Canada's nuclear regulator is encouraging the public to take part in upcoming relicensing hearings for Bruce Power.
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission will hold a two-part public hearing as Bruce Power seeks a ten-year operating license for its Bruce-A and Bruce-B stations.
CNSC Senior Power Reactor Site Inspector Jeff Stevenson says commission staff are currently preparing their recommendations based on Bruce Power's filings and will have those available to the public next week, but adds public input is vital to the relicensing process.
"We are currently reviewing all of that material and we are looking at what our recommendations are going to be, and they will be published on February 12," says Stevenson. "But we really want to get the public involved and hear what they have to say and what their interests and concerns are."
Stevenson says the first hearing will take place in Ottawa on March 14, followed by a two-day hearing in Kincardine on May 30 and 3t, and that's where the public comes in.
He says those interested in participating have until April 16 to apply, which includes a written submission and the option of a ten-minute oral presentation.
Stevenson says the request for a ten-year license is a first for Bruce Power but adds that has become the standard for Canadian nuclear-generating facilities.
"This is the new standard that we've moved to in Canada with the adoption of a periodic safety review," says Stevenson. "International practice is that these periodic safety reviews, which are comprehensive systematic reviews of the plant against modern standards, is done on a 10-year cycle, so the ten-year cycle then lines up with our proposed license period."