Dear Ms. Mcgee: During the Deep Geologic Repository (DGR) Joint

Home , Deep Geologic Repository

From: Thelen, John To: McGee, Kelly Cc: Howard, Don Subject: CNSC Staff Response to July 18, 2012 Joint Review Panel (JRP) Undertaking #2 Regarding the Northern Saskatchewan Environmental Quality Committee (EQC) Date: July 27, 2012 8:22:19 PM Attachments: All-EQC One Pager June 2012.pdf All-EQC Meeting June 20-21 2012.pdf

Dear Ms. McGee:

During the Deep Geologic Repository (DGR) Joint Review Panel (JRP) Technical Information Session held on July 18, 2012, the JRP requested that CNSC provide the JRP further information regarding the Northern Saskatchewan Environmental Quality Committee (EQC), including its mandate, role and functions. CNSC’s response to that request, identified as JRP Undertaking #2, is presented below.

The Northern Saskatchewan Environmental Quality Committee (EQC) was established in 1995 to link communities, the government and uranium mining companies. It is composed of people nominated by their community and was formed to act as bridge between these communities, the government and the uranium mining industry.

Specifically, the EQC enables northerners to learn more about uranium mining activities and to see the environmental protection measures being employed, and the socio-economic benefits. The EQC does not have any decision-making responsibilities, but is structured to provide a forum to ensure the concerns and recommendations of northerners regarding uranium development in northern Saskatchewan are heard and considered. The EQC has become a common intervenor at uranium mine and mill licence renewals, thus providing input into the decisions of Canadian regulators concerning uranium mining issues.

The EQC is currently made up of representatives from 32 municipal and First Nation communities in Northern Saskatchewan. The representatives are nominated by the community. There are on average 4 meetings per year, held in La Ronge. At these meetings the EQC invites the CNSC, Provincial Government, and uranium mine licensees to participate and provide technical presentations. The EQC also tours the active uranium mine sites on a yearly basis.

The EQC receives technical and organizational support from the Northern Mines Monitoring Secretariat (NMMS), an inter-ministerial committee chaired by Northern Affairs which is dedicated to informing northerners about Saskatchewan's uranium mining industry. The NMMS include members from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission as well as several provincial ministries which regulate and/or support the uranium industry.

Attached to this letter are two documents pertaining to a recent EQC meeting held June 20- 21, 2012 in La Ronge. These documents are an example of how the EQC disseminates information to northern municipal and First Nation communities. Further details regarding the EQC's mandate, role and functions can also be found online at the following website: http://www.fnmr.gov.sk.ca/nseqc.

Should you have any questions or require more information please feel free to contact me at (613) 947-2013.

