Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organisation (NWMO) has initiated the regulatory process to licence its proposed deep geological repository for used nuclear fuel and has submitted an initial project description to the Canadian government. NWMO is a not-for-profit organisation responsible for managing Canada’s nuclear waste.
This marks the beginning of an in-depth regulatory process as the project moves from planning to independent review. It also provides another opportunity for host communities, potentially impacted Indigenous groups and the public to share their perspectives on the project.
The initial project description is a foundational document, detailing the repository’s purpose, need, and expected benefits and explaining how the project will be implemented. It also provides a preliminary assessment of potential impacts and describes measures to avoid or mitigate them. The
The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) will work together on an integrated assessment of the project, in line with a goal of “one project, one review”. The initial project description was posted on the IAAC’s website, inviting public comments until 4 February.
Under an agreement with NWMO, Canada’s Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation (WLON) will lead its own regulatory assessment and approval process for the repository project. WLON is exercising its jurisdiction through its Regulatory Assessment and Approval Process (RAAP). The RAAP is WLON’s regulatory process grounded in Anishinaabe law, values and responsibilities, and it reflects WLON’s authority to review and decide on development within its territory.
In November 2024, NWMO announced the selection of a site in northwestern Ontario for the geologic repository, after WLON and the township of Ignace agreed to enter the regulatory decision-making phase as potential host communities for the repository. Canada had started its consent-based process to select a repository site in 2010. The site is located 21 kilometres southeast of the WLON and 43 kilometres northwest of the Town of Ignace, Ontario, along Highway 17.
The proposed repository would be built to a depth of 650–850 metres in crystalline rock and would provide permanent storage for approximately 5.9m used fuel bundles, which is the projected total inventory of used fuel estimated to be produced in Canada from the current fleet of reactors to end of life. The repository would operate for about 160 years, encompassing site preparation, construction, operation, and closure monitoring.
The project will remain subject to Canada’s Impact Assessment Act, Nuclear Fuel Waste Act, Nuclear Safety and Control Act, and numerous other federal and provincial licensing and regulatory requirements throughout its operational life.
NWMO will submit an initial licence application to CNSC together with the project’s impact statement. The initial licence application will include preliminary site work along with the development and construction of water management facilities, worker accommodations, and nonnuclear supporting infrastructure.
“For the NWMO, submitting the initial project description represents more than a regulatory requirement,” said Allan Webster, NWMO Vice President of Regulatory Approvals. “It is a shared starting point that brings together engineering, environmental, indigenous knowledge, and community perspectives to guide how the project moves forward through impact assessment, licensing, design optimisation, construction and operations.”
