuclear waste in Kincardine, Ontario, less than a mile from Lake Huron, never made sense,” Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) said in a statement Wednesday. “Nuclear waste remains radioactive for thousands of years, and burying it next to the Great Lakes would have threatened our economy and clean drinking water for over 40 million people. Surely in the vast land mass that comprises Canada, there has to be a better place to permanently store nuclear waste than on the shores of the Great Lakes.”
Site selection for such a facility can last up to 15 years, an OPG official said earlier this year. Ontario Power Generation by February had spent $220 million (CAD) on developing the repository. The life-cycle cost through closure was estimated at $2.4 billion (CAD).”
“I don’t have an update on the program to develop an alternate solution. As you can imagine, the priority for OPG has been to keep the lights on, through the COVID-19 pandemic,” Fred Kuntz, senior manager for corporate relations and projects, said by email Wednesday. “As the pandemic winds down, we will continue to move forward on all important projects, including development of lasting solutions for low- and intermediate-level waste.”