Sincerely,

John Thelen Senior Project Officer Wastes and Decommissioning Division, CNSC

Northern MEETING Saskatchewan All-EQC Meeting La Ronge, June 20-21, 2012 ineteen EQC reps were at this meeting, wihch Roughrider deposit in the McClean Lake area as well as usual had a very full agenda. We turned as another good property at Russell Lake. They will be Nthings around this tume, putitng the round table studying the projects closely before making any pro- discussiuon at the beginning instead of the end. Topics duction decision; they also have to clear the hurdle of covered included the co-chairs visit to the NMMS being a foreign-owned company (British and Aus- meeting, the Key Lake site visit, financial assurance, li- tralian). They work to very high standards and insist censing, education and employment, hiring, and com- ther employees and contractors follow suit. munity benefits. Jeff Paterson of MOE explained how the new Envi- Alvin Yuen of the Ministry of Environment ronmental Code will work, replacing many outdated (MOE), by speaker-phone, explained why the province regulations under three provincial Acts. The province did not require an EA on the proposed expansion of the hopes to have the Code in place by this fall. JEB Tailings Management Facility (TMF) at McClean Bethany Haalbloom of the University of Lake. Essentially, he said, it was because it was an ex- Saskatchewan reported on her research into the way the pansion of an existing facility. Those present were gen- EQC communicates technical information. She was im- erally not satisfied with the answers. pressed with the high level of discussion at our meet- Site and activity updates ings, but had a few recommendations, including using AREVA’s Vincent Laniece explained the rational outside experts to help evaluate the information given behind the application to expand the JEB tailings man- by mining companies, more discussion about revenue- agement facility (TMF) at McClean Lake, and what the sharing, panel discussions and regional EQC meetings. plans were for it. He showed slides of what the area Kevin McCullum of MOE talked about the Boreal might look like after decommissioning. Watershed Initiative, which is putting together all kinds Naomi Stumborg, regulatory coordinator for of scientific information about the northern environ- AREVA, talked about the status of the JEB mill up- ment. Previous print data is being digitized into a data- grade as well as the Midwest and Cluff Lake projects. base, while field sampling is finding out if there are Glenn Lafleur of AREVA and Darwin Roy of environmental changes from industrial activities. Cameco updated reps on employment, training, schol- NORTEP student Taryn Ward presented her class arships and summer students at their respective compa- projet to the group. The topic was high-level radioac- nies and sites. As usual, they were asked for more tive waste storage, and Taryn presented it in a compre- detailed information. hensive, balanced and interesting way. Cameco site updates were given by Kevin Him- CAMA delegates beault (Key Lake), Mark Warbonski (McArthur The three delegates to the Canadian Aboriginal Min- River), and Robin Kusch (Millennium). erals Association’s annual conference in Toronto in No- Sarah Eaton, CNSC project officer for Cigar Lake, vember were selected, one from each subcommittee. explained what is happening at each site from the Simpson Naytowhow of Montreal Lake will represent CNSC’s perspective. She said the federal budget bill the South Central subcommittee; Mary Aubichon of will not change the day to day jobs for project officers. Pantuanak will represent the west side, and Sandra Introducing Rio Tinto Hansen of Stony Rapids will be the Athabasca repre- sentive. EQC manager Warren Kelly will accompany Jay Fredericks and Sharon Singh represented Rio them. Cameco and AREVA contribute to travel for the Tinto at the meeting. Rio recently purchased Hathor reps to this conference. Exploration, and now owns the highly prospective Northern Saskatchewan Environmental Quality Committee All-EQC Meeting Notes All-EQC June 20-21, 2012

In attendance: EQC: Carl Lentowicz, Gabrielle Fontaine, Norman Wolverine, Don Hovdebo, Art Laliberte, Charlie Denechezhe, Erin Carter, Simpson Naytowhow, Greg Merriman, Billy Joe Mercredi, Richard Bouvier, John Caswell. Mary Aubichon-Guetre, Conrad Misponas, Sam Roberts, France Richard, Nora Bear, Sandra Hansen, Felix, NMMS: Warren Kelly, Gill Gracie, Connie Hunter GR: Darren Thomas, Scott Boyes, Terri Franks, MOE: Alvin Yuen (by phone), Jeff Patterson, Kevin McCullum. AREVA: Glenn, Vero, Vincent, Greg Misfeldt, Richard Gladue PHU: David Sampson Cameco: Rob Friesen, Darwin Roy, Murray Lyons, Robin Kusch, Kevin Himbault, Dusty Rose, Rob Stanger, Mark Warbonski, Kristin Longpré, Rio Tinto: Sharon Singh, Jay Fredericks, U of S: Bethany Haalbloom CNSC: Sarah Eaton, Lacey Wallace NORTEP: Taryn Ward

Opening prayer: Billy Joe Mercredi Erin acknowledge EQC rep Edwin Boneleye, who is sick. Erin read the mandate and asked people to stick to it.

Motion: Mary Aubichon, seconded Carl Lentowicz, that our round table sessions be open to all. Carried

