Status of Joint Review Panel recommendations to date

The Government of Canada accepts the intent of this recommendation to require OPG to conduct a formal quantitative cost-benefit analysis for cooling tower and once-through condenser cooling water systems, as recommended, but acknowledges that this analysis may be required earlier than indicated in the recommendation given the relationship between site layout and the choice of condenser cooling technology.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Environment Canada can provide available scientific and technical expertise to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, upon request, to assist in the implementation of this recommendation.

The Government of Canada further acknowledges the connection of this Recommendation with Panel Recommendation #31 and as such notes that Fisheries and Oceans Canada will work with OPG to ensure through its regulatory process and conditions of authorization under the Fisheries Act that any Harmful Alteration, Disruption and Destruction (HADD) is limited to the 2 meter depth contour of Lake Ontario.

The Government of Canada accepts this recommendation to avoid any unnecessary environmental damage to the bluff at Raby Head and fish habitat as recommended. Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Environment Canada can provide available scientific and technical expertise to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, upon request, to assist in the implementation of this recommendation.

The Government of Canada further notes that authorization under the Fisheries Act will be required prior to any lake infill taking place, and confirms that Fisheries and Oceans Canada will work with OPG to ensure that as a condition of that authorization, that no lake infill occurs unless there is certainty that the Project will proceed and appropriate mitigation measures and habitat compensation have been implemented.

D-P-14 -

D-P-16 -

D-P-3 -

Open

Open

Open

The Panel recommends that prior to site preparation, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission require OPG to update its preliminary decommissioning plan for site preparation in accordance with the requirements of Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Standard N294-09. The OPG preliminary decommissioning plan for site preparation must incorporate the rehabilitation of the site to reflect the existing biodiversity in the event that the Project does not proceed beyond the site preparation phase.

OPG shall prepare a detailed preliminary decommissioning plan once a reactor technology is chosen, to be updated as required by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

The Panel recommends that the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission require OPG to undertake a detailed site geotechnical investigation prior to commencing site preparation activities. The geologic elements of this investigation should include, but not be limited to:

• collection of site-wide information on soil physical properties;
• determining the mechanical and dynamic properties of overburden material across the site;
• mapping of geological structures to improve the understanding of the site geological structure model;
• confirming the lack of karstic features in the local bedrock at the site; and
• confirming the conclusions reached concerning the liquefaction potential in underlying granular materials.

D-P-9 -

D-P-9 -

Closed

Closed

The Government of Canada accepts this recommendation to require OPG to collect water and sediment quality data for any future embayment area. Environment Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada can provide available scientific and technical expertise to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, upon request, to assist in the implementation of this recommendation.

The Government of Canada notes that authorization under the Fisheries Act will be required prior to in-water works. Prior to the issuance of an authorization, Fisheries and Oceans Canada will require a water and sediment quality monitoring program. This program is required to assess whether OPG continues to meet the intent of section 36 of the Fisheries Act.

The Government of Canada accepts the intent of this recommendation to require OPG to collect and assess water quality data for a comprehensive number of shoreline and offshore locations in the site study area prior to commencing in-water works and would further support the collection of sediment quality data as part of a comprehensive program. Environment Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada can provide available scientific and technical expertise to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, upon request, to assist in the implementation of this recommendation.

The Government of Canada notes that authorization under the Fisheries Act will be required prior to in-water works. Prior to the issuance of an authorization, Fisheries and Oceans Canada will require a water and sediment quality monitoring program. This program is required to assess whether OPG continues to meet the intent of section 36 of the Fisheries Act.

D-C-2 -

D-C-4 -

D-P-12 -

Open

Open

Open

The Government of Canada accepts this recommendation to require OPG to conduct monitoring of ambient water and sediment quality in the receiving waters as recommended. Environment Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada can provide available scientific and technical expertise to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, upon request, to assist in the implementation of this recommendation.

The Government of Canada notes that authorization under the Fisheries Act will be required prior to in-water works. Prior to the issuance of an authorization, Fisheries and Oceans Canada will require a water and sediment quality monitoring program. This program is required to assess whether OPG continues to meet the intent of section 36 of the Fisheries Act.

