Dive Brief:
- U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-MI, will introduce legislation aimed at forcing the U.S. State Department to get the International Joint Commission to conduct a review of Canada's plans for a nuclear waste storage facility near Lake Huron. The U.S. government must request the involvement of the IJC, which is a U.S.-Canadian body established by treaty more than a century ago to handle boundary disputes between the two nations.
- Ontario Power Generation has long planned to construct a deep geologic repository near Kincardine, Ontario, less than a mile from the lakeshore. It would hold low- to intermediate-level nuclear waste for hundreds of years.
- The plan has drawn criticism from both sides of the border over fears that a rupture or other problems with the repository could lead to contamination of the drinking water Lake Huron provides. The project, however, is also largely welcomed in Kincardine.
Dive Insight:
Stabenow's move has support from Sen. Gary Peters who will co-sponsor the legislation while U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee will introduce a similar bill in the House of Representatives. Both versions will be named the Stop Nuclear Waste by our Lakes Act.
A Canadian independent joint review panel issued a report in May saying the repository was unlikely to cause significant adverse effects on the area around it, The Detroit News reported. Ontario’s Minister of the Environment has until early December to issue a final decision.
The issue of nuclear waste near one of the Great Lakes is too important for the IJC not to get involved. The Michigan delegation is acting in the best interests of its constituents.
