Feds accept new info on planned nuclear-waste bunker near Lake Huron

By Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press

A proposal to bury tonnes of radioactive waste in a bunker near Lake Huron has moved a step toward a decision on whether the multibillion-dollar project can proceed.

Federal authorities say they are satisfied Ontario Power Generation has provided additional information they had asked for about the project.

In a notice to interested parties this week, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency said it would now begin drafting a report to Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, who will have final say over the deep geologic repository. The agency will also update any conditions it thinks should be imposed if the plan gets the go-ahead.

The agency said the public will get a chance to comment on both the draft and any conditions before McKenna makes her decision, now expected by the end of the year. It also said it plans to have its draft report available sometime this summer.

The contentious proposal, years in development, has drawn the ire of scores of communities that argue it is irresponsible to bury the low- and mid-level nuclear waste at the Bruce nuclear power plant near Kincardine, Ont. They worry about the danger the material — hazardous for thousands of years — could pose to Great Lakes drinking water.

In 2015, an independent joint review panel concluded the Bruce site was appropriate, putting the ball in the federal government’s court. However, Ottawa has repeatedly delayed making any decisions.