With Creighton out of the running as the site of a nuclear waste storage facility, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is continuing to progress with nine sites in Ontario.
Currently at the learn-more stage are the communities of Ignace, Hornepayne, White River, Manitouwadge, Blind River, Elliot Lake, Huron-Kinloss, South Bruce and Central Huron.
NWMO communications manager Michael Krizanc explained that the process becomes more in depth as it moves forward.
“We are at the very early stages of a long process,” he said.
Eventually, NWMO will narrow the field to one or two communities, at which time a detailed site characterization research study will be performed. The analysis costs upwards of $200 million to perform in each community and is expected to take five years.
“Only then will all of the information be available to make a decision,” said Krizanc. “Only then will we be able to ask the question of whether or not the community wants to host the site.”
The site selection process began in May 2010 with a total of 22 communities, including Creighton, applying to be considered for the site. The application deadline was in September 2012.
Three Saskatchewan communities were on the initial list of potential sites, including Pinehouse, English River First Nation and Creighton.
Creighton was removed from consideration in March.
“The studies show that there is limited potential to meet safety requirements of the project in the Creighton area,” Kathryn Shaver, vice-president of site selection for NWMO, wrote in a letter to the Town of Creighton explaining NWMO’s decision.
As the process of selecting a community for the site moves forward, each stage gets increasingly more in depth, and the costs rise.
The NWMO is looking for a potential site for a safe geological repository while also enhancing the community in some way. While the type of enhancement is determined by the community, Krizanc said often communities are looking at the increased employment associated with the site.
“The project will run at least 60 years, so the jobs associated with it will last for many generations,” he said. “All communities start from a different place and have a different vision for themselves.”
Communities being studied are also required to have support from neighbouring communities. A positive partnership between Aboriginal neighbours and surrounding communities with the host community is essential, according to Krizanc.
“Essentially it’s a narrowing-down process,” said Krizanc. “At each stage we are looking for the community with the most potential. It’s not that one community is not suited but that another community has more potential to safely host the site.”
