Reviewing Baseline Infrastructure Vulnerabilities in Wabigoon, Melgund, and Dinorwic
This article is part of a series exploring the views and perspectives of youth, artists and community members working with the Melgund Integrated Nuclear Impact Assessment Project. This initiative is a climate entrepreneurship and arts-based community recreation program, developed through community consultation, engagement participation in the integrated impact assessment process for the NWMO’s proposed Deep Geological Repository for nuclear waste fuel.
What is Proposed
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) has provided a baseline characterization of the unincorporated communities of Wabigoon, Melgund (including Borups Corners and Dyment), and Dinorwic. The current assessment highlights that water and wastewater services are decentralized, remaining the sole responsibility of individual homeowners through private wells, cisterns, and septic systems. Waste management is described as a mix of Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) operated sites and municipal landfills, with no curbside pickup available. Furthermore, the proponent notes that emergency fire services are provided by volunteer departments under the provincial Northern Fire Protection Program. This baseline data is intended to inform the Initial Project Description currently under review.
Underlying Assumptions
Our analysis of the proponent’s text identifies several critical assumptions that minimize the complexity of introducing a major industrial nuclear facility to this region:
- Assumption of Resilience: The text assumes that the current “homeowner responsibility” model for water and waste is sufficient to withstand the hydrogeological stresses of a major infrastructure project.
- Adequacy of Volunteer Response: It is implied that existing volunteer fire departments, designed for residential and rural emergencies, have the capacity to manage risks associated with a multi-billion-dollar nuclear construction and operation site.
- Population as Proxy for Impact: By focusing on low dwelling counts (e.g., 25 homes in Melgund), the narrative assumes that the social and environmental impact on these residents is negligible.
- Static Infrastructure: There is an assumption that existing landfill capacities and road networks can absorb industrial-scale usage without requiring formal upgrades or diversion plans.
Community Assessment
The community’s review reveals that the proponent’s characterization relies on a reductive inventory that fails to account for the vulnerability of our decentralized infrastructure. By framing water services as a private matter, the assessment attempts to insulate the project from the risks it poses to local aquifers. Private wells and septic systems in Melgund and Dinorwic are highly sensitive to changes in groundwater flow and vibrations from blasting. The reliance on general interviews rather than site-specific hydrogeological modeling for these private water sources represents a significant gap in technical due diligence.
Furthermore, the demographic data provided for Melgund appears to be utilized to downplay the human impact of the DGR. This quantitative approach ignores the “stigma effect” that the proximity of high-level radioactive waste may have on property values and the rural character of Borups Corners and Dyment. Additionally, the acknowledgment of volunteer fire departments as primary responders is inadequate without a corresponding analysis of their readiness to handle industrial or nuclear-related incidents. Relying on community volunteers to manage industrial externalities without formal, proponent-funded upgrades poses a safety risk to the entire region.
Path Forward
To address these deficiencies, the following corrective measures are recommended:
- Comprehensive Hydrogeological Study: The proponent must establish a rigorous baseline for groundwater quality and quantity specific to the private wells in Melgund and Dinorwic, including a binding protocol for homeowner compensation should water systems be compromised.
- Emergency Capacity Assessment: A formal gap analysis of local volunteer fire departments is required, outlining specific investments in training and equipment to meet industrial safety standards.
- Waste Management Strategy: A detailed plan must be presented to ensure project-generated waste does not shorten the lifespan of community landfills.
- Social Impact Recognition: The assessment must move beyond dwelling counts to evaluate the qualitative impacts on social cohesion and property values for the project’s immediate neighbors.
About the Integrated Assessment Process
The federal Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) has formally launched the integrated impact assessment process for the proposed Deep Geological Repository (DGR) for Canada’s Used Nuclear Fuel Project, a major national infrastructure initiative led by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO).
The proposed underground repository is designed to permanently contain and isolate used nuclear fuel in a secure geological formation. Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation and the Township of Ignace have been selected as host communities for the project. The site is located approximately 21 kilometres southeast of Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation and 43 kilometres northwest of Ignace, Ontario, near Highway 17.
According to project materials, the repository would provide permanent storage for approximately 5.9 million bundles of used nuclear fuel. The full lifecycle of the project is expected to span roughly 160 years, including site preparation, construction, operations, closure, and long-term monitoring.
Integrated Federal Review
Major nuclear projects in Canada are subject to an integrated assessment process jointly led by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). This “one project, one review” approach is intended to streamline regulatory oversight while ensuring rigorous evaluation of environmental, health, social, economic, and Indigenous rights impacts.
Under this framework, IAAC oversees the impact assessment requirements under the Impact Assessment Act, while the CNSC regulates nuclear safety under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act. The CNSC will issue the initial site preparation licence and manage all subsequent nuclear licensing for the project’s duration.
The integrated assessment also includes a focus on potential impacts on Indigenous Peoples, including rights, land use, cultural practices, health, and socio-economic conditions. Where potential adverse effects are identified, the process is intended to identify mitigation measures to reduce or avoid harm.
Public Comment Period Now Open
The first public comment period for the project is currently open and will run until February 4, 2026. During this phase, the public is invited to provide feedback on the Summary of the Initial Project Description submitted by the NWMO. Submissions received during this period will inform IAAC’s summary of issues, which will guide the next stages of the impact assessment. All comments submitted become part of the public project record and are posted to the federal Impact Assessment Registry.
This plain-language summary is provided by ECO-STAR North and Art Borups Corners to support public engagement.
Disclaimer: The views and perspectives expressed in this article are solely those of the independent arts program led by ECO-STAR North and Art Borups Corners. They do not reflect the official positions of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) or the Government of Canada.
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