Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley

Attachment Ottawa Resolution requests for a Regional Assessment of nuclear waste disposal projects

• Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley
• Author: Administrator on behalf of Barry Stemshorn
• Reference number: 5
• Submitted: 2021-07-18
• To:  The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change House of Commons   ON   K1A 0C6             Re:  City of Ottawa Resolution on Chalk River Nuclear Waste Disposal Dear Minister Wilkinson,                                                              I am writing to support a Resolution of Concern  (http://concernedcitizens.net/2021/04/14/city-of-ottawa-passes-resolution-of-concern-about-cnls-radioactive-waste-activities/)passed on April 14th by the City of Ottawa about Nuclear Waste disposal projects on the shore of the Ottawa River at Chalk River and Rolphton Ontario.   These projects proposed by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) are 1) a Near Surface Disposal Facility (NSDF) at Chalk River and 2) the in situ disposal of a decommissioned reactor at Rolphton. Both projects deviate from norms established by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The City of Gatineau and other municipalities in Quebec including Montreal have opposed the ...

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Attachment Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley (IAAC Registry Ref. # 81624)

• Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley
• Author: Administrator on behalf of Ole Hendrickson, Ph.D.
• Reference number: 12
• Submitted: 2021-07-16
• The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson Minister of Environment and Climate Change 200, Sacré-Coeur Blvd, 2nd Floor Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0H3 Canada Via e-mail: Jonathan.Wilkinson@canada.ca Cc: Impact Assessment Agency of Canada         IAAC.OttawaValley-ValleeOutaouais.AEIC@canada.ca Re: Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley         (Impact Assessment Agency of Canada Registry Ref. # 81624) Date: July 26, 2021 Dear Minister Wilkinson, On May 3rd, 2021 you received a letter from Ottawa City Council requesting a Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley. Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County and Area, which has been working for 40+ years to prevent radioactive pollution in the Ottawa Valley, would like to take this opportunity to suggest why it would be wise to agree to this request. We are copying the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC), which is advising you on this request (IAAC Registry Ref. # 81624), The IAAC anticipates that your decision, with reasons, will be made by July 30, 2021. A regional assessment, if appropriately designed, would provide a "big picture review" of the eight billion dollar federal liability associated with the several hundred thousand tonnes of radioactive waste created by the past 75 years of federal nuclear research and development. It would address radioactive waste from future nuclear projects. It would help tackle the Government of Canada’s largest environmental liability and be a keypart of a broader federal effort to address the ...

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Attachment Ottawa Valley RA Request: J Retty Submission

• Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley
• Author: Administrator on behalf of Janet Retty
• Reference number: 21
• Submitted: 2021-07-14
• Please see the attached submission.
• Attachment included
• From: Wilkinson, Jonathan - M.P. Sent: July 14, 2021 5:10:39 PM To: Ministre / Minister (ECCC) Subject: FW: Radioactive disposal project Sensitivity: Normal  -----Original Message----- From: Janet Retty Sent: July 14, 2021 1:45 PM To: Wilkinson, Jonathan - M.P. <Jonathan.Wilkinson@parl.gc.ca> Subject: Radioactive disposal project I support the City of Ottawa’s call for a regional assessment of Ottawa Valley radioactive disposal project. Janet Retty Sent from my iPad <Email address removed> mailto:Jonathan.Wilkinson@parl.gc.ca mailto:ministre-minister@ec.gc.ca

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Attachment Re: Canadian Impact Assessment Registry reference number 81624, "Potential regional assessment of radioactive waste disposal in the Ottawa Valley"

• Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley
• Author: Administrator on behalf of Barbara Graham and William (Bill) Melnik
• Reference number: 14
• Submitted: 2021-07-12
• Re: Canadian Impact Assessment Registry reference number 81624, “Potential regional assessment of radioactive waste disposal in the Ottawa Valley” We are in support of The City of Ottawa  requesting a regional assessment  (https://www.canada.ca/en/impact-assessment-agency/services/policy-guidance/regional-assessment-impact-assessment-act.html)of radioactive waste disposal projects in the Ottawa Valley under Canada’s new Impact Assessment Act. This review, if undertaken as requested, would address cumulative impacts of radioactive waste projects planned for the Ottawa Valley. It would be conducted by a committee appointed for the task by the Minister of Environment and Climate Change or by the Impact Assessment Agency. We would appreciate your support in this matter in any way possible.   Thank you, Barbara Graham <Personal information removed> William (Bill) Melnik <Personal information removed> (Property owners Sheenboro, ...

