HomeMy WebLinkAboutApril 3, 2017
Planning & Development
Committee Agenda
Monday, April 3, 2017
Council Chambers
7:00 pm
Chair: Councillor McLean
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905.420.4660 extension 2928
lroberts@pickering.ca
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-Cif;;oJ-
PJCKERJN
Report to
Planning & Development Committee
From:
Subject:
Kyle Bentley
Director, City Development & CBO
Pickering Nuclear Generating Station
Status of Activities
File: 0-5260-005
Recommendations:
Report Number: PLN 04-17
Date: April3, 2017
1. That Report PLN 04-17 of the Director, City Development & CBO regarding the
status of activities at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station be received for
information;
2. That staff continue to report to Council at strategic milestones during the extended
operations and retirement of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station; and
3. That a copy of Report PLN 04-17 be forwarded to the Region of Durham, the
Ministry of Energy, Ontario Power Generation, and Hydro One.
Executive Summary: In 2016, staff reported on activities underway respecting the
retirement of the Pickering Nuclear Generation Station (PNGS) and recommended that
staff continue to report to Council at strategic milestones leading up to the shutdown of
the PNGS. The purpose of this report is to follow up on the initial report and provide an
. update on activities related to the relicence renewal of the PNGS and the preparations
for the shutdown of the Pickering station.
There are five updates at this time. Firstly, in April 2017, a hearing will be held to
consider the renewal of the Pickering Waste Management Facility's licence to 2028, and
to hear Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) application to construct additional
processing and storage buildings to accommodate the used fuel that will be generated
by the shutdown of the Pickering station.
Secondly, in August 2017, OPG will submit a request to the Canadian Nuclear Safety
Commission (CNSC) for renewal of PNGS's current five year operating licence, which
expires on August 31, 2018. In accordance with the conditions of the current licence,
the licence renewal request will contain dates for the shutdown of the Pickering station
and information regarding extended operations and decommissioning.
Thirdly, the CNSC initiated a community outreach and engagement program earlier this
year. The program will continue into 2018.
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PLN 04-17
Subject: Pickering Nuclear Generating Station
Status of Activities
April 3, 2017
Page 2
Fourthly, OPG and industry safety partners are investigating improvements to the public
alerting systems and are preparing for a regional nuclear emergency exercise to take
place at PNGS in December 2017.
And lastly, the community engagement component of OPG's Repurposing Pickering
Study was completed with the release of the Preliminary Assessment Report in the
spring of 2016, and their Youth Engagement Workshops Report in May 2016. The
Preliminary Assessment Report identified the list of preferred repurposing options,
including land uses in the power, industrial, institutional, and recreational categories.
It is recommended that staff continue to monitor the various activities related to the
retirement of PNGS and report back to Council.
Financial Implications: No direct costs to the City are anticipated as a result of the
recommendations of this report.
1.0 Background
In February 2016, Report to Executive Committee PLN 02-16 provided an update
on the activities underway respecting the retirement of the Pickering Nuclear
Generation Station (PNGS). It also recommended that staff report to Council at
strategic milestones during the extended operations and retirement of the PNGS.
The purpose of this current report is to provide an update on activities related to
relicence renewal and the preparations for the shutdown of the Pickering station.
2.0 A licence renewal hearing for the.Pickering Waste Management Facility will
be held on April11 and 12, 2017
Ontario Power Generation (OPG) owns and operates the Pickering Waste
Management Facility (PWMF), which is located within the security protected area
of the Pickering station. The current ten year licence for the PWMF expires on
March 31, 2018. OPG has submitted an application to the Canadian Nuclear
Safety Commission (CNSC) to renew the Pickering waste facility operating
licence until August 2028. The CNSC will hold a public hearing to consider the
licence renewal request on April 11 and 12, 2017, in Ottawa.
Used nuclear fuel, resulting solely from the operation of the Pickering station, is
processed and securely stored on an interim basis at the Pickering waste facility.
In the long term, the waste is to be transferred to a future deep geological
repository proposed by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO).
Future used fuel resulting from the shutdown of the PNGS will also be stored at
the Pickering waste facility, on an interim basis, before transfer to the future
NWMO facility. The earliest that the NWMO facility may be available is in 2043.
