INITIAL SCREENING FOR SITING A DEEP GEOLOGICAL REPOSITORY FOR CANADA'S USED NUCLEAR FUEL - English River First Nation, Saskatchewan

On September 13, 2010, the English River First Nation expressed interest in learning more about the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) site selection process to find an informed and willing community to host a deep geological repository for Canada’s used nuclear fuel (NWMO, 2010). This report summarizes the findings of an initial screening, conducted by Golder Associates Ltd., to evaluate the potential suitability of thirteen English River First Nation reserve areas against five screening criteria using readily available information. The purpose of the initial screening is to identify whether there are any obvious conditions that would exclude the English River First Nation from further consideration in the site selection process. The five initial screening criteria are defined in the site selection process document (NWMO, 2010) and relate to: having sufficient space to accommodate surface and underground facilities, being outside protected areas and heritage features, absence of known groundwater resources at repository depth, absence of known natural resources and avoiding known hydrogeologic and geologic conditions that would make an area or site unsuitable for hosting a deep geological repository.