Phase 2: preliminary environmental studies: township of White River and area, Ontario

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is implementing Adaptive Phased Management (APM) to plan for the long-term care of used nuclear fuel. The APM plan includes a site selection process for identifying an informed and willing host for a deep geological repository. The Township of White River, located in north-central Ontario, expressed interest in participating in the site selection process. The Phase 1 preliminary assessment provided high level descriptions of the biological and physical environment within the community and surrounding area which, along with geoscientific information, was used to evaluate the potential for a facility to be safely constructed and operated in the vicinity. Phase 2 preliminary environmental desktop assessments advanced information and updated the environmental data compiled for the potentially suitable areas based on new information and enhanced desktop studies. The intent of the desktop assessments was to identify and map known or potential ecological features, including ecological land classification (ELC) ecosites, candidate significant wildlife habitat, stream reach classification, and species at risk. This environmental information is useful in evaluating the overall potential to safely construct and operate the APM project in the area. The information is used as an input to the integrated assessment of the suitability of the areas of study for the project and to identify possible environmental risks associated with siting activities to avoid, mitigate, and/or monitor potential effects. Field verification studies were undertaken as part of Phase 2 in order to determine the accuracy of data collected through the described desktop assessment. Results suggest an overall rate of 80% accuracy of ELC data collected through desktop assessments. Stream reach classification was verified through field studies focusing on waterbody permanence (permanent or temporary) and stream morphology (shape, size, stream flow, etc.). This report serves as documentation of environmental investigations undertaken to date in the White River area, and includes a summary of Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies. (author)