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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPSD-075-08 Clw:iogton REPORT PLANNING SERVICES Meeting: GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE Date: Monday, July 7,2008 K~\~~o~~~PA-4\~-dB Report #: PSD-075-08 Flle#: PLN 26.15.1 By-law #: Subject: MUNICIPAL PEER REVIEW - ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR NEW NUCLEAR REACTORS AT THE DARLINGTON GENERATING STATION (DARLINGTON B) RECOMMENDATIONS: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Report PSD-075-D8 be received; 2. THAT staff be authorized to initiate formal discussions with Ontario Power Generation with respect to the provision of peer review funding for the Darlington New Nuclear Build Project; 3. THAT Staff be further authorized to prepare a Terms of Reference for a peer review of the Environmental Impact Statement for the Darlington New Nuclear Build Project in accordance with the scope of work outlined in Section 4.2 of this report, and to issue a Request for Proposals for the undertaking of the subject peer review; and 4. THAT a copy of this Report and Council's resolution be forwarded to Ontario Power Generation, all interested parties listed in this report and any delegations. Submitted by: Reviewed by: O~~ Davi J. rome, M.C.I.P., R.P.P. Franklin Wu Director of Planning Services Chief Administrative Officer JAS/FUdf 25 June 2008 CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON 40 TEMPERANCE STREET, BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO L 1C 3A6 T (905)623-3379 F (905)623-0830 REPORT NO.: PSD-075-08 PAGE 2 1.0 BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF REPORT 1.1 In June 2006, the Government of Ontario released its 20 year energy plan that called for the construction of new nuclear facilities to maintain the Province's nuclear generating capacity at 14,000 megawatts (approximately 50% of the Province's generating capacity). The government considered two potential sites for the new nuclear facilities - the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station site operated by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and the nuclear generating station operated by privately-owned Bruce Power in Tiverton Ontario. 1.2 Council resolved, on June 9, 2008, to advise the Premier and the Minister of Energy that it fully supports Nuclear New Build at the Darlington Generating Station "B" site. 1.3 On June 16, 2008, the Ontario government announced that it had selected the Darlington site for the construction of two new nuclear reactors. The new facilities will be built on the eastem portion of the site in an area referred to as "Darlington B". 1.4 Both OPG and Bruce Power have already initiated the necessary approvals process for the construction of new nuclear units at their respective sites. The approvals process includes the undertaking of an Environmental Assessment (EA) and the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). 1.5 OPG has advised that, consistent with its established practice, funding will be made available to the Municipality of Clarington, as the host community, to retain qualified professionals to undertake a peer review of the EA for the nuclear new build at the Darlington site. The results of the peer review will be incorporated into the final EIS to be submitted by OPG to the federal government. 1.6 The purpose of this report is to obtain Council's approval to undertake a peer review of the EA for the Darlington new nuclear build, including the scope of review. Staff is also seeking Council's authorization to proceed with a Request for Proposals to retain qualified consultants to undertake the peer review. 2.0 OVERVIEW OF THE DARLINGTON B PROJECT 2.1 The Project Description for the Darlington B project prepared by OPG was accepted by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) in May 2007, and includes all five phases of the life cycle of the nuclear power plant: site preparation, construction, operation, decommissioning, and abandonment. Each phase will require the issuance of a licence by the CNSC. 2.2 The Project Description allows the CNSC to evaluate the scope of the project and the required EA. As well, it acts as a means for other federal departments REPORT NO.: PSD-07S-Oa PAGE 3 and agencies to identify whether they are likely to exercise a power or issue an approval in respect of the project or be in possession of specialist or expert information that is necessary to conduct the EA. The document also assists in the early identification of any potential environmental effects that should be included in the EA work. 2.3 Many of the specific details with respect to the Darlington B project have yet to be determined. These include reactor technology and design; the location and orientation of the reactors on the site; the potential number of reactors; type of condenser cooling systems; and nuclear waste management systems to be used on site. As such, the Project Description submitted by OPG and as summarized below represents a "bounding case" which would accommodate all potential alternative means of carrying out the project. 