Creighton is one step closer to potentially storing Canada’s nuclear waste, moving into a new phase of a selection process that will involve intense geological study and public consultation.
In recognition of its work so far, Creighton is also receiving $400,000 from the Nuclear Waste Management Organization to spend on community projects.
“Creighton is looking forward to continuing its participation in the NWMO site selection process,” said Mayor Bruce Fidler. “The next phase of work will involve much more detailed technical and social studies and will see an enhanced level of engagement within our own community and with our neighbours.”
Creighton is now among 17 Canadian communities in the running to potentially store nuclear waste deep underground – and the only one outside of Ontario.
Research to date has not confirmed whether Creighton, or any other community, is a suitable location. No community has formally declared a willingness to host the NWMO project, only to learn more about it.
Creighton and three other towns that began talks with NWMO in 2010, early in the site selection discussions, have now been chosen to proceed to the third of nine stages in the process.
Joining Creighton are the Ontario communities of Hornepayne, Ignace and Schreiber. Eliminated from contention are English River First Nation and Pinehouse in Saskatchewan, and Ear Falls and Wawa in Ontario.
Thirteen other Ontario communities will still be considered, but because they entered the process later than Creighton, Hornepayne, Ignace and Schreiber, they have not yet advanced to the same stage.
Creighton’s advancement means the town will undergo aerial surveys and, eventually, borehole drilling to further assess its geology.
“Up until now, all of the work has been desktop work – we haven’t had any boots in the field,” said NWMO spokesperson Michael Krizanc.
NWMO will also conduct broader consultations with Creighton, Flin Flon and neighbouring communities, including First Nations, to gauge public sentiment.
In a surprise announcement last week, NWMO said it is awarding grants of $400,000 each to the four communities that have advanced to the third stage as well as the four communities removed from consideration.
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The money will go into what NWMO is calling “Community Well-Being Reserve Funds” to be spent on community projects of each municipality’s choosing.
The projects need not be related to nuclear waste storage, but should enhance community well-being or sustainability. Krizanc said examples could include projects that benefit youth or that reduce energy consumption.
Some opponents of the NWMO project, including Creighton resident Cynthia Fedak, worry the $400,000 may have undue influence on public opinion.
“When doesn’t money sway people?” Fedak said. “I mean, most of us are tempted to say, ‘Oh boy, it would be good to have a whole bunch of money,’ but I don’t know whether it’s worth it or not.”
Asked whether NWMO risks looking like it’s buying community support, Krizanc stressed that none of the communities knew they would receive money for participating.
Krizanc said the six-figure grants are well-deserved.
“These communities, each and every one of them, have demonstrated strong leadership on behalf of all Canadians to help advance Canada’s plan for the safe and secure management of used nuclear fuel,” Krizanc said. “We want to recognize the contribution that they have made.”
The NWMO’s underground repository, which will store the nation’s spent nuclear fuel rods, is not expected to open until 2035. The location is still likely years away from being chosen.
As individual studies are completed, the NWMO will continue to narrow its focus to communities with a strong potential for suitability.
That suitability will be determined by geology and safety, but also by community support – or lack thereof.
Mayor Fidler has said a public vote would be held prior to a final decision – if Creighton makes it that far in the process.
A public vote in any of the communities would be pointless at this time, Krizanc said, since neither NWMO nor residents have all of the relevant information.
“All we’ve said at this point is, these communities have potential,” Krizanc said. “We don’t know (that) and so until we know that, there’s no point in asking people to make a decision on partial information, because it’s not an informed decision.”
Added Krizanc: “We’re committed to finding an informed and willing host (community) where the used fuel can be safely managed over the long-term, and we’re going to take the time to do it right.”
The NWMO has gone to great lengths to portray the nuclear-waste repository as safe, and much of the scientific community agrees that nuclear waste can be stored without danger.
Always risky
But for Creighton’s Fedak, there will always be a risk.
“For them to say it’s 100 per cent safe, why don’t they bury it a little bit closer to where they are?” said Fedak, referencing the Toronto-based officials of NWMO.
Beyond safety fears, Fedak worries whether nuclear waste would damage tourism and and the overall image of the Creighton region.
“I’m thinking about future generations,” Fedak said. “I mean, what’s to be so proud of to say, ‘Oh, we’ve got nuclear waste buried in our backyard’? What’s so great about that?”
Proponents of the project would cite as the answer the immense economic spin-offs.
The repository represents a multibillion-dollar investment that is projected to spawn more than 4,000 jobs before, during and after construction.
Many residents have yet to decide how they feel about the repository. Among them is Rod Gourlay, co-chair of the local Community Liaison Committee, which works closely with NWMO.
“If we’re going to try and bring this to Creighton – if that’s what the Town of Creighton so wants – we have to make an informed decision,” said Gourlay. “And that’s where I’m at. I’m not for it, I’m not against it, but I’m certainly learning a ton by being involved with the (committee).”
But there are serious questions as to whether the Saskatchewan government would even allow Creighton to have the repository.
In 2011, Premier Brad Wall said he does not think Saskatchewanians want radioactive waste kept in their province and that unless there is a major shift in public opinion, it is not in the cards.
But Krizanc isn’t interpreting that as a definitive barrier.
“The Government of Saskatchewan has said that the site selection process is in the very early stages and they understand that there is a great deal of time before any site is selected,” Krizanc said, “and they have said that they’re prepared to let the process unfold. They understand that it’ll take some time, and so they understand that the communities are interested in learning and they support the process unfolding.”
Mayor Bruce Fidler (inset) and Creighton remain in the running for an underground repository to store spent nuclear fuel rods. Creighton is also receiving a $400,000 grant for its work within the selection process thus far.
FILE PHOTOS
