What We're Doing

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization, in collaboration with the Municipality of South Bruce, will be rolling out various socio-economic and environmental studies over the summer of 2022 and into 2023. The studies, referred to as “community studies”, were initiated by the Municipality of South Bruce in 2021 and focus on the potential economic and social benefits and impacts of building a deep geological repository to store Canada’s used nuclear fuel.

The Municipality of South Bruce is leading a number of the studies and the NWMO is leading some of the others. The Municipality’s consultants are independently peer reviewing all NWMO work.  

Results of all studies and the peer reviews will be published on the Municipality of South Bruce website and will also be presented at upcoming Community Liaison meetings.

We have published several NWMO-led studies as of June 2022, available below.

The NWMO is committed to listening to the community and working to satisfy the guiding principles set out by South Bruce to support local decision-making.

In June 2022, the NWMO completed a memorandum of understanding with the Municipality of South Bruce. The memorandum is available below and includes a list of commitments made by the NWMO to the South Bruce community. This memorandum is meant for discussion purposes only and does not constitute a legally binding or enforceable agreement.

In February 2022, the NWMO introduced a program to protect the value of properties near the potential site in South Bruce for Canada’s deep geological repository for used nuclear fuel. 

The Property Value Protection (PVP) program reflects a responsible commitment to the community and addresses questions we have heard from residents about whether property values will be affected if South Bruce is selected for this project. The program was developed in consultation with the Municipality of South Bruce and works to satisfy one of the guiding principles the community set out to support local decision making about the project.

The NWMO will continue to engage with landowners in the vicinity of the potential site to be sure we are capturing their thoughts on this and other topics related to the project. 

The NWMO is responsible for implementing Canada’s plan for the safe, long-term management of used nuclear fuel in a manner that safeguards people and respects the environment, now and in the future. We are committed to meeting or exceeding all applicable regulatory standards and requirements for protecting the health, safety, and security of people and the environment.

In South Bruce, that also includes continued success and sustainability in agriculture and protection of our water resources. There cannot be any credible risk to people and the environment for the project to move forward.

Below are commonly asked questions from the agricultural community. Click here to view more commonly asked questions on other topics. You can also view our reports here.

As part of the site assessment process, the NWMO will conduct environmental monitoring to create a baseline of understanding to ensure we can minimize any effect Canada’s plan may have.

In 2020, the NWMO hosted a series of virtual and in-person workshops to gather community input into the environmental baseline monitoring program. Led by the NWMO’s environmental and engagement teams, the workshops provided valuable input to advance our understanding of the specific needs and environmental interests of many community members.

In July 2021, we partnered with the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority (SVCA) to launch a joint program to further understand water resources in South Bruce and the surrounding area to ensure protection for generations to come. As part of this program, the SVCA will conduct surface water quality and hydrology studies on behalf of the NWMO to develop a more comprehensive assessment of portions of the Saugeen Valley watershed, specifically the Teeswater River and Beatty Saugeen River subwatersheds. The program will characterize baseline environmental conditions by collecting monitoring data from those areas.

For more information on surface water and hydrology sampling and monitoring locations, check out the maps below.

Partnership working groups have been formed between the NWMO and each of the Municipality of South Bruce, the Township of Huron-Kinloss and the Township of Ignace. The partnership working groups are currently active in South Bruce and Ignace, Ont.

Each partnership working group includes municipal and NWMO representatives, with the purpose of exploring the Adaptive Phased Management (APM) Project and what it would mean if Canada’s plan were implemented in the community.

The partnership working groups also explore:

In September 2019, the NWMO initiated community surveys in South Bruce to better understand and improve the way we communicate and engage with the public. The surveys were conducted by an independent Canadian research firm on behalf of the NWMO, and were designed to determine how communities would like to receive information during the site selection process.