2.4 The Darlington B project will involve the construction and operation of up to four new nuclear reactors at the Darlington nuclear site for the production of approximately 4,800 megawatts of electrical generating capacity for supply to the Ontario grid. The total life span of the project is projected to be approximately 140 years. The earliest possible start date will be 2010. The construction of the first two reactors will require 6 to 8 years, with a preliminary target in-service date of 2018. The construction of two additional reactors, if required, could be completed by 2025. 2.5 The Government of Ontario issued the Request for Proposals (RFP) for a stand- alone two-unit nuclear reactor in March 2008. The three participating vendors are Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor), Westinghouse Electric Company (Pressurized Water Reactor), and the French company AREVA NP (Pressurized Hybrid Light and Heavy Water Reactor). The evaluation of the bids by these three companies is being coordinated by Infrastructure Ontario. A decision on the preferred vendor is expected by the end of 2008. 3.0 OVERVIEW OF THE APPROVALS PROCESS 3.1 The construction of new nuclear reactors at the Darlington site involves two separate but inter-related approval processes at the federal level - the undertaking of an EA pursuant to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, and licensing by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). Since many of the documents relevant to the EA and licensing process for the Darlington B project have not yet been issued, staff have referred to documents released for the Bruce Power project for information. 3.2 Before any licensing decision can be made with respect to a new nuclear power plant, an EA must be completed with a decision that the project is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects with the available mitigation REPORT NO.: PSD-07S-oS PAGE 4 measures. The project cannot proceed to "the licensing process at the CNSC if the decision on the EA is negative. The results of the EA process under the Federal Act are presented in an Environmental Impact Study (EIS). 3.3 On March 20, 2008, the federal Minister of the Environment announced the referral of the Darlington B project to an environmental assessment by a review panel. The review panel will consist of a group of experts selected on the basis of their knowledge and expertise who will be responsible for reviewing and assessing the EIS for the Darlington B project. Based on the draft Terms of Reference for the Review Panel for the Bruce Power project, it is expected that the Darlington B Panel will consist of members appointed by both the CNSC and the Minister. 3.4 The Joint Review Panel will be responsible for issuing the EIS Guidelines, coordinating the technical review of the EIS, and holding the hearings on the EIS. Once the hearings are completed and the Panel has completed its analysis, it will prepare a Joint Review Panel Report that summarizes its rationale, conclusions and recommendations. This report will be submitted to the CNSC and the Minister of the Environment who must take the review panel's report into consideration before making any decision with regard to the project. 3.5 The preparation of the EIS for the Darlington B project will be a critical component of the federal review and approval process. The EIS Guidelines to be issued by the Joint Review Panel will advise OPG of the nature, scope and extent of the information that must be addressed in the preparation of the EIS, including the existing bio-physical and socio-economic environments, the predicted effects of the project on the environment, measures to mitigate these effects, and the significance of any residual effects. . 3.6 The draft EIS Guidelines for the Darlington B project have not yet been released. However, staff have reviewed the draft EIS Guidelines for the Bruce Power project, which were issued in April 2008. The Table of Contents for these Guidelines (Attachment 2) provides a representative indication of the information that is expected to be required in the EIS for the Darlington B project. 