Last chance to comment on Huron nuclear waste facility

Michigan residents have another opportunity — perhaps a last chance — to comment on a Canadian proposal to build a deep underground storage facility for radioactive waste within one mile of Lake Huron.

Canada's Environmental Assessment Agency on Wednesday opened a 90-day public comment period for input on the Deep Geologic Repository, utility giant Ontario Power Generation's controversial proposed facility to store below ground nearly 37,000 square feet of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste from the province's 20 nuclear reactors, near the Bruce nuclear facility in Kincardine.

The comments are limited in scope, sought in relation to potential conditions that could be implemented if the project is allowed to proceed. The conditions are related to stormwater management and bird and wildlife habitat protection during the construction of the underground facility, as well as calls for Ontario Power Generation to develop waste container monitoring and spill and accident preparation measures.

The repository has been almost universally blasted by Michigan residents and state and U.S. lawmakers, for its potential — however slight — to contaminate the Great Lakes, upon which 26 million Americans rely for drinking water. More than 1.5 million jobs are also directly connected to the Great Lakes, generating $62 billion in wages.

"I encourage the Canadian government to use this additional time to look closely at the recommendations issued in their own report that acknowledge the significant environmental risks of this project," U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said in a statement Wednesday. "I have been opposed to this plan from Day 1 and will continue to fight to keep Michigan families and businesses safe by working to stop this waste site from being built."

A Joint Review Panel created by the Canadian government in 2012 reviewed the Deep Geologic Repository and took testimony about it for more than two years. The panel last month recommended approval of the facility, saying it "is not likely to cause significant adverse effects" and "will not affect Lake Huron."

Canada's Minister of the Environment is expected to make a decision on the facility by Dec. 2.

Contact Keith Matheny: 313-222-5021 or kmatheny@freepress.com. Follow on Twitter @keithmatheny.

Sound off on proposed underground nuclear waste facility near Lake Huron

The Canadian government has set a 90-day public comment period for its proposed conditions for a deep underground radioactive waste storage facility proposed by Ontario Power Generation in Kincardine, Ontario, less than 1 mile from the shore of Lake Huron.

Written comments can be sent by email to: ceaa.conditions.acee@ceaa-acee.qc.ca, or by mail to: Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, 22nd Floor, 160 Elgin St., Ottawa, ON K1A0H3