Opening Round Table NMMS Meeting: E. Carter: In May the co-chairs were invited to the NMMS meeting to clarify three motions made at the last meeting: 1) Letter to AREVA, copied to the CNSC, regarding the JEB TMF expansion. 2) To the province to ask why they’re not doing an EA on the JEB TMF expansion; 3) To government regulators them asking to attend all meetings. Key Lake Site Visit: S. Naytowhow reported on the Key Lake site visit, which was to see the latest things they are doing. It was a good tour, but no chance to see the mill. N. Wolverine: It’s good to meet with the people running the show. People at site are well-informed. I asked about the above-ground tailings again. They are storing contaminated material in there. I’d like to hear your feelings about it. They say every precaution will be taken; that was not the case when they started mining. Once those people are gone, what’s going to be there? That’s why I’m concerned. W. Kelly explained that Key Lake is being modernized and expanded into a regional mill. It’s lasting longer than they thought, and it will take ore from Millennium. They are resloping the west wall of the Deilmann tailings facility. At Rabbit Lake they will dig another tailings facility; McClean Lake wants to expand theirs up. We have old above-ground tailings sites at Key Lake and Rabbit Lake, but most are new TMFs. In the past, the EQC has pressed Key Lake to decommission the AGTMF or put it in another pit. They have a conceptual decommissioning plan, so we are pressing for a definitive schedule. Financial assurance: J. Caswell: Is there money put aside for decommissioning? W. Kelly: Before the 1 first ore comes out of the ground, they need Financial Assurance to make sure there’s money to pay for decommissioning. It’s the best thing I’ve seen – if other industries did it, we wouldn’t be left with stuff. The government regulators review it. It’s not just an imaginary figure. S. Eaton explained that money is kept aside as a bond. The amount is updated every license renewal. Some are in the hundreds of mil- lions of dollars. Cluff Lake is nearly decommissioned, but the financial assurance still sits in the bank and they can’t touch it. N. Wolverine: Every mining company throws in money so when it’s time to decommission, the money is there. Licensing: S. Eaton. Each mine has its own CNSC license and its own provincial approval to operate. W. Kelly: We have a federal and a provincial regulator. CNSC has a more formal licensing process, including public hearings where we often intervene, either written and/or in person. The province does not hold public hearings. We have done no interventions of late because no licenses are coming due this year except Beaverlodge. We are participating in good workshops. In 2013 some CNSC licenses are expiring so we will certainly intervene. Most of our work is now on Environmental Assessments, com- menting on EIS’s etc. Education & Employment: N.Wolverine: At McClean Lake, in response to a question, the mine manager said the level of Grade 12 in the north is not equivalent to the south. That offended me, but it’s true. What do we do about that? NORTEP teachers are all over the north now, yet the feedback is that the level is not good enough. C. Lentowicz added that a study showed Saskatchewan, Nunavut and Manitoba have a lower level of education. Grade 12s often have to take a prep course before they go into post-secondary. M. Aubichon suggested it’s up to the communities to hire qualified teachers. Many people can’t make it into post-secondary these days. It’s up to us as individuals to decide. If they can’t or won’t learn, there’s nothing we can do. Poor education hurts young people. N. Wolverine: A friend in Pinehouse without high education has been working at the mine for many years, and is ready to retire. What kind of jobs are we talking about – supervisory, hi tech, or ordinary mill workers, site service etc. You have to be specific. D. Hovdebo commented that jobs are much more mechanized now. C. Misponas: When we took guys to the mine site, when the company saw a person working, saw his work ethic, they took him. They are not following their mandate. N. Wolverine: We get reports from co-workers that some people have a poor work ethic and take off if something happens. The mine managers look at these things. Shaft safety: Billy Joe Mercredi: I worked with Eldorado underground in the 1960s; when I got to Cigar Lake and McClean it was good. Eldorado had a shaft outside the community. At Cigar, the buildings are so close together, the road so tight. I see safety issues. Could the mine do something about that? Is it safe to have a shaft right close to the buildings, particularly if it rains, during blasting etc. The shaft should be farther out. Hiring/community benefits: CanAlaska has an agreement with Black Lake for diamond drilling on the reserve; anything they find belongs 51% to the band. Are we getting anything out of Cameco and AREVA? We’re not being recognized. People are being hired from the west side – hardly anyone from the Athabasca is getting hired now. We used to have a plane full at Rabbit Lake. Why? I see 2-300 young kids waiting for welfare every time. Why are these kids not getting hired – because of drugs and alcohol? I have a grandson who needs a job. You can’t limit the blame to the mining companies – it’s not the way it used to be. Kids are lost now. My dad was never in school, yet he worked for the Hudson’s Bay Company for 45 years and was a well-known person. Why grade 12? I see a lot of grade 12s bumming for cigarettes. Norman Wolverine explained the discussion to Billy Joe in Dené.

JEB TMF Expansion: provincial rationale for not requiring an EA Alvin Yuen, Ministry of Environment, by phone. A lady from MOE was also on the line. The call was hard to hear and may not be completely or accurately reported. W. Kelly explained there are two concerns: that McClean Lake was deemed not to be a development, and the lack of consultation. A. Yuen explained that the Environmental Assessment Branch reviewed the project and made the judg- ment that since there were no unique or endangered features of the environment, it could be regulated by

