The following document has been electronically scanned from a printed original produced by Natural Resources Canada. An electronic copy of the printed original was briefly available to the public from the Natural Resources Canada web site in .pdf format. At the time of this posting the document is no longer available from the site.
The document is posted here in order to provide a reference to the CNP document entitled Brief to Natural Resources Canada in connection with the Government of Canada Response to the Panel Report on Nuclear Fuel Waste (February 28, 1999), and in the absence of public access to the "Government of Canada Response" document elsewhere on the web.
While an effort was made to ensure that typographical errors that might emerge in the scanning process were eliminated, CNP assumes no responsibility for the presence of errors or omissions in the following document.
Government of Canada Response to Recommendations of the Nuclear Fuel Waste Management and Disposal Concept Environmental Assessment Panel
Natural Resources Canada
December 1998
Table of Contents
News Release (not included here)
Government of Canada Response
Options for Federal Oversight
Policy Framework for Radioactive Waste
Government of Canada Response
Canadians want to be assured that the nuclear fuel waste generated from the production of nuclear power for electricity purposes is managed in a safe, environmentally sound, comprehensive, cost-effective and integrated manner by a stable and trustworthy organization. In this regard, Canadians expect nuclear fuel waste management activities to be carried out in accordance with the requirements set by a trustworthy nuclear regulatory authority. Canadians also look to the Government of Canada to show leadership and provide policy direction to those who produce the nuclear fuel waste to ensure that the waste will be taken care of in a comprehensive, cost-effective and integrated manner.
In 1996, consistent with the Government of Canada's jurisdiction over
the development and control of nuclear energy, the Minister of Natural
Resources announced a Policy Framework for Radioactive Waste to guide Canada's
approach to the disposal of all radioactive waste in a safe, environmentally
sound, comprehensive, cost-effective and integrated manner. The Policy
Framework for Radioactive Waste consists of a set of principles governing
the institutional and financial arrangements for the disposal of radioactive
waste, including nuclear fuel waste, by waste producers and owners. The
federal government has the responsibility to develop policy, to regulate,
and to oversee producers and owners to ensure that they comply with legal
requirements and meet their funding and operational responsibilities in
accordance with approved waste disposal plans. The waste producers and
owners are responsible for the funding, organization, management and operation
of disposal and other facilities required for their waste.
Canadians have come to expect high standards of health, safety, security
and protection of the environment in the regulation of nuclear activities,
including the management of nuclear fuel waste. The Nuclear Safety and
Control Act (NSCA), which received Royal Assent on March 20, 1997,
will replace the Atomic Energy Control Act of 1946 with a modern
statute. The new Act provides for more explicit and effective regulation
of the nuclear industry, including the management of nuclear fuel waste.
It will enable the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, the successor to
the Atomic Energy Control Board, to require financial assurances of waste
producers as a licence condition, thereby ensuring that the costs of decommissioning
nuclear facilities and waste management are borne by the licensees and
not taxpayers.
Recognizing the importance of nuclear fuel waste management and the
public's interest in this issue, in 1978, under the Canada/Ontario Nuclear
Fuel Waste Management Program, the governments of Canada and Ontario directed
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) to develop the concept of deep geological
disposal of nuclear fuel waste in the stable rock of the Canadian Shield.
In 1988, the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources referred the disposal
concept to the Minister of the Environment for review by a Panel under
the Federal Environmental Assessment and Review Process Guidelines Order.
On March 13, 1998, following an extensive public review process, the
Panel released its recommendations on the safety and acceptability of the
disposal concept and the next steps for the long-term management of nuclear
fuel waste in Canada to the federal government.
The Panel report concluded that, from a technical perspective, safety of the AECL disposal concept had been, on balance, adequately demonstrated for a conceptual stage of development but that, as it stands, the disposal concept had not been demonstrated to have broad public support. The Panel also found that the concept, in its current form, did not have the required level of acceptability to be adopted as Canada's approach for managing nuclear fuel wastes and recommended a number of steps that should be taken to develop an approach for managing nuclear fuel waste in a way that could achieve support.
In particular, the Panel recommended that a nuclear fuel waste management agency be established quickly, at arm's length from the utilities and AECL, with the sole purpose of managing and coordinating the full range of activities relating to the long-term management of nuclear fuel waste in Canada, and that it be fully funded by the producers and owners of nuclear fuel waste.