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Attachment City of Ottawa Resolution on Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Chalk River Nuclear Waste Disposal

• Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley
• Author: Administrator on behalf of Charlotte Rigby, Ph.D
• Reference number: 8
• Submitted: 2021-07-09
• The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson  Minister of Environment and Climate Change House  of Commons   ON   K1A 0C6             Dear Minister:                                                                                      Re:  City of Ottawa Resolution on Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Chalk River Nuclear Waste Disposal On April 14th the City of Ottawa passed a Resolution of Concern  (http://concernedcitizens.net/2021/04/14/city-of-ottawa-passes-resolution-of-concern-about-cnls-radioactive-waste-activities/) about the Nuclear Waste disposal sites at Chalk River on the Ottawa River. The Facility is operated by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) and regulated by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC.) The Near Surface Disposal Facility (NSDF) at Chalk River is of particular concern.  Several million people live downriver in the cities of Ottawa, Gatineau, many smaller communities, and, ultimately, ...

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Attachment Potential regional assessment of radioactive waste disposal in the Ottawa Valley

• Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley
• Author: Administrator on behalf of Ottawa Riverkeeper
• Reference number: 11
• Submitted: 2021-07-09
• Please see the attached submission. 
• Attachment included
• Minister Jonathan Wilkinson July 9, 2021 House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0A6 To Minister Wilkinson, We are writing to you to indicate Ottawa Riverkeeper’s support for the City of Ottawa’s request for a regional assessment of radioactive disposal projects in the Ottawa Valley through the Impact Assessment Act. Ottawa Riverkeeper has been a long time stakeholder in the projects at the Chalk River Laboratories (CRL) due to our mandate of ensuring the health of the Ottawa River watershed. Ottawa Riverkeeper is a member of the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories’ Environmental Stewardship Council. We have hired experts to review the Environmental Impact Statement and submitted our major concerns at different times regarding the activities at the CRL site including: participating as an intervenor the first time the Near Surface Disposal Facility (NSDF) was proposed, submitting our concerns during the the licensing renewal hearing for the Chalk River site in 2017, and participating in the regulatory overview process in 2019. We are also concerned with the issue of nuclear waste policy more broadly, and submitted a detailed list of recommendations to the recent review of Canada’s Radioactive Waste Policy performed by NRCan. These recommendations are based on our work over the years regarding the CRL site specifically, but also apply to how radioactive waste is regulated in this country and our ongoing concerns by the policy gaps which currently exist. Ottawa Riverkeeper would like to indicate our support for a regional assessment of radioactive disposal projects in the Ottawa Valley for several reasons. First, in light of the ongoing review for ...

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Attachment Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley (Canadian Impact Assessment Registry reference number 81624)

• Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley
• Author: Administrator on behalf of  Diana Gillam
• Reference number: 16
• Submitted: 2021-07-08
• Project phase: Screening
• Dear Minister Wilkinson,   It is vital that the City of Ottawa’s call for a Regional Assessment of the Ottawa Valley radioactive waste disposal projects under the Impact Assessment Act of 2019 is supported. Nothing can probably be done regarding past contamination of the Ottawa River but it is imperative that future pollution is prevented. It is fortunate that so simple a step as not permitting a vast mound of nuclear waste to be placed adjacent to the Ottawa River is still possible. The quality of the drinking water of all citizens supplied by municipal water taken from the Ottawa River must be protected. I have spent almost all of my summers just below the junction of the Chalk and Ottawa Rivers. Yesterday I read a letter from a resident similarly placed listing her own and the cancers of a number of her neighbors who also drank the river water. My own sister developed ovarian cancer of unknown origin as she has no genetic markers for this disease. In my childhood our water came from a pipe placed directly into the Ottawa River. Now I and my two children and seven grandchildren have become islanders who also take water directly from the river. This passes through filters which ...