D-C-2 -

D-P-3 -

Open

Closed

D-C-2 -

D-C-4 -

D-C-5 -

D-C-6 -

D-P-12 -

Open

Open

Open

Open

Closed

The Government of Canada accepts this recommendation to require OPG to perform a thorough evaluation of site layout opportunities before site preparation activities begin, as recommended. Environment Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada can provide available scientific and technical expertise to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, upon request, to assist in the implementation of this recommendation.

As part of the conditions of authorization under the Fisheries Act, Fisheries and Oceans Canada also commits to working with OPG to ensure overall impacts to aquatic habitat are minimized with appropriate mitigation and habitat compensation.

D-P-14 -

D-P-3 -

Open

Closed

The Panel recommends that the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission require OPG to conduct more sampling to confirm the presence of Least Bittern before site preparation activities begin.

The Panel recommends that the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission require OPG to develop and implement a management plan for the species at risk that are known to occur on site. The plan should consider the resilience of some of the species and the possibility of off-site compensation.

D-P-12 -

D-P-3 -

Closed

Closed

D-C-2 -

D-C-5 -

D-P-12 -

D-P-3 -

Open

Open

Open

Closed

The Panel recommends that prior to any destruction of the Bank Swallow habitat, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission require OPG to implement all of its proposed Bank Swallow mitigation options, including:

• the acquisition of off-site nesting habitat;
• the construction of artificial Bank Swallow nest habitat with the capacity to maintain a population which is at least equal to the number of breeding pairs currently supported by the bluff and as close to the original bluff site as possible; and
• the implementation of an adaptive management approach in the Bank Swallow mitigation plan, with the inclusion of a threshold of loss to be established in consultation with all stakeholders before any habitat destruction takes place.

The Panel recommends that Fisheries and Oceans Canada require OPG to continue conducting adult fish community surveys in the site study area and reference locations on an ongoing basis. These surveys shall be used to confirm that the results of 2009 gillnetting and 1998 shoreline electrofishing reported by OPG, and the additional data collected in 2010 and 2011, are representative of existing conditions, taking into account natural year-to-year variability.

Specific attention should be paid to baseline gillnetting monitoring in spring to verify the findings on fish spatial distribution and relatively high native fish species abundance in the embayment area, such as white sucker and round whitefish. The shoreline electrofishing habitat use study is needed to establish the contemporary baseline for later use to test for effects of lake infill armouring, if employed, and the effectiveness of mitigation.

D-P-12 -

D-P-15 -

Open

Closed

D-P-12 –

D-P-15 -

Open

Closed

In the event that a once-through condenser cooling system is chosen for the Project, the Panel recommends that prior to the construction of in-water structures, Fisheries and Oceans Canada require OPG to conduct:

• additional impingement sampling at the existing Darlington Nuclear Generating Station to verify the 2007 results and deal with inter-year fish abundance variability and sample design inadequacies; and
• additional entrainment sampling at the existing Darlington Nuclear Generating Station to better establish the current conditions. The program should be designed to guard against a detection limit bias by including in the analysis of entrainment losses those fish species whose larvae and eggs are captured in larval tow surveys for the seasonal period of the year in which they occur. A statistical optimization analysis will be needed to determine if there is a cost-effective entrainment survey design for round whitefish larvae.

D-C-1 -

D-P-12 -

D-P-15 -

Open

Open

Closed

D-C-1 -

D-P-14 -

D-P-16 -

Closed

Open

Open

The Government of Canada accepts the intent of this recommendation. Environment Canada is committed to reviewing the information provided by OPG, and will rely on Fisheries and Oceans Canada authorization for a HADD associated with the intake or outfall to ensure that OPG undertakes this modelling.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada will work with Environment Canada, and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to incorporate the results from the thermal plume modeling into the determination of the appropriate location for the intake and diffuser structures to mitigate adverse effects. Fisheries and Oceans Canada will ensure implementation through conditions of a Fisheries Act authorization.

D-C-1 -

D-P-12 -

Open

Open

In the event that a once-through condenser cooling system is chosen for the Project, the Panel recommends that prior to operation, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission require OPG to include the following in the surface water risk assessment:

• the surface combined thermal and contaminant plume; and
• the physical displacement effect of altered lake currents as a hazardous pulse exposure to fish species whose larvae passively drift through the area, such as lake herring, lake whitefish, emerald shiner and yellow perch.

