For a second time, the Canadian government has extended the deadline for deciding whether to move forward with Ontario Power Generation’s proposal to build a deep geologic repository in Ontario near Lake Huron. The Minister of the Environment and Climate Change announced Friday that it will make a decision on the project on March 1, which is six months after the original September deadline and three months after an initial extension to December.
In May, the Joint Review Panel backed the controversial proposal, which has drawn criticism from both Americans and Canadians because of its proximity to the Great Lakes. The repository, proposed at the Bruce nuclear facility in Kincardine, Ontario, would house more than 200,000 cubic meters of low and intermediate level waste from OPG’s Bruce, Pickering, and Darlington power stations. The repository would be built 680 meters below the surface.
In its environmental assessment of the project, the Joint Review Panel concluded that the design’s isolated rock formation of shale and limestone would protect the water from any potential contamination. Michigan lawmakers, including Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) and Rep. Dan Kildee (D), have rallied against the proposal, calling it a threat to the Great Lakes, the economy and human health.