2 existing acts and regulations. There were no potential environmental changes and no new technology, so there would be minimal impact on the environment. Alvin explained the six points of the evaluation process. Questions/Comments Don Hovdebo asked how the decision for no public input was made, since any change to tailings areas in Saskatchewan had some public input. The Act says public concern is a trigger for an assessment. How did you make the decision without discussing it with northerners? A. Yuen replied that even during the EA and the Approval to Construct, no public concern was indicated. The industry branch will look at duty to consult and there may be concerns during the construction side. Public input was completed during the initial assessment, during the Caribou EA, and as part of the TOVP. AREVA did public meetings advising of the project, and no questions were raised of major concern. Don noted the initial assessment was done 15 years ago. Did anyone from Assessment Branch attend public meetings? Alvin answered no. Don asked how they assess public concern if they’re not in the room? The Act requires public consultation. Saskatchewan Environment is supposed to regulate for the people of Sask. W. Kelly: When you make a decision that it’s not a development, you consider consultation to that point. There was no consultation at the point when you made the decision. A. Yuen replied that they sent the proposal to a technical panel from different ministries and branches, who identified no major concerns; all projects had been approved by industry branch. It’s a challenge to get the EA Branch to EQC meetings because of workload. About 23 provincial ministries and departments with expertise are captured in that technical group. S. Eaton: I’m not convinced CNSC is involved in every issue. Regardless of whether there’s an EA or not, there should be consultation on the project. S. Naytowhow asked for clarification on the meaning of development. W. Kelly explained that if a project is deemed a development, there must be a provincial assessment. They determined it was not, so there was no assessment. More discussion. F. McDonald: I thought we were supposed to be notified about any changes, expansions etc. W. Kelly responded that AREVA and Cameco are very good at giving information, but remember we’re an advisory body not a regulator.

AREVA Corporate Update - Naomi Stumborg, Regulatory Coordinator. PowerPoint McClean Lake is moving to a new CNSC license format similar to Blind River, Port Hope and the nuclear power plants. It will still expire in 2017. Midwest Project: The final EIS was submitted in September 2011 and was accepted by regulators. Public comments on the Comprehensive Study Report can be made until June 27. JEB Mill upgrade: Construction is planned to expand production capacity to 24 million pounds annually. Engineering started in January and will continue into next year. Construction will be staged over 2½ years; up to 100 people will be employed for construction. Regulatory approval is required by early 2013 to accommodate commissioning in anticipation of Cigar Lake ore later in the year. Tailings Management Facility Expansion – Vincent Laniece • AREVA will need additional capacity in the JRB TMF by 2016 or 2017 in order to keep the mill operating. A capacity of 5.5 million cubic metres (Mm3) is required over the next 30 years; current capacity is 2.6 Mm3, of which 1.8 Mm3 has been filled. • Vincent Laniece explained the proposed JEB TMF expansion project, selected as the best option from 27 potential options. This will involve building embankments to a maximum height of 18 metres on the current low side, lining the upper glacial till portion with an impervious layer of bentonite clay and crushed waste rock to prevent escape of the water cover or pore water into the environment. Tailings consolidate into a solid mass a few years after deposition, so no tailings will flow out into the environment. • Once full, the water cover would be removed and treated, and replaced with a rock and dirt cover,

3 contoured and revegetated to match the surrounding landscape . • The project description was submitted to regulators in August 2011, and was accepted by CNSC as the project-specific guidelines. Requests for information from the feds will be addressed by July. The province has determined that no further environmental assessment is required. The CNSC will con- duct a screening-level assessment. • Once approvals are received, anticipated in the third quarter of 2013, construction of the embankment would start in 2016 or 2017, taking up to four summers to complete. Questions/comments J. Caswell: Do you limit exposure time for people working on the tailings pond? Is there radiation from the tailings? V. Laniece: They are nuclear energy workers, so they wear dosimeters. They also wear a flotation device which shields them. Not much radiation comes out – mostly radon. They can stay on the barge for as long as they want without a significant dose. We also monitor for radon. W. Kelly: We think of in-pit tailings as newer and better than above-ground. This is a hybrid. I would like to be shown that your new design is as safe as in-pit and that regulators agree with that. D. Hovdebo: What’s a low-permeability natural liner? V. Laniece: Waste rock with bentonite clay. S. Roberts: How long would the tailings pond last without the expansion? V. Laniece: About 5-6 years. We need the increased capacity by 2016 – 2017. D. Hovdebo: Where does the water go out? V. Laniece: We catch groundwater before it goes in. Water pumped from the dewatering wells is very clean and we can use it for process water in the mill. This will reduce fresh water pumping. We still pump pore water from the bottom. S. Eaton: Where is the contaminated garbage stored? V. Laniece: On the old JEB special waste pile, in a lined location. Contaminated water is collected to the water treatment plant. Eventually it will put into the pit prior to covering it. S. Naytowhow: Explain the operating pond. V. Laniece: A water cover is maintained on top of the tailings. There’s a drain at the bottom. G. Misfeldt explained that the water cover will be removed and replaced with a soil cover during decommissioning. W. Kelly suggested that a standard expansion would involve digging out the perimeter, like at Rabbit Lake. We need to compare this proposal with horizontal expansion. If the CNSC requires an EA, they will need a technical look at alternatives. V. Laniece: Very good recom- mendation. John Caswell: The consultation and regulation process is working well, the plan is good. Are you feeling pressure from operations in other parts in world, where regulations are not as stringent, that it won’t be as economically feasible to proceed? V. Laniece: We’re part of the AREVA group, which has 50,000 employees worldwide. We have to comply with directives from the group. This tailings expansion goes through an expert review to make sure our technical approach is compliant with what AREVA wants. I don’t believe we apply different rules or standards in different countries. Cluff Lake Update – Naomi Stumborg • Naomi showed before and after photos of the Claude pit and the mill areas. Mining was from 1980- 2002; most decommissioning was done in 2004-6. Since then the site has been monitored with a small staff on site. AREVA is moving to campaign monitoring four times a year, starting this fall. There is no radiological hazard to casual visitors or for traditional use. • The airstrip will be closed; roads will remain open although not maintained. Potential hazards include open storm drains, unmarked open pits and steep slopes. Signs will be posted on high-risk areas. Camp buildings will be demolished in 2013 and 2014. The Shea Creek exploration group will have to relocate.

