Budget forecast 2023-27
The NWMO’s annual budget process
The NWMO’s business planning process begins with senior management discussing and confirming proposed strategic directions and objectives for the five-year planning period. The development of each five-year plan takes into account the input received through public reviews of implementation plans and engagement activities. Each year, the five-year business plan is presented to the Board of Directors for review and discussion. Each fall, the Board approves the budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The 2023-27 strategic plan for Adaptive Phased Management (APM) is presented in the section Implementing Adaptive Phased Management 2023-27.
Adaptive Phased Management (APM) budget forecast for 2023-27
The budget forecast supports the major APM work program objectives described in the five-year strategic plan. A summary of the costs in each of the seven work program areas and staffing and administration is provided in the table below.
| APM projected costs ($ million) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
| Engineering | 11.5 | 17.5 | 19.9 | 22.0 | 22.1 |
| Site assessment | 13.6 | 7.2 | 29.3 | 59.7 | 63.5 |
| Safety | 4.8 | 4.3 | 5.4 | 4.5 | 4.2 |
| Regulatory decision-making | 10.1 | 11.4 | 14.3 | 14.7 | 17.7 |
| Engagement | 47.8 | 91.7 | 85.7 | 81.9 | 52.2 |
| Transportation | 0.9 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| Communications | 6.5 | 8.0 | 7.1 | 7.1 | 6.3 |
| Staffing and administration | 66.7 | 73.1 | 91.9 | 105.4 | 106.0 |
| Proposed plan | 162.0 | 215.3 | 257.3 | 299.8 | 276.6 |
In addition to the APM budget, the NWMO is supporting preliminary analysis of potential small modular reactor used fuel requirements; any expenses incurred will be on a cost-recovery basis. The NWMO also expects to incur nominal expenses in 2023 to finalize recommendations and issue the final report on the Integrated Strategy for Radioactive Waste as requested by Natural Resources Canada as part of the Government of Canada’s Radioactive Waste Policy Review.