Legal battle over nuclear waste facility near the Chalk River

In January, the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) received approval to build a nuclear waste disposal facility at the Chalk River research campus, about 190 Km northwest of Ottawa and one Km from the river. The project also received the endorsement of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), which determined the facility would not have “significant adverse environmental effects” on the area. However, both rulings were challenged in court by the Kebaowek First Nation. On Friday (March 14), federal court Justice Russel Zinn ruled in favour of the native community, saying that the facility will threaten endangered animal species living on the river. According to the ruling, CNL failed to properly evaluate other potential locations for the site. Now the project will be sent back to the government for redetermination. The CNSC has not commented yet on the court’s decision.
Chief Lance Haymond of the Kebaowek First Nation said they were elated by their legal victory and lamented that their reasonable concerns had been ignored by the authorities, forcing them to appeal to the courts. Before Friday’s ruling the Kebaowek won another judicial review against the project, setting a landmark precedent for environmental law in Canada.