Saugeen Shores Council has approved letting its name stand, at this point, as a possible site for storing used nuclear fuel.
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization will be advised that council is requesting an initial screening be undertaken to determine whether the municipality is a candidate for storing high level nuclear waste in a Deep Geological Repository.
Vice Deputy Mayor Doug Gowanlock says 40 per cent of Canada’s high level waste is already stored here on the Bruce Power site.
Mayor Mike Smith wants it made clear that any future decision on this matter will be made by the citizens of Saugeen Shores, not the council.
Smith says there are some benefits to having a repository located here and there are some drawbacks and talks are just getting underway.
He says it’s very preliminary and Saugeen Shores may not even be chosen.
Smith says eight or nine other communities have also expressed an interest.
The Mayor doesn’t expect anything to come to fruition for another 15 years or so but now’s the time to start the dialogue in the community.
The high-level waste project is distinct and completely separate from the ongoing work in Kincardine by Ontario Power Generation which wants to construct a facility for management of low and intermediate level nuclear waste at the Bruce Power site.