Low level waste from the operation of the Pickering station is shipped to the
Western Waste Management Facility in Kincardine.
PLN 04-17 April 3, 2017
Subject: Pickering Nuclear Generating Station
Status of Activities Page 3
2.1 Additional facilities will be constructed in the Pickering Waste Management
Facility
Used nuclear fuel from the Pickering reactors is placed in wet storage pools
(located inside the Generating Station) to cool for a period of at least ten years.
Subsequently, the used fuel is processed and stored on site in Dry Storage
Containers (DSC) within the PWMF. Currently, the PWMF consists of one DSC
processing building, three DSC storage buildings, and the Retube Component
Storage Area. This Retube area stores the intermediate-level radioactive waste,
excluding the used nuclear fuel, resulting from the refurbishment of Pickering
reactor units 1 to 4.
OPG is seeking approval from the CNSC to construct additional facilities at the
Pickering waste facility, including a second DSC processing building and three
more DSC storage buildings. This will result in an increase in the capacity for the
processing and storage ·of used fuel. These additional facilities will allow the
processing and storage of all the used fuel generated by the shutdown and
decommissioning of the Pickering station. OPG's application to construct
additional buildings will also be considered at the upcoming public hearing into
the relicence renewal of the PWMF scheduled for April 11 and 12, 2017.
3.0 The Pickering Nuclear Generating Station's current licence expires in 2018
In 2010, the Province of Ontario announced that the shutdown of the PNGS be
planned for 2020. In January 2016, after technical work and investigations into
safely extending the life of the station, the Province announced that the operation
of the station will be extended to 2024. The extension was to ensure the
generation of electricity during the refurbishment of the Darlington and Bruce
nuclear plants.
In May 2016, OPG informed the CNSC of its intent to request a 10 year
Power Reactor Operating Licence for the period between September 1, 2018 and
August 31, 2028. PNGS's current five year operating licence expires on
August 31,2018. OPG's submission to the CNSC for licence renewal will be
made a year in advance, in August 2017.
CNSC has yet to announce the hearing dates. As required by conditions
attached to the current licence, the licence renewal request will contain
permanent shutdown dates, and extended operations and decommissioning
plans. OPG plans to operate until 2024. The licence term between 2024 and
2028 will allow for safe storage activities.
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PLN 04-17 April 3, 2017
Subject: Pickering Nuclear Generating Station
Status of Activities Page 4
4.0 The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has initiated a community
outreach and engagement program
The CNSC is an independent commission that regulates the use of nuclear
energy and materials to protect health, safety, security, and the environment.
The Commission has recently conducted public information sessions to provide
information to interested community members prior to upcoming relicensing hearings.
Earlier this year, on February 14, an information session was held at the
Pickering Recreation Complex in advance of the relicence renewal hearing for
the Pickering waste facility. Similar community outreach is planned by CNSC in
advance of the PNGS relicence renewal hearings.
5.0 Public alerting improvements are under consideration and an emergency
exercise is planned
The current practice during an emergency, is for the automated telephone dialing
system to deliver a pre-recorded warning message to residents and businesses ·
within a 1 0-kilometer radius from the PNGS. To supplement the current
telephone database, website self-registration will be made available in 2017
to the community.
OPG and federal partners are working to develop a cell broadcast system as a
possible future replacement for the existing automated telephone dialing system ..
Cell phones within or passing through an area would receive emergency
messages. The Durham Emergency Management Office, along with regional
municipal partners including Pickering Fire Services, have been involved in
limited field testing. The cell broadcast system requires Canadian Radio-
television and Telecommunications Commission approval.
In December 2017, OPG will host a Regional Nuclear Emergency Exercise at the
PNGS. Participants will include federal, regional, and municipal partners.
6.0 The community engagement component of Ontario Power Generation's
Repurposing Study is complete
In 2015, OPG initiated the Repurposing Pickering Study intended to gather
information and ideas from the community to develop a long-term strategy and
action plan for the repurposing of the OPG lands and water lots during and after
decommissioning of the PNGS. Guiding principles of the Study included ensuring
the reuse of the site continues to benefit both OPG and the surrounding
communities, is consistent with OPG's decommissioning and used fuel
management obligations, and that flexibility is retained for long-term uses once
decommissioning has been completed.