The Government of Canada commends the Panel for its public consultation effort and appreciates the Panel's careful, in-depth review of the disposal concept, its study of related nuclear fuel waste management issues, and recommendations for arriving at the preferred approach for the long-term management of nuclear fuel waste. The Government recognizes that the Panel report represents a synthesis of the views expressed by groups and individuals from Canadian communities, including Aboriginal communities, in the provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, as well as governments and producers and owners of nuclear fuel waste.
The Panel report provides a perspective on what Canadians consider should be done to manage nuclear fuel waste. It is a valuable source of views for the Government of Canada in setting a course forward that will be both responsive and responsible.
Summary of the Government of Canada Response to the Recommendations of the Nuclear Fuel Waste Management and Disposal Concept Environmental Assessment Panel
The 1996 Policy Framework for Radioactive Waste outlined the principles
governing the institutional and financial arrangements for the disposal
of radioactive waste by waste producers and owners. It clearly recognized
that arrangements may be different for nuclear fuel waste, low-level radioactive
waste and uranium mine and mill tailings.
For nuclear fuel waste, the Government of Canada expects that:
The producers and owners of nuclear fuel waste in Canada will establish a waste management organization, incorporated as a separate legal entity, with a mandate to manage and coordinate the full range of activities relating to the long-term management, including disposal, of nuclear fuel waste. The waste management organization will:- have a Board of Directors, representative of producers and owners of nuclear fuel waste
- have an advisory council; and
- be comprehensive, i.e., allow for the participation of all producers and owners of nuclear fuel waste.The producers and owners of nuclear fuel waste in Canada will establish a fund to fully finance all activities and operations of the waste management organization including the costs for developing and comparing waste management options, for designing and siting the preferred approach for the long- term management, including disposal, of nuclear fuel waste, for implementation, and ultimately for decommissioning waste management facilities.
The waste management organization will report to the Government of Canada setting out its preferred
approach for the long-term management, including disposal, of nuclear fuel waste, with justification, as well as:- a comprehensive public participation plan;
- an ethical and social assessment framework;
- an Aboriginal participation process;
- practicable long-term waste management options for Canada, including the following: a modified AECL concept for deep geological disposal; storage at reactor sites; and centralized storage, either above or below ground;
- a comparison of risks, costs and benefits of the options along with proposed siting territories;
and
- future steps.
The Government of Canada will determine whether it accepts the report and the preferred approach proposed by the waste management organization, and future steps.
Recognizing that there is a need to ensure that the preferred
approach for the long-term management, including disposal, of nuclear fuel
waste is carried out in a comprehensive, cost-effective and integrated
manner, it is the intent of Natural Resources Canada to initiate, as soon
as possible, a consultative process with appropriate federal departments,
the Atomic Energy Control Board, producers and owners of nuclear fuel waste,
the provinces, and other stakeholders to develop options, including legislative
options, to meet three key objectives:
(1) require that a dedicated fund be established, to which only the
producers and owners would contribute, to fully finance long-term management,
including disposal, of nuclear fuel waste; (2) establish a reporting relationship
between the federal government and the waste management organization, and
the producers and owners, to review progress on a regular basis; and (3)
establish a federal review and approval mechanism to provide oversight
and access to funds.
The Minister of Natural Resources will return to Cabinet within 12 months with the preferred option to ensure key federal objectives will be met.
Recommendation 1
The federal government should issue a policy statement governing the long-term management of nuclear fuel wastes.
The Government of Canada agrees with this recommendation.
The Government of Canada has an important policy role to play in the long-term management, including disposal, of nuclear fuel waste in Canada in cooperation with the provinces and other major stakeholders. Pressures to move toward a solution for dealing with nuclear fuel waste include the need to manage the waste in a manner consistent with sustainable development, the desire to relieve future generations of the burden associated with ongoing and active management of the waste, and the long lead time needed to prepare for the implementation of a solution. Resolving the nuclear fuel waste issue will further support nuclear energy, and particularly the CANDU option, as a sustainable electricity supply option.
The 1996 Policy Framework for Radioactive Waste established the approach in Canada to deal with all of its radioactive waste and defined the role of government and waste producers and owners. The Policy Framework set the stage for the development of institutional and financial arrangements to implement solutions in a safe, environmentally-sound, comprehensive, cost effective and integrated manner. Arrangements may be different for nuclear fuel waste, low- level radioactive waste and uranium mine and mill tailings.
The Summary of the Government of Canada Response to the Recommendations of the Nuclear Fuel Waste Management and Disposal Concept Environmental Assessment Panel provides the specific future policy direction to be taken for nuclear fuel waste management in Canada.
