U.S. Representative Peter Meijer (R-MI) this week cosponsored Rep. Dan Kildee’s (D-MI) resolution opposing Canada’s new plan to build a permanent nuclear waste storage site in the Great Lakes Basin.
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), a non-profit established by the Canadian government, has unveiled new plans to build a facility that would permanently store more than 50,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste in South Bruce, Ontario, located within the Great Lakes Basin. High-level nuclear waste is the most dangerous form of nuclear waste and remains hazardous for tens of thousands of years. An accident involving radioactive waste near the Great Lakes would have catastrophic and long-term consequences for the health of Michigan, the Great Lakes region, and all of the U.S. and Canada.
The U.S. and Canada have historically worked together to prevent the permanent storage of nuclear waste in their shared water basins. During the 1980’s, when the U.S. was exploring several potential domestic sites to permanently store nuclear waste, then-Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Minister for External Affairs Joe Clark expressed serious opposition to sites located in or near shared water basins. Ultimately, the U.S. decided not to pursue these contentious sites.
The bipartisan resolution calls on President Biden and his Administration to work with the Canadian government to ensure nuclear waste is not permanently stored in the Great Lakes Basin.
“As Michiganders, we are fortunate to be to part of the Great Lakes Basin, and we all hold a unique responsibility to ensure our freshwater resources remain protected for generations to come,” said Rep. Meijer. “From recreational activities to economic opportunities, the Great Lakes are integral to our daily lives, and a spill of hazardous materials would be devastating to communities across the state. We must continue to urge our Canadian allies to find an alternative storage site for nuclear waste, as the current proximity to the Great Lakes remains a threat to our freshwater basin.”
“Permanently storing nuclear waste in the Great Lakes does not make any sense,” said Rep. Kildee. “The Great Lakes are central to our way of life, and permanently storing nuclear waste so close to our shared waterways puts our economies and millions of jobs at risk in the fishing, boating and tourism industries. People in both in the U.S. and Canada depend on the Great Lakes for drinking water, which could be contaminated if there ever was a nuclear waste incident. For years, I led the fight in Congress to stop another permanent nuclear waste storage site in Kincardine, Ontario less than a mile from Lake Huron. Now, I continue to urge Canada to find a better place to permanently store nuclear waste that is not so close to the world’s largest supply of fresh water.”
In addition to Reps. Meijer and Kildee, the resolution is cosponsored by Representatives Andy Levin (MI-09), Jack Bergman (MI-01), Debbie Dingell (MI-12), Anthony Gonzalez (OH-16), Mike Gallagher (WI-08), Bill Huizenga (MI-02), David Joyce (OH-14), Raja Krishnamoorti (IL-08), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Brenda Lawrence (MI-14), Joseph Morelle (NY-25), Betty McCollum (MN-04), John Moolenaar (MI-04), Tim Ryan (OH-13), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Haley Stevens (MI-11), Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), Fred Upton (MI-06) and Jackie Walorski (IN-02).
Original source can be found here.
