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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPSD-066-09Clarington Leading the Way REPORT PLANNING SERVICES Meeting: GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE ~? Date: .Monday, June 22, 2009 ~-e5o~~~~#`/~ ~~f _~ r Report #: PSD-066-09 File #: PLN 33.4 By-law #: Subject: ENERGYSOLUTIONS -PROPOSED TOUR OF U.S. LOW LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE SITES RECOMMENDATIONS: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Report PSD-066-09 be received; 2. THAT EnergySolutions be THANKED for their invitation to Mayor and Members of Council to visit and tour their radioactive Waste Management Facilities, and that the invitation be respectfully DECLINED; and 3. THAT a copy of this report and Council's decision be forwarded to EnergySolutions, all interested parties listed in this report, and any delegations. ~('~ ~ ~v ~ Submitted by: Reviewed by: ~Z'~"F-x_ David J. ome, MCIP, RPP Franklin Wu, Director of Planning Services Chief Administrative Officer JAS/FUdf 17 June 2009 CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON 40 TEMPERANCE STREET, BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO L1C 3A6 T (905)623-3379 F (905)623-0830 REPORT NO.: PSD-066-09 PAGE 2 1.0 BACKGROUND 1.1 On April 20, 2009, the General Purpose and Administration Committee received a presentation from Carol Wilson Hodges and Asses Azadeh of EnergySolutions, a company that designs, builds and operates .radioactive waste management facilities. The presentation provided an overview of two of the company's facilities in Utah and noted the similarity of these facilities to the low level radioactive waste management facilities proposed as part of the Port Hope Area Initiative. Ms. Wilson Hodges extended an invitation to Mayor and Members of Council to visit and tour their facilities. 1.2 On April 27, 2009, Council resolved to refer the delegation from EnergySolutions to the Director of Planning Services. Staff subsequently requested the company to provide additional information regarding the proposed site tour. On May 25, 2009, Staff received an a-mail from Carol Wilson Hodges forwarding a letter (dated May 5, 2009) in response to Staffs request for additional information. The letter forms Attachment 1 to this report. 1.3 In the a-mail accompanying the letter, EnergySolutions stated that they "would be able to work with Council to defer some of the airfare and lodging costs provided there is a precedent for such sponsorship; and the sponsorship is deemed by Natural Resources Canada and the Clarington Council to be in compliance with procurement integrity procedures, and would not create a conflict of interest for the EnergySolufions Canada team to bid on either the Port Granby or Port Hope projects; and would maintain all three entities in good standing with all stakeholders." 2.0 COMMENTS 2.1 EnergySolutions has indicated their interest in bidding on the various contracts to be issued by the Government of Canada for engineering and construction services required for both the Port Granby and Port Hope Projects. A Notice of Proposed Procurement (NPP) for the design and construction of the long term waste management facility and ancillary facilities and infrastructure for the Port Hope Project was. posted on the Government's MERX (electronic tendering) site on May 27, 2009, and is scheduled to close on July 8, 2009. The tender for the Port Granby Project has not yet been posted. 2.2 Neither Clarington Council nor staff are involved in the review of proposals to be submitted in response to bid opportunities issued by the Government of Canada. Therefore, there would be no direct conflict of interest involved in accepting EnergySo/utions offer to visit their facilities. REPORT NO.: PSD-066-09 PAGE 3 2.3 However, Staff and Council members, through the Municipality's involvement with the Port Hope Area Initiative, are sometimes advised of confidential information related to both the Port Granby and Port Hope Projects. The potential exists for any such information to inadvertently be disclosed during discussions with EnergySo/utions during the site tour. As well, the comments made by EnergySo/utions in their a-mail highlights the perceived and real difficulties that could be created should Members of Council or Staff accept the invitation. If such a tour was contemplated, it would best be after the procurement has been completed, and should include representatives of the South East Clarington Ratepayers Association. 2.4 It should be noted that Port Hope Council has declined a similar offer from EnergySo/utions. Attachments: Attachment 1 -Letter from Energy Solutions dated May 5, 2009 List of interested parties to be advised of Council's decision: Carol Wilson Hodges, EnergySolutions Jahn Mutton, Municipal Solutions EV ERGYSQLUTIONS Canatla 5 May 2009 Ms Janice Auger Szwarz Senior Planner, Special Projects Municipality of Clarington 40 Temperance Street Bowmanville, ON L1C 3A6 Transmitted via email: Jszwarz@clarington.net Subject: Invitation to Clarington Council Representative for Touring EnergySolutions' Radioactive Waste Disposal Operations Dear Ms Szwarz: Attachment 1 To Report PSD-066-09 As discussed during our presentation to the Clarington Council on 20 April 2009, I am very pleased to extend an invitation from EnergySolutions Canada (EnergySo/utions) to Clarington Council representatives for touring two of our US-based operations that are relevant to the Port Granby Long Term Waste Management Facility. These operations are Moab and Clive. A brief description of the operations and rationale for selecting these sites is provided blow. Moab On the