4.0 SCOPE OF THE MUNICIPAL PEER REVIEW 4.1 OPG has advised that Municipal Peer Review Funding will be available to the Municipality of Clarington which is located within the local study area for the EA and the 10 km primary emergency response zones for the Darlington site. The results of the peer reviews will be incorporated into the final EIS to be submitted to the Joint Review Panel. REPORT NO.: PSD-075-08 PAGE 5 4.2 Qualified consultants should be retained for the peer review of the draft EIS since this document will include the detailed information related to the potential effects and mitigative measures for the Darlington B project. The EIS will also form the basis of the Joint Panel's review of the project. The EIS will address a broad range of issues; however, the Municipality's peer review should focus on the Municipality's core areas of interest, specifically the socio-economic environment, land use and transportation, physical and cultural heritage, emergency preparedness, and the atmospheric and surface water environment. CLOCA has indicated an interest in participating in the peer review of this latter issue. 4.3 OPG has advised that they have already initiated work on the EA and anticipate submitting the draft EIS to the federal government for review in late 2008. As such, it is important that the Municipality's peer review process be initiated as quickly as possible. Staff are seeking authorization to proceed with the preparation of a Terms of Reference and a Request for Proposals for the peer review of the Darlington B project for those areas noted above. This process and the review of consultant proposals would take place over the summer, with a report to retain the preferred consultant being forwarded to Council in September. The peer review comments will be approved by Council prior to their submission to CEM. 5.0 CONCLUSIONS 5.1 Council has indicated its support for the new nuclear build at Darlington. The Darlington B project will be the first new nuclear generating facility to undergo an EA review under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act which came into force in 1995. The peer review of the Environmental Impact Statement will ensure that the interests of the Municipality and its residents are protected as this major project moves ahead. The peer review will also allow OPG to demonstrate to federal regulators that the Municipality's concerns have been appropriately addressed in the EIS. 5.2 It is expected that the peer review funding arrangements with OPG will be similar to those for the Port Granby Project. . Attachments: Attachment 1 - Glossary of Terms Attachment 2 - Table of Contents - Draft EIS Guidelines for the Bruce Power Project Interested parties to be advised of Council and Committee's decision: Laurie Swami, Ontario Power Generation GLOSSARY OF TERMS EA Environmental Assessment EIS Environmental Impact Statement CEAA Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency CNSC Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission OPG Ontario Power Generation RFP Request for Proposals Attachment 1 To Report PSD-075-08 Attachment 2 To Report PSD-075-08 ------ Guidelines for the Preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement for Bruce Power's New Nuclear Power Plant Project (Draft - April 2008) TABLE OF CONTENTS PART 1 - INTRODUCTION 1. Context 1.1 Purpose of the Guidelines 1.2 Environmental Assessment and Regulatory Process 1.3 Preparation and Review of the EIS 2. Guiding Principles 2.1 Environmental Assessment as a Planning Tool 2.2 Public Participation and Aboriginal Engagement 2.3 Traditional Knowledge 2.4 Sustainable Development 2.5 Precautionary Approach 2.6 Study Strategy and Methodology 2.7 Use of Existing Information 3. Presentation of the EIS 3.1 Environmental Impact Statement Summary 4. Scope 4.1 Scope of the Project 4.2 Factors to be considered in the EIS PART II - CONTENT OF THE EIS 5. Context 5.1 The Setting 5.2 Project Overview and Purpose 5.3 The Proponent 5.4 Environmental Assessment and Regulatory Process and Approvals 5.5 International Agreements 6. Engagement and Information Distribution 6.1 Aboriginal Engagement. 6.2 Government Agency Engagement 6.3 Stakeholder Engagement 6.4 Other Public Engagement 7. Project Justification 7.1 Purpose and Need for the Project 7.2 Alternatives to the Project 7.3 Alternative Means of Carrying out the Project 8. Project Description 8.1 Site Preparation 8.2 Construction 8.3 Operation and Maintenance 8.4 Modifications 8.5 Decommissioning and Abandonment 8.6 Malfunctions and Accidents 8.7 Environmental Protection Plan 9. Environmental Assessment Boundaries 9.1 Spatial Boundaries and Scale 9.2 Temporal Boundaries 9.3 Valued Ecosystem Components 10. Existing Environment 10.1 Bio-Physical Environment 10.2 Socio-Economic Conditions 11. Effects Prediction, Mitigation Measures and Significance Of Residual Effects 11.1 Effects Prediction 11.2 Mitigation Measures 11.3 Significance of Residual Effects 11.4 Bio-Physical Environment 11.5 Socio-Economic Effects 12. Accidents and Malfunctions 12.1 Nuclear Accidents Involving the Reactor 12.2 Conventional Accidents 12.3 Malevolent Acts 13. Cumulative Effects 14. Capacity of Renewable Resources 15. Follow Up Program 16. Assessment Summary and Conclusion