Peter Gorrie
Toronto Star
June 14, 2002

The province faces a long, tough slog – and court battles – over the nuclear power plan it announced yesterday.

Energy Minister Dwight Duncan appeared to skip nimbly over the issue of environmental assessments and other reviews of his decision to build or refurbish nuclear reactors able to generate up to 14,000 megawatts of electricity.

But even without opposition, the footing would be tricky.

And critics suggest they’ll do their best to trip him up.

The crucial issue, they say, is whether Duncan’s plan must undergo provincial environmental assessments, which allow debate on the need for new facilities and possible alternatives.

In his announcement, Duncan told Ontario Power Generation to prepare for assessments of individual refurbishment and new reactor projects.

But those reviews are apparently to be under federal law, and conducted by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. That process is generally far less stringent than provincial assessments, critics say.

The federal process "is regarded almost as a joke," says Mark Winfield, a Toronto-based analyst with the Pembina Institute, an energy think tank. "It’s window dressing. It mostly exists so they can say we had an environmental assessment."

It "doesn’t have court-like procedures that would allow it to get to the bottom of the truth," says Norm Rubin, of Energy Probe.

At hearings, environmentalists would raise issues such as the impact of uranium mining and smelting, spills and air emissions from reactors, the remote possibility of meltdowns and the unresolved – and most likely enormously costly – issue of disposing of radioactive spent fuel. They would also point out that previous reactors went billions of dollars over budget and have a worsening record for reliability, and that wind, solar, biomass, conservation and other options are better for the environment and the economy.

Federal assessments don’t include discussion of options. They look only at specific projects and how to deal with any immediate impacts. "They’re scoped very narrowly," Winfield says. "That’s why (Queen’s Park) is so enthusiastic about it."

Lawyers for environment groups argue the province must use the Ontario process unless it is willing to take the political heat for explicitly exempting a project. In an odd twist, they say, wind, solar and other less controversial power projects – not to mention routine constructions such as bridges and culverts – are subject to the tougher provincial review.

Queen’s Park insists the law is clear: "Nuclear projects are exclusively the domain of the federal process," says Anne O’Hagan, spokesperson for Environment Minister Laurel Broten.

The two sides also dispute whether the overall electricity supply plan –which includes nuclear, natural gas and renewable power, as well as conservation measures – must undergo an environmental assessment.

That plan, to be prepared by the Ontario Power Authority following Duncan’s direction, "is conceptual. … It reflects broad government policy direction," O’Hagan says. "That means it’s not subject" to an assessment.

"Our legal opinion is … it’s subject to the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act," Winfield says.

Apart from likely court challenges on those issues, Duncan faces other hurdles.

The Ontario Energy Board will review the supply plan. The board generally examines whether plans or projects follow government directives, and do so in a prudent, efficient way that protects consumers.

The board will take about a year to assess the plan. Since the power authority isn’t expected to produce it until early next year, the review won’t be done until after the next provincial election, set for October 2007.

A provincial environmental assessment would take at least two years.

Federal assessments also take a year or two. Refurbishment projects would likely go through a quicker process called screening. Rebuilds would be subject to a full review. The nuclear safety commission can recommend the federal environment minister call for a public hearing by an independent panel. But that decision, which would create further delays, is the minister’s.

The federal process doesn’t start until the safety commission receives a complete proposal for a project, including the site and the size and style of reactor, says spokesperson Sunni Locatelli. So, if more than one company bids to build a reactor, assessment can’t start until the choice is made.