Role of a Project Description in an Environmental Assessment Report for a Nuclear Power Plant Project

Abstract

The environmental assessment (EA) process is a decision-making tool for gathering information regarding the natural environment (biophysical environment, i.e., air, water, land, plants, birds and mammals), as well as the social and economic environment. The purpose of an EA is to identify and understand the likely effects of proposed projects on these environments and to mitigate potential adverse environmental effects to help promote sustainable development. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act(1) is the legal basis for defining federal environmental assessments that are to be conducted by the Responsible Authority (RA), that is, the federal government department responsible for ensuring that an EA is conducted. The RA, which is the Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB) if the project deals with radioactive materials, determines which EA process applies and what the schedule will be for conducting the EA. Moreover, the RA administers the EA review process, co-ordinates review of the EA by other agencies, ensures that regulatory requirements are complied with, and decides on the acceptability of the EA. The AECB also determines the scope of the project and the factors to be considered in the assessment, and provides guidance to the proponent on how to structure the EA report to be submitted to the AECB for review and decision. The description of the proposed project is an essential part of every environmental assessment. This description includes an overview of the project, including its purpose; a description of the facilities and services at the proposed site; major project activities, including waste management systems; and the potential radiological and non-radiological emissions from such activities. An adequate description of the project is necessary in order to allow all potential environmental effects of the project to be identified. Such a description has recently been written as part of a draft environmental screening report for the Pickering A Return-to-Service (PARS) project. This paper describes a generic methodology for preparing a project description for environmental assessment of a CANDU 6 nuclear generating station (NGS). The methodology is similar to that used for PARS, but it is CANDU-6-specific and applies to a CANDU 6 NGS.