Midwestern

South Bruce hires independent consultant to see if residents are willing to host nuclear repository

The Municipality of South Bruce has hired an independent consultant to assess the community's willingness to host a deep geologic repository for used nuclear fuel. GHD limited Community Engagement Specialist Katrina McCullough explained the process at last night's Community Liaison Committee meeting,
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) has narrowed down the site selection from 22 communities, to just South Bruce and Ignace, Ontario.
The Municipality of South Bruce and the Saugeen Ojibway Nation are working independently to identify how they will each determine community willingness to host the project, while the NWMO is developing its willingness criteria for the two communities in the site selection process.
The GHD presentation focused solely on the South Bruce process. Consulting the community on how Willingness is measured Residents of South Bruce called for an independent process on how  willingness is determined for the multi-billion-dollar Project.
“The community provided their feedback last fall, and we listened. Council values the input of our residents, and we revised the Guiding Principles to reflect what was shared with us,” said Mayor Robert Buckle.
The Principles, which guide the Municipality in their engagement with the NWMO on the Project, saw the addition of Principle 9, that states: “The Municipality will, in collaboration with community members, develop and establish an open and transparent process that will allow the community to express its level of willingness to host the Project.”
A media release from South Bruce says the GHD presentation on Thursday set this process in motion, and beginning in June, there will be multiple opportunities for residents and ratepayers to express how they want their willingness to host the Project to be measured. Consultation will include virtual community workshops, an online survey, monthly drop-in Zoom calls, and one-on-one discussions with GHD consultants. Community organizations are also encouraged to invite GHD to meet virtually with their group to facilitate a discussion on this important topic.
Additional information will available on the South Bruce’s engagement tool, known as Switchboard (https://southbruceswitchboard.ca/). Residents are welcome to provide feedback on to the proposed consultation activities to the GHD Willingness Study team

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