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Attachment Ottawa RA Request - V Donato Submission

• Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley
• Author: Administrator on behalf of Vincent Donato
• Reference number: 20
• Submitted: 2021-07-07
• Please see the attached submission. 
• Attachment included
• From: Wilkinson, Jonathan - M.P. Sent: July 7, 2021 1:14:31 PM To: Ministre / Minister (ECCC) Subject: FW: Regional Assessment of the Ottawa Valley radioactive waste disposal Sensitivity: Normal From: Vincent Sent: July 7, 2021 9:34 AM To: Wilkinson, Jonathan - M.P. <Jonathan.Wilkinson@parl.gc.ca> Cc: Amos, William - M.P. <William.Amos@parl.gc.ca>; Johanna Echlin Subject: Regional Assessment of the Ottawa Valley radioactive waste disposal Dear Mr. Wilkinson, I strongly support the City of Ottawa’s call for a Regional Assessment of the Ottawa Valley radioactive waste disposal projects under the Impact Assessment Act of 2019. Given the extreme toxicity of the proposed long lived radioactive waste landfill site at the Chalk River nuclear facility and the risk posed to the drinking water of millions of Canadians, failure to undertake the requested Regional Assessment would be not only irresponsible but a monumental dereliction of duty of your office. While we have no choice but to deal with the radioactive waste created through years of neglect, the answer is definitely not to bury it adjacent to the Ottawa river which provides drinking water to millions of Canadians ranging from Petawawa to Quebec City and beyond. The proposed radioactive waste burial facility has already been condemned by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) because of its failure to meet established international standards. Moreover, there are a number of other reasons why the requested regional assessment requested by the city of Ottawa should be undertaken. Some of these are as follows: 1. The proposed site is geologically unsuitable for a dump of any kind, consequently it would leak radioactive and toxic contaminants ...

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Attachment Comment removed by Administrator due to administrative purposes

• Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley
• Author: Administrator on behalf of Phyllis Kessler
• Reference number: 18
• Submitted: 2021-07-06

Attachment Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley (Canadian Impact Assessment Registry reference number 81624)

• Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley
• Author: Administrator on behalf of Johanna Echlin
• Reference number: 4
• Submitted: 2021-07-06
• Dear Minister Wilkinson,   Old Fort William Cottagers’ Association (OFWCA) strongly supports the City of Ottawa’s call for a Regional Assessment of the Ottawa Valley radioactive waste disposal projects under the Impact Assessment Act of 2019.      Members of OFWCA are residents and cottagers in the community of Sheenboro/Fort William, Quebec. We are the first community downriver from Chalk River, Ontario. Some members live as close as three kilometres from Chalk River Laboratories.  We have been paying close attention for the past five years to Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ (CNL) two proposals for radioactive waste disposal on the Ottawa River, at Chalk River and Rolphton, Ontario.  We have also been concerned for years about the legacy radioactive wastes that have been accumulating at Chalk River Laboratories.   Our position is that radioactive waste should not be disposed of without the possibility of retrieval and that both disposal sites are far too close to the Ottawa River, risking contamination of the drinking water for millions of Canadians.   It is also of great concern to our community that CNL has been implementing its own Integrated Waste Strategy that calls for federally owned and commercial wastes to be consolidated at Chalk River Laboratories. ...

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Attachment Ottawa RA Request: P Kessler Submission

• Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley
• Author: Administrator on behalf of Phyllis Kessler
• Reference number: 22
• Submitted: 2021-07-06
• Please see the attached submission.
• Attachment included
• From: Wilkinson, Jonathan - M.P. Sent: July 6, 2021 12:31:25 PM To: Ministre / Minister (ECCC) Subject: FW: Regional Assessment - Ottawa Valley Sensitivity: Normal  -----Original Message----- From: Phyllis Sent: July 6, 2021 6:22 AM To: Wilkinson, Jonathan - M.P. <Jonathan.Wilkinson@parl.gc.ca> Cc: iaac.ottawavalley-valeeoutaouais.aeic@canada.ca; McKenna, Catherine - M.P. <Catherine.McKenna@parl.gc.ca> Subject: Regional Assessment - Ottawa Valley I support the City of Ottawa’s call for a regional assessment of Ottawa Valley radioactive disposal projects under the Impact Assessment Act. A regional assessment could provide a "big picture review" of radioactive waste and the cumulative effects of existing waste sites and proposed new facilities. The assessment could consider protection of drinking water, maintenance of property values, tourism and employment in the Ottawa Valley while considering the rights, knowledge and priorities of Indigenous communities. Thank you, in advance, for your prompt attention to this matter. Phyllis Kessler Ottawa <Email address removed> <Personal information removed> <Personal information removed> mailto:Jonathan.Wilkinson@parl.gc.ca mailto:ministre-minister@ec.gc.ca

