Participant funding to review the draft environmental impact statement for Global First Power's Micro Modular Reactor project

This participant funding opportunity is open from May 9 to July 29, 2022.

Participant funding notice

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) is offering participant funding to assist Indigenous Nations and communities, members of the public, and stakeholders in the review of the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Micro Modular Reactor (MMR) project by Global First Power (GFP). The public comment period for GFP’s draft EIS will be announced at a later date and is expected to begin in late 2022-early 2023 following receipt of the draft.

GFP’s proposed project includes a nuclear plant containing a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor that would provide approximately 15 megawatts (thermal) of process heat to an adjacent plant via molten salt. The proposed project would generate electrical power and/or heat over an operating lifespan of 20 years. The project would be located at the Chalk River Laboratories site, in Renfrew County, Ontario, approximately 200 km northwest of Ottawa, and on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg people. GFP has submitted an application for a licence to prepare a site for the project.

CNSC authorization, in the form of a licence issued under subsection 24(2) of the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, is required in order for the project to proceed. Before the Commission can decide on GFP’s proposal, an environmental assessment (EA) conducted under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 is required, along with an EA decision affirming that the proposed activities will not cause significant adverse environmental effects. The EA will consider all licensing phases, including site preparation, construction, operation and decommissioning.

For further details about GFP’s proposal, the EA process, and the Commission’s decision on the scope of factors for the MMR project EA, please see Canadian Impact Assessment Registry project #80182. The dates and location of public Commission hearings will be announced at a later date in a notice of public hearing.

Up to $250,000 in participant funding will be disbursed among all eligible applicants for the provision of new, distinctive and valuable information on GFP’s upcoming draft EIS and related documentation. This second phase of funding is intended to assist in the review of the draft EIS, expected to be submitted by GFP in late 2022. A first phase of funding was previously offered to assist in the review of CNSC staff’s submission and associated documents concerning the scope of factors to be considered in the EA. A third phase of funding to assist with participation in the remainder of the regulatory process, including the review of the EA report and related licensing Commission member documents, will be announced at a later date.

To apply, please submit a participant funding application form. Certain terms and conditions apply. You can submit the form by:

• Email: pfp@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca
• Mail: Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
  c/o Participant Funding Program Administrator
  280 Slater St
  PO Box 1046 Stn B
  Ottawa ON  K1P 5S9
• Fax: 613-995-5086

Deadline for submitting a participant funding application: July 29, 2022

A funding review committee, independent of the CNSC, will consider all applications for funding and make recommendations on the allocation of funds.

For questions about this specific funding opportunity, contact:

Participant Funding Program Administrator
613-415-2814
pfp@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca