Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
9/19/2014
A group of U.S. senators introduced a resolution this week against a proposed Canadian radioactive waste repository in Ontario. Among the senators sponsoring the resolution is Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), who along with a host of Michigan state lawmakers, have been vocal about their opposition to Ontario Power Generation’s proposed deep geologic repository for low and intermediate-level radioactive waste, mainly due to its close proximity to the Great Lakes, the largest source of fresh water in the world. “Canada’s proposed nuclear waste storage facility, less than a mile from Lake Huron, would not only threaten our precious lakes, but it could also be disastrous for the health of our citizens and our economy,” Levin said in a statement. “For over a century, the U.S. and Canada have worked together to protect our shared water, and we need to make sure that decisions we make about permanently storing nuclear waste continue our history of careful stewardship of our lakes.”
The resolution, also co-sponsored by Sens. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), and Tammy Baldwin, (D-Wis.), calls on the Canadian government to prohibit the repository near the Great Lakes. Should Canada ignore this request, the resolution also calls on President Barrack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry to intervene. “Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate— (1) the Canadian Government should not allow a permanent nuclear waste repository to be built within the Great Lakes Basin; (2) the President and the Secretary of State should take appropriate action to work with the Canadian Government to prevent a permanent nuclear waste repository from being built within the Great Lakes Basin; and (3) the President and the Secretary of State should work together with their Canadian Government counterparts on a safe and responsible solution for the long-term storage of nuclear waste,” the resolution said. A similar resolution was introduced in the House earlier this month by Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.).
The proposed repository would be located beneath OPG’s Bruce nuclear facility in Kincardine, Ont. 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, including Levin, 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.