west bank of the Colorado River, three miles northwest of the City of Moab in Grand County, Utah, lies 16 million cubic yards (over 12 million cubic metres) of radioactive uranium mill tailings. EnergySolutions was awarded in 2007 the $98.4 million US Department of Energy contract to begin clean up of the 130-acre Atlas Mill Tailings pile. The Moab contract was awarded through a competitive bid process with the US Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management under the National Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract. EnergySo/utions will perform design. and installation of atailings-removal waste handling system, and initial tailings movement and operations to relocate the Moab tailings and associated wastes to a disposal facility 30 miles north of the Colorado River to a newly created and engineered facility near Crescent Junction, Utah. The contract performance period is through September 2011. Concerns over potential radioactive contamination of the Colorado River has long made the clean up and removal of the radioactive mill tailings a priority for Utah citizens, environmental groups and Utah's government leaders. The scope of work for our Moab project is very similar to the activities associated with the final design, licensing, and construction of the Port Granby Long Term Waste Management Facility. and the subsequent excavation, transportation and disposal of the EnttgySolutions Canada, 130 King Street Wes; Suite 1800 Toronto, ON MSX ] E3 416.941.!255 htlp v.aw.ener~solulions.com ENFRG~SOLUTIONS Canatla radioactive wastes from the existing waste management facility to the new facility north of Lakeshore Road. Both Moab and the Long Term Waste Management Facility share similarities regarding the engagement and involvement of stakeholders, both local and Provincial Clive Disuos_ a~i~ EnergySolutions owns and operates a 543 acre site for the disposal of radioactive wastes. This disposal facility is located 80 miles west of Salt Lake City in western Tooele County, Utah. The facility began operation in 1988. Radioactive wastes are disposed of in engineered shallow land disposal mounds. Wastes are delivered to the facility by rail and road, mostly in EnergySolutions'nwned and operated containers and transportation fleet. EnergySolutions' Clive Operations is the largest and most comprehensively licensed commercial low-level radioactive waste disposal facility in the United States. Since 1992, the Clive facility has disposed of 173 million cubic feet (4.9 million cubic metres) of radioactive wastes in complete compliance with all regulatory and licence requirements. The ongoing disposal operations at our Clive facility can provide a demonstration of our existing and successfully operated radioactive waste disposal facility. Although the specific engineered liner and the engineered cap for the Clive facility is different than the proposed Port Granby Long Terms Waste Management Facility, the natural and engineered elements are similar. As a part of the Clive tour, the Clarington Council representatives will also have the opportunity to speak with local stakeholders. Travel~~s With our open-door policy, EnergySolutionsean accommodate tours from a few to a bus-load of visitors; each tour of our facilities is tailored to accommodate the specific. needs for the visit. We have found that for tours of similar agendas for the Clarington Council representatives that a group of 3 to 5 participants affords an environment more conducive to constructive questions and answers. We will defer to the Council to decide how many representatives they would like to participate on the tour. We estimate a total of 4 days would be required for the travelers with the following basic agenda: Day 7 - Travel from Toronto to Salt Lake City - Council representatives picked up by EnergySolutions at the airport - Check into Homewood Suites - Group dinner Day 2 EnergySolutions Canada, 130 King Street West, Suite IS00 Toronto, ON MSX I E3 416.941. ] 255 ht{pv µwq.eut'rgy~solulions cgm EN ERG~SOLUTIONS Canada - Travel to Moab; transportation provided by EnergySolutions - Presentation, site tour and stakeholder meetings (EnergySolutions will develop a specific agenda to include disposal facility operations, transportation, Mill site excavation and packaging) - Travel back to Salt Lake City - Group dinner Day 3 - Travel from Salt Lake City to Clive facility; transportation provided by EnergySolutions - Presentation, site tour and stakeholder meetings (EnergySolutions will develop a specific agenda to include engineered barrier system, long-term performance and disposal facility operations) - Travel back to Salt Lake City - Group dinner Day 4 - Transportation to airport provided by EnergySolutions - Travel from Salt Lake City to Toronto In Utah, EnergySolutions will provide all ground transportation, lunches and dinners since they will be during group activities. The Homewood Suites provides breakfast. As requested, we are also providing you with an estimated travel cost per person. If you have any questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me or at 416.941.1255 or by email at cwilsonhodges@energysolutons.com. Sincerely, ~a~~~~~„~'~~- Carol Wilson Hodges President Energy Solutions Canada, ]30 King Street West, Suite 1800 Toronto, ON MSX I E3 416.94L1255 htta;/wwlyene;,r} solmions,com We are very pleased that the Clarington Council is interested in visiting our US operations to observe practical and existing EnergySolutions operations that are similar to the work envisaged for the Port Granby Long Term Waste Management Facility. We can accommodate your possible time frame for the tour in the fall or sooner.