4 W. Kelly asked about implications for EQC access. N. Stumborg said they are working on logistics. W. Kelly: How long before you hand it back to the province? He noted this is the first mod- ern uranium mine/mill shut down – it was not designed for decommissioning the way the new ones are. N. Stumborg said quite a few years. We may do it in stages. S. Roberts: When you demolish the buildings, will you haul them out? N. Stumborg: Most will be buried in the landfill; we are applying to expand the landfill.

AREVA Northern Update: Glenn Lafleur • Glenn updated the group on the scholarship program; the deadline is 30th June. We’ve had a good response to the trades; trades trainees can apply for $2,500. We have 10 university scholarships for $5,000, and 10 institute scholarships for $5,000. • Donations are going as planned; we have lots of requests for funds. • We are working on recruiting. Because of upgrades and the mill expansion, we need a lot of person- nel. There are two administrative assistant positions open at the mine site, targetted for RSNs, as well as a recreation technician, a term plumber and pipefitters. • Pre-skills training program: we hired three or four graduates of this program. • Mill operator training program – a lot have been hired. • Hiring: We recently hired a student from the environmental science program at Northlands College. We will hire three trades helpers from an industrial mechanic course in Buffalo Narrows. Recently some northerners moved into supervisory positions. We have a strategy to recruit more Athabasca people and to use more community-based employment agencies to help us find good candidates, and we will continue working with leadership. • Tomorrow AREVA has a community celebration from 4-7 pm at the La Ronge office, to say thanks to La Ronge for being there for us. We’ll go to other communities too. • We will provide current resident employment stats. We are 41-42% northern right now, a good number for care and maintenance; senior management has mandated us to bring up northern numbers. We will have job fairs during our northern tour in October.

Cameco Northern Update – Darwin Roy Handout • From January to May we did 28 community visits. Donations totalled $359,848.55 as of May 30. • Projects include the Key Lake Extension, the Millennium mine, the Eagle Point Water Management Project at Rabbit Lake, Beaverlodge decommissioning, and operational updates. • Workforce development: as of April 30, Cameco had 1512 site employees, 763 RSN for 0.5%; 623 Aboriginal for 41.2%. Contractors had 1,478 site employees, 792 RSN (53.6%), 731 Aboriginal (49.5%). List of activities • 46 summer students, 32 RSN. Many are rehires from last summer, or scholarship recipients. The deadline is December. There’s a lot of competition from various employers. • Skills assessments have been done in six non-Athabasca communities; our community liaisons are trained to assess the Athabasca communities. • Scholarships total $100,000; June 30 is the deadline. • There will be a new underground mining intake. The last intake was 12 and we had 200 applicants from across the north, i.e. there’s high interest. There should be training as long as there’s the demand. • Pre-employment training skills: 12 completed the academic portion; Cameco provided nine work placements and hired one graduate. Several are continuing their education. • We are recruiting for four industrial mechanic and two electrical RSN apprentices at Key Lake.

