NPD Closure Project Reaches Environmental Assessment Milestone

November 19, 2024

The Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD) Closure Project’s draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has now passed the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s (CNSC) completeness check and entered the technical review stage.

Since it was last submitted in 2021, the project team has been working on responding to information requests from the CNSC, engaging with Indigenous Nations, communities and organizations, and updating the EIS to ensure a complete submission.

Over the course of the Environmental Assessment (EA), CNL has learned the key areas of interest and concern from the public, Indigenous Peoples, and federal and provincial agencies. CNL has addressed comments from the public and Indigenous communities and incorporated this feedback into the revised draft EIS.

Among other changes, CNL has expanded the list of Valued Components, integrating results of Indigenous studies for a more fulsome description of Indigenous Land and Resource Use in the study area, and updating our long-term safety assessment to include additional traditional use pathways.

The document will now undergo a technical review by the Federal, Provincial, and Indigenous Review Team (FPIRT). There will likely be further information requests and comments from the FPIRT that come out of this review. CNL will address any new or outstanding FPIRT comments by incorporating changes into the final EIS. CNL anticipates we will be able to submit the final EIS in spring/summer 2026 – with all the FPIRT comments addressed. The final decision on the project will be determined by the CNSC following a public hearing process.

“The team has worked hard to make significant improvements to the EIS and supporting documents over the past few years,” said Katie Shorter, Director of the NPD Closure Project, “this revised EIS is the result of CNL’s work to respond to hundreds of technical questions from Indigenous Nations, communities and organizations, members of the public, regulators, government officials, and other interested parties about the NPD Closure Project, integrating this feedback into the Project. We are very proud of the work we’ve done, and the relationships we’re continuing to build with Indigenous Nations, communities, and organizations.”

NT4