Recommendation 2
The federal government should immediately initiate an adequately funded participation process with Aboriginal people, who should design and execute the process.
The Government of Canada agrees with this recommendation.
A participation process will provide a vehicle for Aboriginal people (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) to understand and assess nuclear fuel waste issues and take part in the discussion of options for the long-term management, including disposal, of nuclear fuel waste. Such a process should, to the extent possible, be designed and executed by Aboriginal people so that it is appropriate to their value systems and decision-making processes.
The Government of Canada will need to be satisfied with the participation afforded to Aboriginal people. A decision about the preferred approach for the long-term management, including disposal, of nuclear fuel waste could impact on Aboriginal or Treaty rights of Aboriginal people.
Consistent with its fiduciary relationship with Aboriginal people,
the Government of Canada will initiate a dialogue with representative Aboriginal
communities and organizations. The objective
of the dialogue is to determine how Aboriginal people want to be consulted
in the process leading to the preferred approach for the long-term management
of nuclear fuel waste.
The Government expects that a waste management organization, once it is established, will continue the consultation process with Aboriginal communities. The related activities should be funded by the producers and owners of nuclear fuel waste.
Recommendation 3.1
The Panel recommended that a nuclear fuel waste management agency be established quickly, at arm's length from the utilities and AECL, with the sole purpose of managing and co-ordinating the full range of activities relating to the long-term management of nuclear fuel wastes.
The Government of Canada agrees in part with this recommendation.
The 1996 Policy Framework for Radioactive Waste specifies that the federal government will ensure that radioactive waste disposal is carried out in a safe, environmentally sound, comprehensive, cost-effective and integrated manner. The Policy Framework also specifies that waste producers and owners are responsible for the funding, organization, management and operation of disposal and other facilities required for their waste.
The Government of Canada expects that the producers and owners of nuclear fuel waste will establish a waste management organization, incorporated as a separate legal entity, with a mandate to manage and coordinate the full range of activities relating to the long-term management, including disposal, of nuclear fuel waste. At this time, the three nuclear utilities, Ontario Hydro, Hydro-Québec and New Brunswick Power, are expected to form the waste management organization. The organization should allow for the participation, as appropriate, of other waste producers and owners in Canada. This approach to participation should facilitate cooperation among producers and owners to find a solution for nuclear fuel waste that is safe and environmentally sound as well as being comprehensive, cost-effective and integrated.
Recommendation 3.2
The Panel recommended that the nuclear fuel waste management agency be fully funded in all its operations from a segregated fund to which only the producers and owners of nuclear fuel wastes would contribute.
The Government of Canada agrees with this recommendation.
Consistent with the Policy Framework for Radioactive Waste, producers
and owners of nuclear fuel waste are responsible for funding activities
for the management, including disposal, of their nuclear fuel waste. The
Government of Canada considers that to be effective, credible and sustainable,
the waste management organization will require a secure and ongoing source
of funds to carry out all of its activities and operations.
The Government of Canada expects that the producers and owners of nuclear
fuel waste will establish a fund to fully finance all activities and operations
of the waste management organization including the costs for developing
and comparing waste management options, for designing and siting the preferred
approach for the long-term management, including disposal, of nuclear fuel
waste, for implementation, and ultimately for decommissioning waste management
facilities.
Recommendation 3.3
The Panel recommended that the nuclear fuel waste management agency's board of directors, appointed by the federal government, be representative of key stakeholders.
The Government of Canada recognizes the intent but cannot agree with this recommendation.
Consistent with the Policy Framework for Radioactive Waste, the producers and owners of nuclear fuel waste are responsible for the funding, organization, management and operation of disposal and other facilities required for their waste. It is their responsibility to establish the waste management organization and appoint the board of directors.
The Government of Canada expects that such a board should be representative of producers and owners of nuclear fuel waste, in particular at this time, the three nuclear utilities, with about 98 per cent of the current Canadian nuclear fuel waste inventory. The arrangement should also allow for the participation, as appropriate, of other waste producers and owners in Canada.
Recommendation 3.4
The Panel recommended that the nuclear fuel waste management agency have a strong and active advisory council representative of a wide variety of interested parties.
The Government of Canada agrees with this recommendation.
Consistent with the Policy Framework for Radioactive Waste, the producers and owners of nuclear fuel waste are responsible for the funding, organization, management and operation of disposal and other facilities required for their waste. It is their responsibility to establish the waste management organization and appoint the advisory council.
