INITIAL SCREENING FOR SITING A DEEP GEOLOGICAL REPOSITORY FOR CANADA'S USED NUCLEAR FUEL - Northern Village of Pinehouse, Saskatchewan

On August 17, 2010, the Northern Village of Pinehouse, Saskatchewan and the Kineepik Métis Local 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 the Pinehouse area 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 Pinehouse area 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.