One down, two to go?
A date has been set for the second of three legal challenges to the proposed Near Surface Disposal Facility at the Chalk River labs.
Lawyers for Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and the Kebaowek First Nation (KFN) presented their cases on the NSDF to Federal Court of Canada Justice Julie Blackhawk in Ottawa July 10-11.
Now, the Federal Court has set a date of November 19 to hear a second appeal of the CNSC’s decision filed by the Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County and Area, Ralliement contre la pollution radioactive and the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility (CCNR).
Together, the three environmental groups say the commission’s decision failed to meet the requirements of both the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and the Nuclear Safety and Control Act.
“In our view, the commission’s decision to licence the giant radioactive waste mound, one kilometre from the Ottawa River, is a serious mistake,” said Lynn Jones of the Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County and Area, when the appeal was filed earlier this year.
“The mound is designed to last only 550 years, while much of the waste that would go into it will remain hazardous and radioactive for thousands of years.”
The CNSC agreed in January to amend Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ licence for the Chalk River Laboratories to allow construction of the NSDF on a site approximately 1.1 km from the Ottawa River.
The site is designed to “permanently contain and isolate up to 1,000,000 cubic metres (m3) of solid low-level radioactive waste” within an “engineered containment mound” with specially designed liners and covers.
The date in November will be a one-day hearing held in Ottawa…
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