In 2019, we announced that two areas would continue in the site selection process: either Huron-Kinloss or South Bruce, and the Ignace area. In Huron-Kinloss and South Bruce, one community would move forward once a potential repository site was located through an ongoing process with local landowners. 

In January 2020, the NWMO signed agreements with landowners in South Bruce, Ont., that allow sufficient access to land for studies at a potential deep geological repository location. It was also concluded that the Township of Huron-Kinloss, Ont., will no longer be considered a potential host for the project; however, as a neighbour to South Bruce, the community will continue to play a strong role as activities continue.

This decision followed several years of progressively more detailed study and engagement.

A key part of the selection process is studying and identifying a site that can safely house the underground repository and its surface-level facilities. Part of that work requires us to assemble and access sufficient land to complete our studies, which could include borehole drilling, environmental monitoring and other site investigation work such as Indigenous cultural verification.

In South Bruce and Huron-Kinloss, the NWMO sought to sign agreements to access sufficient land in order to complete those studies. This was referred to as the Land Access Process, initiated in May 2019. Similar land is already available to us in the Ignace area. 

In January 2020, the NWMO signed agreements with landowners in South Bruce, Ont., that allow sufficient access to land for studies at a potential deep geological repository location. 

In October 2020, the NWMO signed additional agreements with landowners, and shared details and a map of the potential deep geological repository site in South Bruce, Ont. The NWMO also outlined next steps to confirm safety at the site and made a commitment to protect property values in the area if it is selected to host a repository.

In 2021, the NWMO signed additional agreements with landowners for 250 acres of land, and shared an updated map of the potential deep geological repository site in South Bruce, Ont.

To learn more about the Land Access Process, please read The Land Access Process: Next steps in Huron-Kinloss and South Bruce.

The focus of geoscientific studies in South Bruce is to determine if the geosphere in the area has the potential to satisfy the safety requirements for a deep geological repository for the long-term management of Canada’s used nuclear fuel.

Geoscientific studies conducted to date  involved desktop studies, which make use of publicly available information about the geology of the area. 

In May 2019, the NWMO launched a Land Access Process and worked with local landowners in South Bruce to determine if a possible site could be identified in the area. In January 2020, the NWMO signed agreements with landowners in South Bruce that will allow access to land for studies at the potential repository site northwest of Teeswater, Ontario. 

In October 2020, the NWMO signed additional agreements with landowners in South Bruce and announced the organization was beginning plan for two exploratory boreholes to confirm understanding of geology at the site. Drilling is planned to begin in 2021. 

As part of drilling best practices, the NWMO will test private water wells at and near the borehole sites.

The NWMO will work together with people in the area to plan the next set of activities. The NWMO will share the location of boreholes we will drill to help advance understanding of the geology at the potential repository site. We also plan to provide opportunities for interested residents to observe drilling activities to learn about the project.

Once borehole testing is complete the NWMO will review findings with people in the area and reflect on whether or not to continue with further studies.

Ultimately, the preferred site will need to meet robust technical requirements focused on safety. The implementation of the project must also foster the well-being of the area as defined by people who live there, and will need to be supported by strong partnerships. The project can only proceed with the involvement of the interested community, First Nation and Métis communities in the area, and surrounding communities.

The NWMO is planning additional field activities in 2021 in order to further characterize the geology in South Bruce, Ont.

Activities include:

The NWMO and communities have begun more detailed discussions on how to advance learning and build the sustainable partnerships that would be required to support the implementation of Canada’s plan for the safe, long-term management of used nuclear fuel.

The NWMO has outlined a multi-step road map to guide these partnership discussions, which focuses on exploring potential to advance the project in partnership with people in the area, as well as puts in place a framework to implement the project if a preferred site were identified in the area.

Road map to partnership (2017-22)

South Bruce has identified values and principles to guide future discussions with the NWMO to explore partnership and to consider the project in more detail. These values and principles, and the engagement activities that led to their development, are described in the summary report (Guiding principles for exploring partnership – Community conversations update) below.