The Nuclear Waste Management Organization is expecting to ramp up their work in the Ignace area.
The NWMO has been working with the community of Ignace since 2010 to determine if it’s a good candidate for an underground nuclear waste storage site. It narrowed its choices down to Ignace and South Bruce in 2019.
COVID-19 has forced the agency to hold local and regional virtual meetings about site selection, but officials are eager to resume face-to-face consultations once the lockdown is lifted.
The agency says the short-term goal is to build awareness of the project, its safety, and the steps left in the site selection process.
The consultations will involve the municipalities and Indigenous communities that the site would impact.
Vice-President of Site Selection Lise Morton says they also anticipate resuming on-site work in the very near future.
“There are already boreholes drilled up in Ignace. We have mobilized as of April 1st to begin the next set of boreholes. Despite COVID restrictions, we are able to continue with that work in the field with very strict COVID controls and safety protocols in place,” Morton says.
Morton says the next phase will include the drilling of the fourth and fifth boreholes.
A decision is expected in 2023, and Morton says a lot of work remains until then.
“We are starting to have the discussions in terms of exploring the potential for partnerships,” she explains. “There are many phases to that. One of the things that we’re looking at is planning for various socio-economic studies in the Ignace area.”
Morton notes the studies can include workforce, environmental baseline monitoring and economic impacts.
