{"id":63184,"date":"2023-10-30T06:43:47","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T10:43:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/?p=63184"},"modified":"2023-10-30T06:43:47","modified_gmt":"2023-10-30T10:43:47","slug":"thunder-bay-city-council-to-debate-proximity-principle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/2023\/10\/30\/thunder-bay-city-council-to-debate-proximity-principle\/","title":{"rendered":"Thunder Bay City Council to Debate &#8216;proximity principle&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">I am writing in advance of the Thunder Bay City Council\u2019s debate on the \u2018proximity principle\u2019 that will be held on Monday, October 30. I wanted to share some information on this subject, as well as some quick facts about the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO).<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span lang=\"EN-US\">Who is the NWMO?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span lang=\"EN-US\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Founded in 2002, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization is a not-for-profit organization tasked with the safe, long-term management of Canada&#8217;s intermediate- and high-level radioactive waste, in a manner that protects people and the environment for generations to come.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">The NWMO has been guided for more than 20 years by a dedicated team of world-class scientists, engineers and Indigenous Knowledge Holders that are developing innovative and collaborative solutions for nuclear waste management.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\">Canada\u2019s plan to construct a deep geological repository is consistent with\u00a0international best practices. There is consensus among major nuclear regulatory and monitoring organizations that deep geological repositories are the responsible way forward.<\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span lang=\"EN-US\">Why does the NWMO not follow the \u2018proximity principle\u2019?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span lang=\"EN-US\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li class=\"xmsolistparagraph\"><span class=\"xnormaltextrun\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Arbitrarily siting a waste facility near an existing nuclear facility would mean nearby municipalities and First Nations would have no say &#8211; <\/span><\/span><span class=\"xnormaltextrun\">that&#8217;s just not right.<\/span><span class=\"xeop\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"xmsolistparagraph\"><span class=\"xnormaltextrun\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">T<\/span><\/span><span class=\"xnormaltextrun\">he proximity principle conflicts with the values and priorities that Canadians identified as important in siting a used nuclear fuel repository &#8211; that site selection should only proceed in an area with informed and willing hosts.<\/span><span class=\"xeop\"> This project should not be forced on any community just because they are located near a nuclear generating facility.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"xmsolistparagraph\"><span class=\"xnormaltextrun\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">It also <\/span><\/span><span class=\"xnormaltextrun\">doesn\u2019t align with United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP)<\/span> that states that organizations must \u201cconsult and cooperate in good faith with the Indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent before adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures that may affect them.\u201d<\/li>\n<li class=\"xmsolistparagraph\">First Nations did not give their consent for nuclear generating stations to be built on their lands decades ago, and this is an issue those companies are dealing with today. Forcing these communities to also take a deep geological repository continues those historic wrongs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span lang=\"EN-US\">Certain organizations have said that this \u2018proximity principle\u2019 is followed in Europe, but what do those policies really say?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span lang=\"EN-US\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li class=\"xparagraph\"><span class=\"xnormaltextrun\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">The proximity principle is a concept in the <\/span><\/span><span class=\"xnormaltextrun\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">European Community\u2019s Strategy for Waste Management<\/span><\/span><span class=\"xnormaltextrun\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"> (1991) which was focused on conventional municipal waste and <\/span><\/span><span class=\"xnormaltextrun\">recycling, and defines proximity principle to mean that waste must be disposed of &#8220;in one of the nearest appropriate installations.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"xparagraph\"><span class=\"xnormaltextrun\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Scotland mentions proximity principle in their Higher Activity Radioactive Waste Policy in 2011 <\/span><\/span><span class=\"xnormaltextrun\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">that states that waste producers need to<\/span><\/span><span class=\"xnormaltextrun\">determine, to the satisfaction of the regulators, the implications of transportation of radioactive waste, and this will require consideration of the environment, health, safety, security and transport requirements for storage options.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"xparagraph\"><span class=\"xeop\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Even though these policies are European and have no jurisdiction in Canada, the NWMO\u2019s plan would still meet both of those requirements.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span lang=\"EN-US\">There are those who do not want to see this project sited in the Northwest,<\/span><\/b><span lang=\"EN-US\"> <b>but why would our area say yes to a deep geological repository for Canada\u2019s used fuel?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span lang=\"EN-US\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li class=\"xmsolistparagraph\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Environmental protection. This project would remove all used fuel from the temporary, above ground storage facilities and place them in permanent storage 500-700 metres below ground. The current containers are safe, but only licensed for 50-100 years of use, but used nuclear fuel is hazardous for thousands of years. This project would help ensure that used fuel does not harm the environment in the future, even if Canadians are no longer around to monitor it.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"xmsolistparagraph\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Economic growth. This project will run for approximately 200 years (perhaps even longer) and would bring billions of dollars in investment to the region (current lifespan estimate is $26 billion over 200 years). Depending on the project phase, it would bring 400-600 new jobs to the region. This is not a boom and bust cycle that we have seen in mining \u2013 these are very long term, multi-generational jobs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"xmsolistparagraph\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Population growth. The NWMO\u2019s community studies have shown that the population of Ignace would double with this project \u2013 to more than 2000 people. The NWMO is committed to relocating its staff to the siting area, so this influx of a highly skilled and highly educated workforce would have huge benefits.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span lang=\"EN-US\">Is this project safe?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span lang=\"EN-US\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">This is the most important question of all. Before this project obtains a license from regulators, the NWMO would need to prove that the project can be carried out safely and without negatively impacting people or the environment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Used fuel and other nuclear materials have been safely shipped around the world for more than 50 years. Transportation of used fuel would not begin for at least 20 years, but the NWMO has already done a great deal of transportation planning. Used fuel containers have undergone severe testing to prove that they can withstand the worst possible road accident. In the UK a train was driven into a used fuel package without damaging it, and in Germany a propane tanker was exploded next to a package, and it wasn\u2019t damaged either.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Both Ignace and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation have been studying this project for more than a decade, and they are currently in the willingness process to determine whether they are interested in hosting a facility. They are scheduled to give their decision in early 2024, with NWMO deciding on a site in late 2024. The two remaining sites are Ignace-Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation in Northwestern Ontario, and South Bruce-Saugeen Ojibway Nation in Southwestern Ontario.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I am writing in advance of the Thunder Bay City Council\u2019s debate on the \u2018proximity principle\u2019 that will be held on Monday, October 30. I wanted to share some information on this subject, as well as some quick facts about the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO). \u00a0 Who is the NWMO? \u00a0 Founded in 2002, &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-30 08:10:22","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63184"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63185,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63184\/revisions\/63185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}