Seventy-six Michigan communities, along with local government agencies in Canada and other U.S. states, have joined the fight against the proposed Canadian radioactive waste repository in Ontario by passing resolutions in opposition, state Sen. Phil Pavlov (D) said yesterday. 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. Pavlov introduced a resolution that passed the state Senate earlier this year that opposed the construction of the repository and called on President Barrack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry to intervene. “I applaud the dozens of local governments in Michigan that have supported our efforts to stop this dangerous proposal,” Pavlov said in a statement. “Local communities are overwhelmingly opposed to this proposed facility, and for good reason. Ontario Power Generation’s plan to permanently bury radioactive waste less than a mile from Lake Huron presents a critical threat to the health of the entire Great Lakes region.”
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. 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.