The Government of Canada expects that the members of the council should, to the extent applicable, represent a broad range of interested parties. Membership could include representatives from the engineering, science, health and social sciences fields; Aboriginal people; workers; environmental and other non-governmental organizations; ethicists; and religious groups.
Recommendation 3.5
The Panel recommended that the agency's purposes, responsibilities and accountability, particularly in relation to the ownership of the wastes, be clearly and explicitly spelled out, preferably in legislation or in its charter of incorporation.
The Government of Canada agrees with this recommendation.
Consistent with the Policy Framework for Radioactive Waste, the producers and owners of nuclear fuel waste are responsible for the funding, organization, management and operation of disposal and other facilities required for their waste.
The Government of Canada expects that the producers and owners of nuclear fuel waste will establish a waste management organization, incorporated as a separate legal entity. At this time, the three nuclear utilities, Ontario Hydro, Hydro-Québec and New Brunswick Power, are expected to form the waste management organization. This organizational arrangement should allow for the participation, as appropriate, of other waste producers and owners in Canada.
The producers and owners of nuclear fuel waste, who presently hold the waste liabilities, will need to clearly identify the relationship between themselves and the waste management organization as well as maintain accountability for their waste liabilities. Clarity in terms of relationship and accountability combined with a well-defined mandate for the waste management organization will help to build public confidence and attain acceptability for the preferred approach for the long-term management, including disposal, of nuclear fuel waste.
The waste management organization will be responsible for managing and coordinating the full range of activities related to the long-term management, including disposal, of nuclear fuel waste. Specific activities would include developing and comparing waste management options, designing and siting the preferred approach for the long-term management, including disposal, of nuclear fuel waste, implementation, and, ultimately, decommissioning waste management facilities.
Recommendation 3.6
The Panel recommended that the agency be subject to multiple oversight mechanisms, including federal regulatory control with respect to its scientific and technical work and the adequacy of its financial guarantees; to policy direction from the federal government; and to regular public review, preferably by Parliament.
The Government of Canada agrees with the intent of this recommendation.
The Policy Framework for Radioactive Waste specifies that the federal government will ensure that radioactive waste disposal is carried out in a safe, environmentally sound, comprehensive, cost-effective and integrated manner. The federal government has the responsibility to develop policy, to regulate, and to oversee producers and owners to ensure that they comply with legal requirements and meet their funding and operational responsibilities in accordance with approved waste disposal plans.
Recognizing that there is a need to ensure that the preferred approach for the long-term management, including disposal, of nuclear fuel waste is carried out in a comprehensive, cost effective, and integrated manner, it is the intent of Natural Resources Canada to initiate, as soon as possible, a consultative process with appropriate federal departments, the Atomic Energy Control Board, producers and owners of nuclear fuel waste, the provinces, and other stakeholders to develop options, including legislative options, to meet three key objectives: (1) require that a dedicated fund be established, to which only the producers and owners would contribute, to fully finance long-term management, including disposal, of nuclear fuel waste; (2) establish a reporting relationship between the federal government and the waste management organization, and the producers and owners, to review progress on a regular basis; and (3) establish a federal review and approval mechanism to provide oversight and access to funds.
The Minister of Natural Resources will return to Cabinet within 12 months with the preferred option to ensure key federal objectives will be met.
Recommendation 4
Taking into account the importance of a trustworthy regulator in gaining acceptability, the Panel recommends that the Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB) design and implement a more effective process for consulting the public during the production of regulatory standards; and that it undertake a public review of all relevant regulatory documents based on this process and on the new Nuclear Safety and Control Act.
The Government of Canada agrees with this recommendation.
Any option chosen for the long-term management or disposal of nuclear fuel waste will have to meet the regulatory requirements governing such facilities. The regulatory criteria will also serve as a guide to the waste management organization and to potential host communities in determining whether a storage or disposal facility would be acceptable to the regulator. The AECB recognizes that society has an important stake in the development of regulatory documents, and that the consultation process must be such that the regulator is, and is seen to be, independent and trustworthy.
The regulatory documents considered by the Panel were prepared using the consultative process in practice at the AECB during the early 1980s. Since 1994, it has been the stated policy of the AECB that it consult with those directly affected by a proposed regulatory document and with other interested parties. The AECB policy also requires a formal and systematic review of each regulatory document no less often than every seven years. In the case of regulations, the AECB's policy requires consultation prior to publication of the regulations in the Canada Gazette, which precedes the mandatory consultation process for regulations.
