Plans to build Canada's first permanent nuclear waste facility near the shores of Lake Huron have been put on hold.
Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna has sent Ontario Power Generation (OPG) back to the drawing board.
The government wants more information and study on other potential sites for the project, as well as the cumulative, long-term environmental effects of the billion-dollar project.
OPG has spent a decade studying and planning to bury the province's low- and intermediate-level nuclear waste near the shores of Lake Huron.
They had planned to bury 200,000 cubic metres of nuclear waste in an underground facility under the Bruce Power site near Kincardine, Ont.
An independent environmental review panel suggested the government approve the project last year.
The government has now given OPG until April 18th to come up with a schedule to fulfill their request for more information.
OPG says they respect the minister's decision and will conduct the further environmental studies to prove their plan is the best choice.
A statement reads, "OPG understands the sensitivity of decisions around nuclear waste and respects the Minister's request for further information to inform a science-based decision."
However, they maintain that a deep geologic repository - or DGR - at the Bruce site is the best solution for the province's low- and intermediate-level nuclear waste.
Meanwhile, Shawn-Patrick Stensil of Greenpeace believes the government has made the right decision.
In a statement he said, "Public opposition to burying OPG’s radioactive waste near the Great Lakes is widespread and fierce...It would have been foolhardy to approve a project that could threaten the Great Lakes for thousands of years before assessing alternatives or reviewing the huge gaps in the project’s environmental assessment report."
OPG, however, maintains that local communities are supportive of the project.
