Participant funding to review the draft environmental impact statement for Denison Mines Corp.'s Wheeler River project

This participant funding offering is open from January 10 to March 14, 2022.

Participant funding notice

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) is offering participant funding to assist Indigenous peoples, members of the public, and stakeholders in the review of the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Wheeler River project proposed by Denison Mines Corp. (Denison).

Denison is proposing to develop an in situ recovery uranium mining and processing operation located in the Athabasca Basin in northern Saskatchewan, approximately 600 km north of the city of Saskatoon, 4 km west of Highway 914 and midway between Cameco Corporation’s Key Lake Mill and McArthur River Mine. The proposed Wheeler River mine would produce up to 5,400 tonnes of U₃O₈ annually for 20 years. Under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, Denison’s proposal requires CNSC approval. Before the Commission can make a licensing decision on this 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.

For further details on Denison’s proposal and the EA process, please see Canadian Impact Assessment Registry project #80178. The dates and location of associated CNSC 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 Denison’s upcoming draft EIS and related documentation. It is anticipated that the draft EIS will be submitted in late June 2022. Please note that this first phase of funding is intended to assist in the review of the draft EIS. A second phase of funding to assist with participation in the remainder of the regulatory process, including the review of the EA report and related Commission member documents, will be announced at a later date.

To apply for participant funding, interested parties must complete and submit a participant funding application form. Certain terms and conditions apply. An application form can be submitted by:

• email: pfp@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca
• mail: Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
  c/o Participant Funding Program Administrator
  P.O. Box 1046, Station B
  280 Slater Street
  Ottawa, ON, Canada K1P 5S9
• fax: 613-995-5086

The deadline for submitting a participant funding application is March 14, 2022.

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

For information on how to participate, view the Wheeler River project and Participant Funding Program sections of the CNSC website.

For questions about this specific funding opportunity, contact:

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