If the risk assessment result predicts a potential hazard, then the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission shall convene a follow-up monitoring scoping workshop with Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and any other relevant authorities to develop an action plan.

D-C-1 -

D-P-12 -

D-P-12 -

Open

Open

Open

The Government of Canada accepts this recommendation to require OPG to undertake adult fish monitoring to confirm the effectiveness of mitigation measures and effect predictions. Environment Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada can provide available scientific and technical expertise to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, upon request, to assist in the implementation of this recommendation.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada is committed to working with OPG to develop their fish and fish habitat monitoring and follow-up program and ensuring implementation through conditions of authorization under the Fisheries Act.

D-C-1 -

D-P-12 -

Open

Open

In the event that a once-through condenser cooling system is chosen for the Project, the Panel recommends that prior to construction, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission require OPG to determine the total area of permanent aquatic effects from the following, to properly scale mitigation and scope follow-up monitoring:

• the thermal plume + 2°C above ambient temperature;
• the mixing zone and surface plume contaminants;
• physical displacements from altered lake currents; and
• infill and construction losses and modifications.

D-C-1 -

D-P-12 -

Open

Open

The Panel recommends that the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission require that the geotechnical and seismic hazard elements of the detailed site geotechnical investigation to be performed by OPG include, but not be limited to:

Prior to site preparation:

• demonstration that there are no undesirable subsurface conditions at the Project site. The overall site liquefaction potential shall be assessed with the site investigation data; and
• confirmation of the absence of paleoseismologic features at the site and, if present, further assessment to reduce the overall uncertainty in the seismic hazard assessment during the design of the Project must be conducted.
• During site preparation and/or prior to construction: verification and confirmation of the absence of surface faulting in the overburden and bedrock at the site.
• Prior to construction: verification of the stability of the cut slopes and dyke slopes under both static and dynamic loads with site/Project-specific data during the design of the cut slopes and dykes or before their construction;
• assessment of potential liquefaction of the northeast waste stockpile by using the data obtained from the pile itself upon completion of site preparation;
• measurement of the shear strength of the overburden materials and the dynamic properties of both overburden and sedimentary rocks to confirm the site conditions and to perform soil-structure interaction analysis if necessary;
• assessment of the potential settlement in the quaternary deposits due to the groundwater drawdown caused by future St. Marys Cement quarry activities; and
• assessment of the effect of the potential settlement on buried infrastructures in the deposits during the design of these infrastructures.
• Prior to operation: development and implementation of a monitoring program for the Phase 4 St. Marys Cement blasting operations to confirm that the maximum peak ground velocity at the boundary between the Darlington and St. Marys Cement properties is below the proposed limit of three millimeters per second (mm/s).

D-O-3 -

D-P-9 -

D-P-9 -

D-P-9 -

D-P-9 -

Closed

Open

Open

Open

Open

The Panel recommends that prior to construction, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission require OPG to:

• establish an adaptive management program for algal hazard to the Project cooling water system intake that includes the setup of thresholds for further actions; and
• factor the algal hazard assessment into a more detailed biological evaluation of moving the intake and diffuser deeper offshore as part of the detailed siting studies and the cost-benefit analysis of the cooling system.

D-C-1 -

D-P-12 -

Open

Open

The Panel recommends that prior to site preparation, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission ensure the OPG Traffic Management Plan addresses the following:

• contingency plans to address the possibility that the assumed road improvements do not occur;
• consideration of the effect of truck traffic associated with excavated material disposal on traffic operations and safety;
• further analysis of queuing potential onto Highway 401; and
• consideration of a wider range of mitigation measures, such as transportation-demand management, transit service provisions and geometric improvements at the Highway 401/Waverley Road interchange.

The Government of Canada accepts the intent of this recommendation to require OPG to undertake additional rail safety studies, monitor the potential effects and determine the need for mitigation. The Railway Safety Act (RSA) places crossing safety responsibilities on the Railways and the Road Authorities. This policy reflects the objectives of Section 3 of the RSA.

