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Canada begins regulatory approval process for spent fuel repository
Canada has formally initiated the regulatory process of licensing its proposed deep geological repository for spent nuclear fuel, with the country’s Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) announcing that it has submitted an initial project description to the Canadian government.
According to the NWMO, the initial project description is a foundational document, detailing the repository’s purpose, need, and expected benefits and explaining how the project will be implemented. It also provides a preliminary assessment of potential impacts and describes measures to avoid or mitigate them. The NWMO is the not-for-profit organization responsible for managing Canada’s nuclear waste.
The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission are to work together on an integrated assessment of the project, stating a goal of “one project, one review.” The initial project description was posted on the IAAC’s website on January 5, with the opportunity for public comments until February 4.
Under an agreement with the NWMO, Canada’s Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation (WLON) will lead its own regulatory assessment and approval process for the repository project.
Background: In November 2024, the NWMO announced the selection of a site in northwestern Ontario for the geologic repository, after WLON and the township of Ignace agreed to enter the regulatory decision-making phase as potential host communities for the repository. Canada began its consent-based process to select a repository site in 2010.
As proposed, the repository would be built to a depth of 650–850 meters in crystalline rock and would provide permanent storage for approximately 5.9 million spent fuel bundles, the projected total inventory of spent fuel estimated to be produced in Canada from the current fleet of reactors to end of life. The repository would operate for about 160 years, encompassing site preparation, construction, operation, and closure monitoring.
According to the NMWO, the project will remain subject to Canada’s Impact Assessment Act, Nuclear Fuel Waste Act, Nuclear Safety and Control Act, and numerous other federal and provincial licensing and regulatory requirements throughout its operational life.
Next steps: The NWMO is to submit an initial license application to the CNSC together with the project’s impact statement. The initial license application will include preliminary site work along with the development and construction of water management facilities, worker accommodations, and nonnuclear supporting infrastructure.
Quote: “For the NWMO, submitting the initial project description represents more than a regulatory requirement,” said Allan Webster, NWMO vice president of regulatory approvals. “It is a shared starting point that brings together engineering, environmental, indigenous knowledge, and community perspectives to guide how the project moves forward through impact assessment, licensing, design optimization, construction and operations.”
G. Longoni, D. Wootan, K Burns, R. Gates, B. Schmitt (PNNL)
Transactions | Volume 113 | Number 1 | October 2015 | Pages 572-574
