Participant Funding Program decision – Denison Mines Corp.'s draft environmental impact statement for the Wheeler River Project

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) announced on January 10, 2022, that it was offering up to $250,000 under its Participant Funding Program (PFP) to assist members of the public, Indigenous Nations and communities, and stakeholders in reviewing the Denison Mines Corp. (Denison) draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Wheeler River Project.

Background

The CNSC made PFP support available:

• for the provision of new, distinctive and valuable information to the Commission through informed and topic-specific interventions
• to assist interested parties in reviewing the draft EIS

A funding review committee (FRC), independent of the CNSC, was established to review the funding applications received by the CNSC’s PFP administrator and to make recommendations on allocating up to $250,000 to eligible applicants. The FRC was given the flexibility to recommend funding beyond $250,000 based on the value-added nature of the funding applications received.

The FRC members were:

• Bruce Young, retired director with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
• Yves Leboeuf, retired vice-president of operations with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
• Kurt Saunders, retired director with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency

On May 5, 2022, the FRC met to review the 7 PFP applications received, requesting a total of $706,774.37.

Eligibility and funding criteria

For more information on participant funding and how it works, including details about eligibility and funding criteria, read the PFP guide.

CNSC participant funding decision

The CNSC carefully considered the FRC’s recommendations on the allocation of participant funding for Denison Mines Corp.’s draft EIS for the Wheeler River Project and approved the reimbursement of up to $404,723 for the following recipients:

Applicant	Maximum amount of available funding
Birch Narrows Dene Nation	$47,440
English River First Nation	$92,158
Ya’thi Néné Land and Resource Office	$82,125
Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation	$45,000
Métis Nation-Saskatchewan	$55,000
Kineepik Metis Local #9	$64,000
Prince Albert Grand Council	$19,000
Total	$404,723

Additional information:

Marina Martin
Participant Funding Program Administrator, CNSC
Tel.: 613-415-2814
Email: pfp@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca