Lise Morton During Virtual Dryden Council Meeting
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization is expecting to ramp up public engagement campaigns in the Ignace area.
COVID-19 has forced the agency to hold local and regional virtual meetings, but officials are hoping and excited 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, the safety case, and the steps towards site selection of an underground repository.
The consultations will involve impacted municipalities and Indigenous communities.
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 1 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 Boreholes 4 and 5.
Ignace and South Bruce are the final two in the running to be a host site and a decision is expected in 2023.
Morton says a lot of work remains until then.
“We are starting to have the discussions in terms of exploring the potential for partnerships. There are many phases to that. One of the things, as well, 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.
