NWMO closing Teeswater office, to dispose of DGR site lands

The Post Rob Gowan, Feb 21, 2025

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s offices in Teeswater was to close to the public on Feb. 14 and the organization plans to dispose of the lands it had secured for a potential underground used nuclear fuel vault in South Bruce.

The more than 1,800 acres of land the organization had secured in South Bruce through a series of option and purchase agreements between 2019 and 2021 will be disposed of “in a manner respectful of the original commercial agreements and considerate to market conditions and appropriate timing,” an NWMO spokesperson said via email on Feb. 12.

“We cannot disclose any specific details regarding the agreements, as these are private commercial transactions,” NWMO’s regional communications manager for South Bruce, Carolyn Fell, said via email.

Bill Noll of the Protect Our Waterways – No Nuclear Waste group opposed to the DGR, said they are hopeful that NWMO does dispose of the land, as there continues to be some nervousness about the ultimate plans in the area.

“We know the NWMO is considering another DGR, the intermediate-level and non-fuel high level waste,” Noll said. “We have always been concerned about getting the last chapter done.”

In December, the NWMO announced that it had selected the Township of Ignace and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation in northern Ontario as the future site for its deep geological repository. South Bruce was the only other site under consideration. ………………………………………………………………

the NWMO announced in late November it had selected the northern Ontario site.

Fell said on Feb. 12 that as part of the NWMO’s site investigations, several boreholes were drilled in the potential siting area in South Bruce, used to advance the understanding of the subsurface geology in the area.

With the site selected, the deep boreholes and shallow groundwater monitoring wells in South Bruce will be decommissioned, Fell said.

“This means the monitoring equipment will be removed and the boreholes then sealed in compliance with the applicable Ontario regulations (Ontario Water Resources Act/Oil Gas and Salt Resources Act),” Fell wrote. “This work is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2025.” ………………………………………………………………..

“While communities engaged in the used fuel DGR process may choose to participate, there is no requirement for them to do so,” Fell noted.

One potential impediment to a DGR being cited in the area could be SON’s willingness. For the used-fuel DGR process, the NWMO was insistent a project would not move ahead without the support of the local First Nation whose traditional territory the site falls within.

SON announced in late January that it would issue a moratorium on future nuclear intensification and waste projects if substantial progress is not made on nuclear legacy issues in its territory within six months. https://www.thepost.on.ca/news/local-news/nwmo-closing-teeswater-office-to-dispose-of-dgr-site-lands