Deliberating Together on Geological Repository Siting: Expectations and Challenges in the Czech Republic. Synthesis and International Perspective of the 9. Community Visit and National Workshop of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency Forum on Stakeholder Confidence (FSC) - Czech Republic, 24-26 October 2012

The 9. OECD Nuclear Energy Agency 'Forum on Stakeholder Confidence' Community Visit and National Workshop was held in Karlovy Vary, Chyse and Blatno in the Czech Republic in October 2012. Entitled 'Deliberating Together on Geological Repository Siting', the workshop focussed on the process for siting an installation for the final management of spent nuclear fuel, and the expectations and challenges raised by this process. Three themes were examined: developing confidence in a participatory process; local and regional partnership and added value; and expectations for safety assurance by national, local and regional authorities. The workshop was held under the patronage of the Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic. It was hosted by SURAO, the state-controlled Radioactive Waste Repository Authority, in cooperation with the pluralistic Working Group for Dialogue on the Site Selection Process for a Deep Geological Repository (including representatives from directly concerned municipalities and civil society, as well as from the national authorities, technical organisations; the group is chaired by a professor of sociology from the Czech Academy of Sciences). A large number of mayors and community representatives attended the full workshop. The international FSC contingent was made up of 49 delegates from 14 countries as well as the European Commission. Several citizens attended from municipalities across Europe, of which all had hosted FSC workshops in the past. For the first time in an FSC event, the Community Visit took the form of a public meeting. This was created as a neutral platform to enable debate about Czech and international siting experience. About one hundred residents of communities concerned by the Czech siting process attended this 2-hour meeting hosted by a mayor and chaired by the FSC Secretariat. A small panel of Czech stakeholders from both the national technical level and local civil society presented their positions and concerns. Then, local leaders from Belgium, Hungary and Sweden informed about how their home communities approach the potential hosting of radioactive waste management facilities, and answered questions from their Czech counterparts. The debate was concluded by the Chair of the Working Group for Dialogue. This public meeting enabled a rich expression of views and resulted in substantial learning on all sides. This 9. FSC Workshop also innovated with the final session addressing safety assurance. At the request of the Czech program committee, a broadly diverse panel was composed with representatives of authorities at national, local or regional levels, from the Czech Republic but also from the United States, the European Commission, and from European municipalities with nuclear facilities. The workshop closed with feedback and advice from a highly experienced field manager of large waste management and construction projects. The present document presents the Czech repository development situation as of October 2012. A synthesis of the full workshop is then provided. This includes summaries of all speeches, and the conclusions from the round tables in which Czech stakeholders and international visitors discussed the workshop themes. The public debate is also reported. Finally, an essay by the NEA Secretariat gives an international perspective on what was observed and learned during the FSC Czech Republic Workshop