“This is a good development for us,” project opponent Charles Faust says.
IGNACE — Having decided the proposal to store nuclear waste northwest of Ignace needs further review, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) has referred the project to an independent review panel.
That’s good news for people who don’t want to see the deep geological repository built, We the Nuclear Free North’s Charles Faust said Tuesday.
“This is a good development for us,” he told Newswatch. “This is a win.”
The IAAC is “a shell of what it used to be, but it’s still all we have to review projects,” he said.
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) wants to construct a deep-underground facility for the long-term storage of used nuclear fuel at a site just south of Highway 11 and 43 kilometres northwest of Ignace.
After a period for public comment on the NWMO’s proposal, the IAAC decided in mid-March that further assessment is needed.
The IAAC issued a notice on Monday that it has referred assessment of the project to an independent review panel.
The notice was issued “to provide greater certainty to participants and the proponent regarding next steps in the integrated assessment and to facilitate collaboration with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission,” a statement on the IAAC’s website said.
NWMO spokesperson Vince Ponka said Tuesday the agency’s decisions for further assessment and referral to an independent review panel “were expected steps in the regulatory process, and so not in any way a surprise. This is just a standard a step along the way.”
Further information about the assessment process can be obtained from the IAAC at 343-598-5270. Information on the project, including a detailed description and a summary of issues, can be found on the agency’s website.
The NWMO selected the Revell site between Ignace and Dryden in November 2024, with the Township of Ignace and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation named, respectively, host municipality and host First Nation for the deep geological repository.
The proposed facilities would be more than 500 metres below ground and include engineered and natural barriers to keep the radioactive waste in, according to the industry-funded NWMO.
The NWMO has said the project will have a lifespan of more than 150 years, “including site preparation, construction, operation (about 50 years), decommissioning and closure, and post-closure monitoring.”
The repository’s initial project description was posted in early January 2026 and the public was given until Feb. 4 to comment on it.
More than 300 public comments were posted by Feb. 2 — a volume We the Nuclear Free North volunteer Wendy O’Connor said shows a high level of concern about the project.