Ignace Council excited to have experts conducting peer reviews of IPD submission for NWMO.

Over the past few months, Township Council and senior staff for Ignace have taken the necessary steps to hire and put in place resources to assist with the review of documents related to the deep geological repository (DGR) project. These professional resources, with years of experience with nuclear-related projects, will work to protect the best interests of the community during the Initial Project Description phase and to support the Township’s involvement in the environmental assessment and Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s regulatory review to establish the deep geological repository in the Ignace area.

Hardy Stevenson and Associates Limited (HSAL) has been hired as the Peer Review Team. The Ignace Peer Review Team (IPRT) will provide the Township with the scientific and technical resources that are required to make sure its interests are well informed and articulated. The Peer Review Team provides the Township with deep technical resources on all aspects of the NWMO Adaptive Phased Management project.

The Hardy Stevenson and Associates Limited peer reviewer team includes a physicist/ health physicist, rock mechanic specialist/ geoscientist, terrestrial and aquatic ecologists, civil engineer, social scientist and community/ environmental planner. Specialists are from Canada and the United States.

Beginning with the peer review of the Initial Project Description, the peer review team will review the Formal Project Description, NWMO technical reports, Impact Assessment Act related analysis and comments, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) reports, analysis and comments, preparation for and participation in successive Regulatory Hearings. The comments, work and recommendations will be provided to senior Ignace staff and Council for their further action with NWMO.

“We are certainly excited and comforted with the fact that we now have experienced nuclear based professionals on board with the Township of Ignace to conduct a full peer review of all of the technical, environmental and scientific documents related to the DGR project, during these critical input phases,” stated Mayor Kim Baigrie. She went on to state “The Township is extremely pleased that Mr. Hardy and Associates have accepted to take on this important role on behalf of the Township, as they have been involved with this project since 2010”.

“Its rare for communities the size of Ignace to have this depth of expertise and top scientists and professionals on board to provide the necessary support, given the size of this Adaptive Phased Management project,” stated Mr. Dave Hardy from HSAL. “The Ignace Peer Review Team is pleased to provide our full support to the Township. We’ve already begun reviewing NWMO materials and we look forward to supporting the Township and residents throughout the entirety of this project to ensure the DGR achieves their vision,” he went on to state.

The Peer Review Team will be paid by the NWMO Municipal Hosting Agreement and managed and directed by Ignace Council and senior staff, at no cost to Ignace residents.