| Wednesday, May 14th is the deadline to comment on the Initial Project Description of the Peace River Nuclear Project, being proposed by “Energy Alberta” for the Peace River region in Northern Alberta. Comments must be sent to by 11:59 pm on May 14th.
You can submit a comment using the Impact Assessment Agency’s online form HERE or send it by email to peacenuclear-nucleairepaix@iaac-aeic.gc.ca
It’s totally okay to make your comments very short and just pick one or two of the many reasons to oppose the project:
- nuclear power is too risky / too expensive / timelines are too unpredictable
- nuclear power is too slow to come online to respond to climate change
- nuclear power creates too many greenhouse gas emissions during mining, milling, refining, converting uranium and manufacturing nuclear fuel
- nuclear power created dangerous radioactive emissions
It’s also fair to simply comment that you oppose the project. Other comments are already posted on the project registry by people who simply say “I am opposed to this project” or “I support this project” (yes, there are many of those comments).
Nuclear Waste
A big reason to oppose the project is the nuclear waste that will be generated. And if you live in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba or northwestern Ontario you may also be opposed to finding yourself on the transportation route from the Peace River to the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s intended nuclear waste burial site in the headwaters of the Wabigoon and Turtle River watersheds, upstream from Lake of the Woods and Lake Winnipeg, in northwestern Ontario. NWMO selected the Revell site in November 2024 as the intended location for the processing, burial and abandonment of all of Canada’s high-level nuclear waste.
The Initial Project Description of the Peace River Nuclear Project lists the project “infrastructure” (Section 4.3.3.3 Infrastructure – Nuclear) as including “Permanent facilities for the management and storage of low- level and intermediate level radioactive waste” and “Permanent facilities for the management and storage of used fuel”. On first read, that creates the strong impression that Alberta Energy’s plan is for long-term (permanent) on-site storage of radioactive wastes.
Later sections tell a different tale: Alberta Energy’s plan is to ship the radioactive wastes off-site, transporting the high-level radioactive wastes 2,200 kilometres east – including through Edmonton, Saskatoon and Winnipeg – to the NWMO’s selected site between Thunder Bay and Winnipeg, in the heart of Treaty 3 territory, in northwestern Ontario.
For example:
- According to Section 4.3.5.1 used fuel will be shipped off-site for disposal; radioactive waste will be stored in “appropriate off-site facilities”, and radioactive waste will be transported to a long-term storage/disposal site
- Table 7.1-1 describing Potential Interactions between the Project and the Biophysical and Socio-Economic Environment lists the transport of radioactive waste to long-term storage/disposal site
- Three of Energy Alberta’s “Fact Sheets” describe the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s plan for deep geological repository and NWMO’s selection of “Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation and the Township of Ignace in Ontario as the host communities for the future repository site”
- A poster board produced by Energy Alberta for their open houses claims that “the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) oversee and regulate every stage of nuclear waste management”; it refers to them both as “governing bodies” and refers to “Canada’s Long-Term Plan” to be delivered by the NWMO and again states that “The NWMO has selected Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation and the Township of Ignace in Ontario to host future deep geological repository sites.”
Next Steps
The current comment period is on the Initial Project Description. Based – at least in part – on comments received, the Impact Assessment Agency will produce a draft set of guidelines that set out what information the proponent – Energy Alberta – must include in their Impact Statement (their detailed description of the project). This may happen as early as the end of May.
In commenting on the Initial Project Description, include your ideas about what information Energy Alberta should be required to provide for the assessment of their project.
Participant Funding
The first deadline for participant funding is May 16th. This funding is for the planning stage of the review – the stage we are in the middle of right now – and can be used for comment on the initial project description (the funding can be used retroactively) and on the draft guidelines. Details are HERE.
Notices
The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada has an email list for the Peace River Nuclear Power Project. Call 613-699-6778 or email peacenuclear-nucleairepaix@iaac-aeic.gc.ca to be added to the list and receive future notices, or if you have questions about the project or the impact assessment process. |