Schreiber Takes Next Step in NWMO Site Selection Process (incl. Video)

Written by admin on 16 January 2012

SCHREIBER, ON – The Township of Schreiber will continue its involvement in the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s (NWMO) site selection process, learning about Canada’s plan for safely managing used nuclear fuel over the long term. Council passed a motion at its December 13th meeting expressing interest in moving forward to the next step, Preliminary Assessment of Potential Feasibility – Feasibility Studies (Step 3). The NWMO is seeking an informed and willing community to host a deep geological repository. The selection process is expected to take seven to ten years.

Step three will determine if Schreiber has the potential to meet the detailed requirements for the repository project. Importantly, Council’s resolution does not commit the Township to becoming a host community.

“This step does not commit Schreiber to anything beyond these preliminary feasibility studies,” said Schreiber Mayor Don Mc Arthur. “The NWMO siting process requires residents of a potential host community to demonstrate willingness in a compelling way before a community would be identified as a potential host,” adds the Mayor.

Schreiber began learning about Canada’s plan for the safe management of used nuclear fuel in spring, 2010. The Township formally entered the process later that year after community delegations visited an interim nuclear waste management facility and met with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. In 2011, Council invited the NWMO to conduct open house events in Schreiber to provide information, answer questions and listen to citizen queries surrounding all aspects of the project. An initial screening, also conducted in 2011, did not identify any conditions which would exclude Schreiber from the siting process.

The township has appointed a Community Liaison Committee (CLC) to work on behalf of residents, independently of council, as Schreiber continues in this process.

This year (2012), the NWMO will begin conducting feasibility studies in collaboration with communities, like Schreiber, that choose to continue in the nine step process. The first phase of the preliminary feasibility study, which may take a year or more, will explore four key questions:

Is there the potential to find a safe site?
Is there the potential to foster the well‐being of the community through the implementation of the project, and what might need to be put in place to ensure this outcome?
Is there the potential for citizens in the community to continue to be interested in exploring the project though subsequent steps in the site selection process?
Is there the potential to foster the well‐being of the surrounding area and to establish the foundation to move forward with the project?

The NWMO will provide resources to the Township as it continues to explore its interest in this important 16 to 24 billion dollar national infrastructure project. Importantly, neighbouring communities and potentially affected Aboriginal communities will be engaged during the feasibility step of the siting process. They will also be eligible for funding, as appropriate, to support their participation.