The Joint Review Panel overseeing the environmental assessment of Ontario Power Generation’s planned deep geologic repository in Ontario has backed the safety and environmental case for the project, according to the environmental report submitted to Canada’s Minister of the Environment yesterday. The Panel recommended that with the proposed engineering barriers and some minor improvements to scenario preparedness and cumulative effects at the ecosystem scale, the project should move forward as presented. “The Panel is of the view that the safety case for the project is strong because of: the highly suitable geology; the nature of the waste; robust engineering design; built-in, long-term safety features; good long-term performance under normal conditions, including glaciation; acceptable risks under unlikely, ‘what if’ scenarios; and the demonstration of passive containment provided by natural geology in other settings (natural analogues),” the Panel said in its report. It added, “The Panel concludes that the project is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects, taking into account the implementation of the mitigation measures committed to by OPG together with the mitigation measures recommended by the Panel.”
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 project has drawn the ire of citizens on both sides of the border because of its proximity to the Great Lakes, one of the world’s largest sources of fresh water. But the Panel concluded in its report that the isolated nature of the rock formation and the design of the facility would protect the water from any contamination. “The Panel concludes that the project is not likely to cause significant adverse effects on the water quality or aquatic ecosystems of Lake Huron or the other Great Lakes, provided that mitigation measures, including the Panel’s recommendations, are implemented,” the Panel said.
The Panel closed the record on the public comment period back in November, but due to the large public comment interest, it announced it would submit its report no later than May 6, 2015. Following the submittal of the report, the federal government then needs to decide to give the go-ahead, which would allow the review panel to issue a license to prepare the site and construct the facility. The Minister of the Environment now has 120 days to make a decision on whether to move forward or not.
