Preparing for licensing applications
Joanne Jacyk, Site Director for the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation (WLON)-Ignace area (formerly Environment Program Manager) at the NWMO, and Andrew Milling, Aquatic Fisheries Technician at North/South Consultants Inc., conduct environmental DNA sampling to further understand aquatic species in the WLON-Ignace area.
Once a preferred site for the deep geological repository is selected in 2024, we will begin the regulatory decision-making process. This will include conducting detailed analysis of the project’s environmental impact, completing a formal impact assessment, applying for a Licence to Prepare Site, and developing the materials needed to apply for a construction licence. These next steps will be rigorous and challenging – as they should be – to provide Canadians and Indigenous peoples with the assurances they need and deserve.
The NWMO has developed our regulatory decision-making plan based on the Impact Assessment Act and the Nuclear Safety and Control Act. We are also continuing our ongoing dialogue with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to seek additional guidance about the information the NWMO must provide when preparing for licence applications and eventually seeking those licences.
During the 2020-22 period, we have continued to work in close collaboration with Indigenous and non-Indigenous community members to establish environmental monitoring programs in the two potential siting areas. The process for designing a monitoring program for the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation (WLON)-Ignace area was completed in 2020, while the process in the Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON)-South Bruce area was completed in 2021. These programs will be updated annually.
Data collection for the environmental baseline studies in both areas began in 2021 and includes information on a number of environmental conditions such as water, air, soil and habitat. We are working with WLON in the WLON-Ignace area and with the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority in the SON-South Bruce area. These studies will help establish an understanding of the environment in both areas before project development begins, so that any changes due to the project can be assessed, and appropriate mitigation measures can be incorporated into the design of the repository.
Working with the municipal communities, we also began data collection for socio-economic baseline studies in both potential siting areas, to give us insights into the current social, cultural, economic and health conditions. This will help us determine the extent of the changes the project will bring to those communities, including benefits from new employment and business opportunities.