Environmental Assessment Overview for New Build Reactors

Abstract

New build nuclear reactor projects are subject to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and require an environmental assessment likely by a Joint Review Panel under the authority of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. The environmental assessment is undertaken in a careful and precautionary manner to ensure the project does not cause significant adverse environmental effects and to identify mitigating measures. The paper gives a brief overview of this particular environmental assessment process for new build reactor projects and provides our perspective on how the proponent can improve the process efficiency.