Ultimately, the Railway and the Road Authority must take the responsibility of performing the crossing assessment. Transport Canada is committed to provide assistance and expertise to the interested parties if required during the risk assessment and in the evaluation of any proposed mitigation measures.

The Panel recommends that prior to construction, Transport Canada require OPG to conduct a risk assessment, jointly with Canadian National Railway, that includes:

• an assessment of the risks associated with a derailment or other rail incident that could affect the Project;
• an analysis of the risks associated with a security threat, such as a bomb being placed on a train running on the tracks that bisect the Project;
• a comparative evaluation of the effectiveness of various mitigation measures or combination of measures (e.g., blast wall, retaining wall, recessed tracks, berm and railway speed restrictions within the vicinity of the site);
• a determination of the design criteria necessary to ensure the effectiveness of these measures (e.g., the appropriate height, strength, material and design of a blast wall); and
• a critical analysis to confirm that these measures, when properly designed and implemented, would be sufficient to provide protection to the Project site in the event of a derailment at full speed or other adverse event.

The Government of Canada recognizes that the CNSC has the statutory authority and powers to address this recommendation through future regulatory activities under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act.

Transport Canada is committed to provide assistance and expertise to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and other parties if required during the risk assessment and in the evaluation of any proposed mitigation measures.

The Government of Canada accepts the intent of this recommendation to safeguard drinking water; however, it notes that any proposed limits should be consistent with the tritium standards put in place by the relevant regulatory authorities. Health Canada's Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality, based on the recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection and the World Health Organization, establish a safe consumption guideline limit of 7,000 Bq/L for tritium in drinking water. This limit has been accepted as a standard by the Province of Ontario. Since water quality is primarily a provincial responsibility in Canada, the provinces may adopt federal guidelines, or may establish their own criteria.

The Government of Canada further notes that the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission regulates potential releases of tritium to the environment from nuclear facilities by imposing regulatory limits as well as precautionary action levels for tritium releases into air or water on a license-specific basis. These limits are set with a goal to protect human health. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission's Radiation Protection Regulations require that releases are kept "As Low as Reasonably Achievable" (ALARA), social and economic factors taken into account.

The Government of Canada accepts the recommendation to continue its participation in international studies seeking to identify long-term health effects of low-level radiation exposures.

The Government of Canada accepts the intent of the recommendation to identify if there is a need for revision of limits specified in the Radiation Protection Regulations based on the results of international studies. Health Canada and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission will continue to participate in international studies dealing with long-term health effects of low-level radiation exposures; participate in committees/working groups with relevant international organizations; and regularly review the reports published by these international groups for developments in radiation protection. Health Canada can provide expertise to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, upon request, in support of the review of limits specified in the Radiation Protection Regulations.

The Government of Canada accepts the intent of this recommendation, that the Government of Canada review the adequacy of the provisions for nuclear liability insurance.

In bringing forward modernized nuclear civil liability legislation to replace the current Nuclear Liability Act, the Government of Canada will continue to review the adequacy of the provisions for nuclear liability insurance, taking into consideration the risk of Canadian nuclear installations and other relevant factors.

The Government of Canada accepts this recommendation to require OPG to monitor aquatic habitat and biota for potential cumulative effects from the thermal loading and contaminant plume. Environment Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada can provide available scientific and technical expertise to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, upon request, to assist in the implementation of this recommendation.

The proponent will also be required to undertake an aquatic monitoring program as a condition of any Fisheries Act authorization.

The Government of Canada accepts this recommendation to evaluate the need for additional air quality monitoring stations in the local study area to monitor cumulative effects on air quality.

If this evaluation finds that additional air quality monitoring stations in the local study area are required, the Government of Canada acknowledges that the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has the statutory authority and powers to address the findings of this recommendation through future licensing under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act.

The Government of Canada accepts the intent of this recommendation that priority be given to invest in solutions for the long-term management of used nuclear fuel. It is the responsibility of waste owners to fund and manage the safe and secure operation of their wastes.
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization, established by the nuclear energy corporations, is responsible for implementing the government-selected plan for managing nuclear fuel waste over the long-term.

The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that an appropriate and properly funded long-term safe and secure solution is in place for the managing nuclear fuel waste over long term.