SOUTHAMPTON, ONT. --
First Nation votes 'no' on nuclear waste storage in Bruce County, Ont.
Members of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON) have voted down plans to bury Ontario's low- and intermediate-level nuclear waste within 1.2 kilometres of Lake Huron.
In 2013, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) said they wouldn’t build the $2.4 billion underground facility under the Bruce Power site without the SON’s approval.
On Friday, 1,232 members of the First Nation band voted. The vote results saw 1,058 'no' votes, with 170 'yes' and 4 spoiled ballots.
It means Canada’s first permanent nuclear waste facility will need to be built somewhere else in Ontario.
OPG will now have to start searching for a new host community to house over 200,000 cubic metres of low- and intermediate- level nuclear waste.
OPG says finding a new site may set the project back 20 to 30 years.
Concerns over the project’s proximity to Lake Huron ultimately doomed the nuclear waste plan.
Support for the project was strong in Bruce County, but largely panned around the Great Lakes, where over 200 municipal resolutions opposed the project.
Ontario Power Generation say while they are disapointed with the outcome of the vote, they respect S.O.N.’s decision and will not proceed with plans to build the storage facility in Saugeen Territory.