Draft regulations pursuant to the Nuclear Safety and Control Act (NSCA), which received Royal Assent in March 1997, were published in the Canada Gazette in October 1998. The public has an opportunity to comment on the regulations. The review of other relevant regulatory policies and consultative guides, if necessary, will take place once the final regulations are enacted in early 1999. This will ensure that regulatory documents are consistent with the new NSCA and the regulations made pursuant to that Act. The public will be consulted in this review.
Recommendation 5
Governments should direct the nuclear fuel waste management agency to develop a comprehensive public participation plan.
The Government of Canada agrees with this recommendation.
The public participation plan should be an integral component in the development and implementation of the preferred approach for the long-term management, including disposal, of nuclear fuel waste by the waste management organization. Public involvement underlying the development of the plan should be ongoing and be founded on the principles of safety and environmental protection, voluntarism, shared decision-making, openness and fairness.
Societal concerns will influence the progress made by the waste management organization towards attaining public acceptance of an approach for the long-term management of nuclear fuel waste. Reaching acceptance will be influenced by the level of trust and confidence in those responsible for the safe and secure implementation of waste management activities.
The Government of Canada expects that the waste management organization will develop a comprehensive public participation plan. The plan will outline the program for public consultation and involvement to build acceptability for the preferred approach for the long-term management of nuclear fuel waste. Such a plan should aim to: (1) provide the public with information on nuclear fuel waste management in Canada; (2) develop and sustain trust and confidence in the waste management organization; and (3) develop informed acceptance of proposed activities related to the options for managing nuclear fuel waste.
Recommendation 6
Governments should direct the nuclear fuel waste management agency to develop an ethical and social assessment framework.
The Government of Canada agrees with this recommendation.
The Government of Canada expects that the waste management organization will develop an ethical and social assessment framework. Such a framework would provide societal criteria relevant to an assessment of the options for the long-term management, including disposal, of nuclear fuel waste.
The public acceptability of an approach for managing nuclear fuel
waste in Canada will be arrived at by assessing waste management options
using both technical and societal criteria. With particular reference to
societal criteria, these could include ethical, social, human health and
environmental aspects, issues dealing with fairness and equity, as well
as those issues involving inter-generational equity, which deals with the
rights and responsibilities of current and future generations. The development
of the framework should involve various segments of society in a fair and
open process related to waste management solutions to be implemented.
No single framework is likely to properly capture all relevant considerations
over the time frame envisaged for implementation of the preferred approach
for the long-term management of nuclear fuel waste. Thus, the framework
will likely need to evolve to reflect future societal values.
Recommendation 7
Governments should direct the nuclear fuel waste management agency to develop practicable long-term waste management options for Canada, including the following: a modified AECL concept for deep geological disposal; storage at reactor sites; and centralized storage, either above or below ground. Should additional options become technically and economically feasible, they should also be considered. In addition, governments should direct the nuclear fuel waste management agency to monitor closely all international progress on options for managing nuclear fuel wastes.
The Government of Canada agrees with this recommendation.
The nuclear fuel waste from Canada's power reactors is presently stored in water-filled bays or dry storage canisters at the reactor sites. Current storage practices are safe, are licensed by the federal nuclear regulator, and require continuing institutional control such as security measures, monitoring and maintenance.
For the longer term, preferred options for the management of nuclear fuel waste should ideally use techniques and designs that do not rely on institutional controls beyond a reasonable period of time. The AECL concept of deep geological disposal of nuclear fuel waste in the stable rock of the Canadian Shield is technically safe and meets current regulatory requirements in that it can provide passive safety in the long-term. The waste management organization should review all of the social and technical issues associated with the AECL concept as identified by the Scientific Review Group and other review participants, and AECL's response to these issues. This work should begin as soon as possible.
The Government of Canada expects that the waste management organization will develop other practicable long-term nuclear fuel waste management options in order to evaluate the safety and acceptability of these options relative to a modified AECL disposal concept. Options should include the following: a modified AECL concept for deep geological disposal; storage at reactor sites; and centralized storage, either above or below ground. Such options should, like a modified AECL concept, allow for a balance to be maintained between the present regulatory requirement for passive safety and the ability to retain institutional control. This approach will provide flexibility for future generations in making decisions about the waste repository. A future society can then decide if, and when, the facility should be closed, given appropriate consideration to meeting regulatory and other requirements in place at the time.
