Workshop summary: Public consultation on OPG's chosen technology for its proposed Darlington New Nuclear Project

This Darlington New Nuclear Project (DNNP) Workshop summary report summarizes feedback received during a spring 2023 public workshop on the documents submitted to the CNSC regarding the applicability of Ontario Power Generation’s Darlington New Nuclear Project plant parameter envelope and environmental impact statement to the BWRX-300 reactor technology.

Summary of public consultation workshop

As a modern and agile nuclear regulator, the CNSC aims to be recognized as a trusted source of objective scientific, technical, and regulatory information. We are committed to providing maximum transparency throughout our engagement and outreach activities, including by offering multiple opportunities for Canadians to engage directly with staff and subject matter experts in several formats.

In April 2023, we hosted a workshop with members of the public and Indigenous Nations and communities, to hear comments and concerns on two documents submitted to the CNSC for review, relating to the applicability of the environmental assessment for Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG’s) proposed DNNP to the BWRX-300 reactor technology.

As a part of this public consultation, CNSC staff presented general information about the regulatory process and the DNNP, and provided a summary of OPG’s assessment of the applicability of the environmental assessment. Due to the volume of comments received, our staff scheduled the workshop as a structured discussion, with participants organized into groups based on the themes of their submissions.

Despite this format, the participants commented that they felt it did not allow for full participation on all relevant topics. CNSC staff accepted this feedback and adjusted the workshop to accommodate the concerns, by eliminating the breakout focus groups and having a full group discussion.

Participants also commented on the difficulty in locating information relevant to the DNNP, as it is often spread across multiple government websites and is sometimes presented in an inaccessible manner. The CNSC is committed to improving information availability and access. As such, our staff have placed all DNNP-specific information or links to OPG’s website, Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency registry, or other sources of DNNP information, in one location on the Open Government Portal website.

Purpose of the workshop

The purpose of the workshop was threefold:

1. engage participants on OPG’s plant parameter envelope and environmental impact statement review reports
2. provide participants with a transparent view of the activities undertaken as part of the CNSC’s licensing review process in advance of the Commission proceedings
3. gather feedback early in the licensing process to help CNSC staff better understand participant concerns

Feedback received during the public consultation is being taken into consideration throughout CNSC staff’s technical review for the upcoming Commission proceedings.

Key themes

The following key areas were discussed:

• environmental effects and risk assessment
• waste management and decommissioning
• design and analysis, and hazard assessment
• releases, doses and emergency management

A comprehensive list of the key themes and lessons learned is available in the Workshop summary report.

Workshop summary report

Read the DNNP Workshop Summary Report on the Government of Canada’s Open Government portal.