Beyond Nuclear

U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL)U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) successfully included report language in the U.S. Senate State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill, that passed out of the full Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday, concerning Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) proposal to dump radioactive waste on the Great Lakes shoreline (in what it calls a Deep Geologic Repository, or DGR).

The language, in S. Rept. 114-79's International Joint Commission section (see INTERNATIONAL COMMISSIONS, INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY AND WATER COMMISSION, UNITED STATES AND MEXICO, at the bottom of page 46 and top of page 47) reads:

Great Lakes and Nuclear Waste Review.--The Committee is concerned with Ontario Power Generations' [OPG] proposal to permanently store 7 million cubic feet of toxic nuclear waste less than one mile from the shores of Lake Huron, which could cause irreparable harm to the shared economic and ecological wellbeing of the Great Lakes. The Committee recommends that the Department of State request an International Joint Commission review of the proposal and urge the Government of Canada to postpone its final decision until the review of the long-term impacts of locating a nuclear repository at the proposed site is complete and fully evaluated by both the Governments of the United States and Canada.

As stated at the International Joint Commission's website: "The International Joint Commission (IJC) is an internatinal organization created by the Boundary Waters Treaty, signed by Canada and the United States in 1909.

The International Joint Commission prevents and resolves disputes between the United States of America and Canada under the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty and pursues the common good of both countries as an independent and objective advisor to the two governments.

In particular, the Commission rules upon applications for approval of projects affecting boundary or transboundary waters and may regulate the operation of these projects; it assists the two countries in the protection of the transboundary environment, including the implementation of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and the improvement of transboundary air quality; and it alerts the governments to emerging issues along the boundary that may give rise to bilateral disputes...".

Bipartisan resolutions introduced in both the U.S. House (H. Res. 194) and Senate (S. Res. 134, co-sponsored by Sen. Kirk) opposing OPG's DGR, call upon the Obama administration to "take appropriate action to work with the Canadian government to prevent a permanent nuclear waste repository from being built within the Great Lakes Basin". The resolutions also call upon the Obama administration to "work together with their Canadian Government counterparts on a safe and responsible solution for the long-term storage of nuclear waste."

See the language of the bills, posted online by Stop the Great Lakes Nuclear Dump: S. Res. 134; H. Res. 194.

Sen. Kirk's successful inclusion of report language in the U.S. Senate State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill is a very significant step in the process of activating the International Joint Commission (IJC) on OPG's DGR proposal, as the U.S. Senate now moves into legislative actions regarding funding the U.S. Section of the International Joint Commission for the next fiscal year. Where the congressional resolutions speak of the Obama administration working with their Canadian Government counterparts, one good way of doing that is for the U.S. State Dept. to activate the IJC to carry out a comprehensive review on the controversial proposal.

Please thank Sen. Kirk for his leadership on protecting the Great Lakes against OPG's DGR, by contacting his office.

See Beyond Nuclear's action alert on the DGR, to see how you can help stop Canada's radioactive waste dump targeted at the Great Lakes shoreline!