The waste management organization should monitor international progress on options for managing nuclear fuel waste in order to be kept abreast of developments elsewhere. It should review, as appropriate, additional options that are technically and economically feasible should such options become available.
Recommendation 8
Governments should direct the nuclear fuel waste management agency to compare the risks, costs and benefits of practicable long-term options for managing nuclear fuel wastes. It will present these options to the public, along with their proposed siting territories, in sufficient detail to enable governments to make an informed choice that reflects public preferences. The means by which governments will take public preferences into account must be made formal and explicit.
The Government of Canada agrees with this recommendation.
The Government of Canada expects the waste management organization to carry out a comparative assessment of options for managing nuclear fuel waste, including specifically a modified AECL concept for deep geological disposal, storage at reactor sites and centralized storage, either above or below ground, with reference to proposed siting territories for the various options. The risks, cost and benefits of practicable long-term options for managing nuclear fuel waste need to be compared.
Such an assessment could include consultations with communities in the proposed siting territories. These communities would be expected to be well placed to identify and help weigh the social, human health and environmental issues and the acceptability of the options under consideration. The waste management organization should indicate that engaging in such early consultations will in no way commit a community to acceptance of a waste facility.
The Government of Canada expects that the waste management organization will report to Government setting out its preferred approach for the long-term management, including disposal, of nuclear fuel waste, with justification, as well as a comparison of risks, costs, and benefits of the options with proposed siting territories. The Government of Canada will determine whether it accepts the report and the preferred approach proposed by the waste management organization, and future steps.
As outlined in the response to recommendation 3.6, it is the intent of Natural Resources Canada to initiate a consultative process with appropriate federal departments, the Atomic Energy Control Board, producers and owners of nuclear fuel waste, the provinces, and other stakeholders to develop options, including legislative options, to ensure that a reporting relationship is established between the federal government and the waste management organization, and the producers and owners, to review progress on a regular basis and that a federal review and approval mechanism is established to provide oversight and access to funds.
Recommendation 9
If the AECL concept is chosen as the most acceptable concept after implementation of the steps recommended above (at the end of Phase II), governments will direct the nuclear fuel waste management agency, together with Natural Resources Canada and the AECB or its successor, to undertake the following: review all the social and technical shortcomings identified by the Scientific Review Group and other review participants; establish their priority; and generate a plan to address them. The nuclear fuel waste management agency will make this plan publicly available, invite public input, then implement the plan.
The Government of Canada agrees with the intent of this recommendation.
The waste management organization should review all of the social and technical issues related to the AECL concept as identified by the Scientific Review Group (SRG) and other review participants and AECL's response to these issues. The waste management organization should also review SRG documentation which incorporates their technical review and appraisal of AECL's technical information about the concept. This work will need to be carried out in conjunction with the development of other options for the long-term management of nuclear fuel waste as identified in the response to Recommendation 7.
The Government of Canada expects that the waste management organization will report to Government on its preferred approach for the long-term management of nuclear fuel waste, with justification. The Government of Canada will determine whether it accepts the report and the preferred approach proposed by the waste management organization, and future steps.
As outlined in the response to recommendation 3.6, it is the intent of Natural Resources Canada to initiate a consultative process with appropriate federal departments, the Atomic Energy Control Board, producers and owners of nuclear fuel waste, the provinces, and other stakeholders to develop options, including legislative options, to ensure that a reporting relationship is established between the federal government and the waste management organization, and the producers and owners, to review progress on a regular basis and that a federal review and approval mechanism is established to provide oversight and access to funds.
Recommendation 10
Governments should direct the nuclear fuel waste management agency to commit itself, to the degree desired by potential host and affected communities, to the siting process suggested in the Panel report.
The Government of Canada agrees with the intent of this recommendation.
The Government of Canada recognizes the importance and the legitimacy of the principles of the siting approach defined in the Panel report; however, it cannot commit the waste management organization to any particular process at this time. There needs to be flexibility for the waste management organization to adapt to particular circumstances.
Key to the successful implementation of the preferred approach
for the long-term management, including disposal, of nuclear fuel waste
is the ability to site a waste management facility.
Successful siting involves establishing a relationship with potential
host and affected communities founded on a solid commitment to the principles
of safety, human health and environmental protection, voluntarism, shared
decision-making, openness and fairness. The trust and confidence of the
communities in the siting process should be built by the waste management
organization if it commits itself to the implementation of a balanced and
ongoing two-way communication, education and information program.
Options for Federal Oversight?
Policy Framework for Radioactive Waste