Notice of Commencement of an Environmental Assessment

Refurbishment and Continued Operation of the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station

Darlington (ON)

June 27, 2011 (Updated December 6, 2011) -- The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and Fisheries and Oceans Canada are required to ensure that a screening is conducted pursuant to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act commencing on June 24, 2011 in relation to the project: Refurbishment and Continued Operation of the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) received a project description from Ontario Power Generation (OPG) for the refurbishment and continued operation of the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station (DNGS).

The proposed project involves the refurbishment of the four reactors at the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station and the continued operation of each reactor for a period of approximately 30 years following refurbishment. Refurbishment will require that a number of major components in each reactor be inspected and serviced, including replacement as applicable, during a planned outage. A key refurbishment activity will be removal and replacement of the fuel channel assemblies and feeder pipes in the reactors. Following the planned outage for each reactor, the refurbished unit will be refuelled and returned to full power operation. No more than two reactors will be in refurbishment outages at any given time. Ongoing operation after refurbishment, including ancillary systems, will include routine scheduled maintenance activities and inspections. The on-site Darlington Waste Management Facility (DWMF) will be expanded (i.e., additional storage buildings) to accommodate waste from refurbishment and continued operations.

In order for OPG to undertake the proposed activities required to refurbish and continue to operate the DNGS, amendments to both the DNGS and DWMF licences pursuant to section 24 (2) of the Nuclear Safety and Control Act (NSCA) are required.

Before the Commission may consider a decision on licensing under the NSCA regarding OPG's proposal, a screening level environmental assessment (EA) must be completed in compliance with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. The purpose of an EA is to identify the possible environmental effects of a proposed project, and determine whether these effects can be mitigated before the project is allowed to proceed.

An environmental assessment is required in relation to the project because the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission may take action in relation to subsection 24(2) of the Nuclear Safety and Control Act and Fisheries and Oceans Canada may take action in relation to section 32 of the Fisheries Act.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission will act as the Federal Environmental Assessment Coordinator for this environmental assessment.

For further information on this environmental assessment, please contact:
Andrew McAllister
Environmental Assessment Specialist
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
P.O. Box 1046, Station B
280 Slater St.
Ottawa  ON  K1P 5S9
Telephone: 613-943-9650 or 1-800-668-5284
Fax: 613-995-5086
Email: ceaainfo@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca

and refer to Registry reference number 11-01-62516