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Attachment Chalk River Nuclear Waste

• Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley
• Author: Administrator on behalf of Georgina Bartos
• Reference number: 17
• Submitted: 2021-07-06
• Project phase: Screening
• The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson,   As an Ottawa resident and cottage owner on the Upper Ottawa River, I support the City of Ottawa’s call for a regional assessment of Ottawa Valley radioactive waste disposal projects, under the Impact Assessment Act.   Living near the Ottawa River and downstream from Chalk River has impacted my health and the health of countless others.   Unlike chemical spills, nuclear accidents such as those of Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and Chalk River, can never be completely cleaned up, some contaminants lasting hundreds of thousands of years. To build a giant dump-mound near the Ottawa River is unconscionable.   In 1943, the year I was born, plans were ...

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Attachment Ottawa Valley RA Request: E Dreessen Submission

• Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley
• Author: Administrator on behalf of Erwin Dreessen
• Reference number: 19
• Submitted: 2021-07-06
• Please see the attached submission.
• Attachment included
• From: Wilkinson, Jonathan - M.P. Sent: July 6, 2021 12:32:23 PM To: Ministre / Minister (ECCC) Subject: FW: Regional assessment of radioactive disposal projects on the Ottawa River Valley Sensitivity: Normal From: Sent: July 6, 2021 7:35 AM To: Wilkinson, Jonathan - M.P. <Jonathan.Wilkinson@parl.gc.ca> Subject: Regional assessment of radioactive disposal projects on the Ottawa River Valley Dear Minister Wilkinson, On April 14, 2021, the Council of the City of Ottawa passed a resolution of concern about the proposed Chalk River mound for “disposal” of allegedly low-level radioactive waste and the entombment of the Rolphton nuclear reactor. Included in the motion was a call to your Ministry to undertake a regional assessment of these projects under the Impact Assessment Act. I am aware of and am participating in the consultation undertaken by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission about these projects. These have a narrow scope and do not take into account the “big picture” of radioactive waste and its cumulative effects on the Ottawa River Valley. Therefore, I urge your Ministry to undertake such an assessment at the earliest possible date. Thank you, Erwin Dreessen, Ph.D. Ottawa <Email address removed> mailto:Jonathan.Wilkinson@parl.gc.ca mailto:ministre-minister@ec.gc.ca

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Attachment Ottawa Valley radioactive disposal projects

• Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley
• Author: Administrator on behalf of Kay Rogers
• Reference number: 15
• Submitted: 2021-07-05
• Dear Minister Wilkinson   I wish to convey my strong support for the City of Ottawa’s call for a regional assessment of Ottawa Valley radioactive disposal projects under the Impact Assessment Act.   I feel strongly that a regional assessment would be beneficial for the Ottawa Valley. It could provide a "big picture review" of radioactive waste and the cumulative effects of existing waste sites and proposed new facilities. The assessment could consider protection of drinking water, maintenance of property values, tourism and employment in the Ottawa Valley while considering the rights, knowledge and priorities of Indigenous communities (https://nukewatch.org/newsite/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Joint_Declaration_2020.pdf?x68309).   Simply expressed, the concerns about radioactive waste are real, are legitimate, and have serious and long term implications … this issue warrants immediate action no dilly dallying.   Yours sincerely,   Kay Rogers   <Personal information removed> RR3 Perth On <Personal information removed>

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Attachment Support for City of Ottawa's call for a regional assessment

• Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley
• Author: Administrator on behalf of Frank Style
• Reference number: 13
• Submitted: 2021-07-05
• Dear Minister Wilkinson,   I support the City of Ottawa’s call for a regional assessment of Ottawa Valley radioactive disposal projects under the Impact Assessment Act.   Thank you for your concern.    Best regards,   Frank Style Westmount, QC

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Attachment Chalk River and NSDF project.

• Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley
• Author: Administrator on behalf of Ria Heynen
• Reference number: 7
• Submitted: 2021-07-03
• Dear Mr. Wilkinson,   It is encouraging that the City of Ottawa shows deep concern about the Chalk River and Rolphton radioactive waste project, resulting in a letter from Mayor Jim Watson. The Mayor request  more information  on the Near Surface Disposal Facility (NSDF) and the Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD) and its related activities. The Ottawa River is a jewel. The Ottawa River keepers (and other citizens' groups)  have made us very much aware over the years of what the river  means to the citizens of Ottawa and surrounding places. This helps us to better  understand the dangers of this Radio Active Project!   The demands of the City of Ottawa sound absolutely reasonable and correct in my view. I also request you will initiate a regional assessment of radioctive disposal projects in the Ottawa Valley, which falls under the Impact Assessment Act.   We owe it to our next generations to leave a liveable world behind. So far we have not done a great job, but we can start to do better.   I look forward to your response.   ...

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Attachment RE: Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal inthe Ottawa Valley (Reference # 81624)

• Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley
• Author: Administrator on behalf of Lynn Jones
• Reference number: 9
• Submitted: 2021-06-28
• Dear Mr. Bonnell   Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County and Area (CCRCA) is an incorporated, non-profit organization that has been working for the clean-up and prevention of radioactive pollution from the nuclear industry in the Ottawa Valley for 40+ years.    We support the City of Ottawa's request for a regional assessment of Ottawa Valley radioactive disposal projects. (Reference # 81624)   We would like to request that you consider the following points during preparation of your advice to the Minister:   Radioactive waste in the Ottawa Valley is a very large and complex problem. It makes up the lion's share of federally-owned "legacy" radioactive wastes, an $8 billion liability for the citizens of Canada. This federal radioactive cleanup liability exceeds the sum total of 2000 other federal environmental liabilities (https://concernedcitizens.net/2020/10/06/the-government-of-canadas-radioactive-wastes-costs-and-liabilities-growing-under-public-private-partnership/) . As Canada's largest and most complex federal environmental liability, this challenge is ...

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Attachment RE: nuclear waste disposal site at Chalk River

• Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley
• Author: Administrator on behalf of Jorge Sorger PhD 
• Reference number: 6
• Submitted: 2021-06-26
• Dear Dr Steve Bonnell    I urge the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada to go ahead with a regional assessment of nuclear waste disposal activities in the Ottawa Valley, and I would like to know if my concerns about assigning such a challenging project to SNC Lavalin, Jacobs Engineering and Texas Fluor, that have such poor records, can be addressed by the assessment.  With best wishes  Jorge Sorger PhD  Member of Council of Canadians, Ottawa Chapter    CC Carys Burgess    THE CHALLENGING NUCLEAR WASTE DISPOSAL PROJECT AT CHALK RIVER HAS BEEN ASSIGNED TO COMPANIES WITH A POOR RECORD       The proposed nuclear waste disposal site at Chalk River will be the size of a football field and 7 stories high. It is to be filled with 1,000,000 cubic metres of radioactive waste which have to be ...

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Attachment Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley (Reference # 81624)

• Potential Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley
• Author: Administrator on behalf of Ole Hendrickson, Ph.D.
• Reference number: 10
• Submitted: 2021-06-24
• Impact Assessment Agency of Canada 160 Elgin St., 22nd floor Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H3 Email: IAAC.OttawaValley-ValleeOutaouais.AEIC@canada.ca (mailto:IAAC.OttawaValley-ValleeOutaouais.AEIC@canada.ca?subject=CEAR%2C%20Information%20Request)   Re: Reference number 81624   Dear Madam or Sir:   What is the prescribed time limit for the Minister's response to the City of Ottawa's request for a Regional Assessment of Radioactive Waste Disposal in the Ottawa Valley? The City's letter is dated May 3, 2021.   Members of our group and other interested parties wish to comment on this matter.   I support this request and related elements of the City's letter such as stopping current and future import or transfer of external Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) waste from other provinces.   I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.   Yours sincerely,   Ole Hendrickson, Ph.D. Researcher, Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County and Area www.concernedcitizens.net (http://www.concernedcitizens.net) <Email address ...

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