The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) announced January 24 that it had signed agreements with landowners in South Bruce, Ontario that will allow sufficient access to land for studies at a potential deep geological repository location. The community is one of two potential host areas that remain in the site selection process for the project; the NWMO announced in November 2019 that studies are also continuing in the area of Ignace, Ont.
“We are heartened by the strong interest shown by local landowners in each municipality,” said Dr. Mahrez Ben Belfadhel, Vice-President of Site Selection at the NWMO. “With agreements in place and access to land in South Bruce, we expect to begin studies such as borehole drilling and baseline environmental monitoring in the coming months to assess the suitability of the area.”
The land access process was initiated in May 2019. Since then, the NWMO worked with local landowners to aggregate nearly 526 hectares of land northwest of Teeswater, Ontario. The agreements include a combination of option and purchase arrangements that allow the NWMO to conduct studies and landowners to continue using the land, in some cases through leaseback arrangements. If the site is selected to host the repository, the NWMO would purchase the optioned land.
“The identification of a potential repository site in South Bruce is an important milestone for Canada’s plan, providing confidence that the organization can proceed with technical site evaluations and social studies in this area. This is the result of months of hard work and effort on behalf of the municipalities, local landowners and the NWMO,” said Dr. Ben Belfadhel. “Canada’s plan has been made stronger through the thoughtful and constructive contributions of the people and leaders in the area.”
The NWMO will continue discussions with landowners in the vicinity of the potential site over the coming months and years to further aggregate additional land in this area. The organization anticipates assembling properties totaling approximately 607 hectares. Canada’s plan calls for the NWMO to identify a single, preferred site to host the project, in an area with informed and willing hosts, by 2023.
The Township of Huron-Kinloss in Ontario will no longer be considered a potential host for the project. However, as a neighbour to South Bruce, the community will continue to play a strong role as activities continue. Power Magazine reported December 9 that a bipartisan group of U.S. House members from Michigan had asked Prime Minister Trudeau to reconsider that site. It’s not clear as of this writing whether the lawmakers will object to the current site. “We stand in strong opposition to any decision by the Canadian government to select or consider a permanent national repository for nuclear waste storage anywhere near the Great Lakes,” their December 6 letter to Trudeau said in part.