5 Questions/Comments C. Denechezhe asked where to get scholarship forms. Darwin promised to deliver some to the meeting, or go to Cameco.com/northern.sk. M. Aubichon: You just read the handout to us. Your job is to inform us of other things. Our Northern Hamlet is an independent community, and we have asked for Cameco to come and present to us. My mayor brought this up. D. Roy asked what the hamlet would like him to report on, and why they didn’t go to the presentation on reserve. M. Aubichon: We don’t participate on reserve. Bill C31 people don’t go to general band meetings. I’d like to see how many people are actually employed, not including Tron Power. So much is going on, yet our people are afraid to bring this forward. Many people have worked with Cameco and contractors; they see safety issues that they won’t bring up. They are afraid of their supervisors or getting fired. D. Roy: It’s a difference in culture; we’ll talk about later if you want. In Wollaston we just do one session; La Ronge, LRIB and Air Ronge do separate ones. N. Wolverine: Do the liaison people have that information? It should be in the band office so students can look at it. D. Roy: Post this on your bulletin board. S. Naytowhow: Who’s the liaison for south part: D. Roy: Colleen Durocher. S. Roberts: Some of the training offered in our communities is not recognized in the mining industry, like simulator heavy equipment training. Some have applied for jobs but are not recognized because they have no hours. Do you have any say with contractors about recognizing those certificates? D. Roy: Each centre has its own HR hiring practices. I will follow up with MSSC and explore the simulator qualification issue S. Roberts: So in future training could we get contractors on board right away with a commitment to hire? D. Roy: I can’t promise jobs, but we are willing to discuss it. S. Hansen: Aren’t your contractors supposed to hire more northerners? Is there a sample contract available? D. Roy: They must hire northern people. If you want to learn more about pro- curement and how contractors hire, Daryl Burnouf could provide more information. The new issue of the Northern Saskatchewan Regional Training Needs Assessment Report is available on the KCDC or Northlands College website. W. Kelly will send out copies with the minutes. S. Naytowhow described how he communicates back to the community. He takes information from Opportunity North and other sources, updates it, summarizes and combines information into a package for leadership. He also asks to be on the council agenda.

Cameco Operations and Projects Update Key Lake Operation: Kevin Himbault, Manager, Safety Health, Environment, Quality • We produced a world record 19.9 million pounds of U3O8 last year. Kevin reported employment numbers. The new steam and oxygen plants are now operating; the acid plant is still in commissioning, a little behind schedule. We hope to be operational in July. • This summer we will clean up the large reservoirs to make sure we have storage capacity. Safe, healthy & rewarding workplace • We had one lost-time accident (LTA) and one Medicaid to May 31. Contractors have four years with no LTAs. Last December we achieved one million person-hours on the acid plant construction with no LTAs. • North American Occupational Safety & Health Week highlighted the importance of safety. • We preach the right to refuse unsafe work. Bring it to management or the OHS committee, so we can work together to address the concerns. Don’t do the job until we figure out a solution. • We brought home four trophies in the SMA Mine Rescue Competitions including first in proficiency, and second runner-up in practical skills. We’re proud of the team.

6 Clean Environment: •No reportable spills in 2012 to date. There are a lot of controls. We had activities for Environment Awareness week. • There have been five environmental incidents, including a backup of water in contaminated water lines under the mill terrace. The line to the reservoir has historical issues with sand etc. • The site laydown area has been cleaned up. A lot of old equipment and metal has been cleaned and taken off site. We will now start prepping for revegetation; we have stabilized some areas, and spread slash so it looks like a more natural burn area. • Enhanced recycling program – Loraas in Saskatoon takes mixed stuff and sorts it for us. Project Activities • Mill Services Project: Electrical substation upgrades – earthwork is done, lines trenched in. We expect an early 2013 completion. Earth works are started for the new calciner, completion expected in mid-2013. It’s electrically- fired with no combustion gases, and easier to clean. • Deilmann Slope Stabilization: Pinehouse Business North and Nuna will remove 2.1 million m3 of sand; work started 2-3 weeks ago. Safety is paramount, and there’s a lot of instrumentation so we know what’s going on. • Progressive reclamation is under way on the DNWRP, the David Creek remediation and general site reclamation. • The AGTMF is still used for contaminated waste disposal. We are looking at covering it in place, but we need to thaw some ice lenses. We will shift contaminated waste disposal to the smaller west cell, fill and contour the area for final reclamation. We will start the cover and test it about five years from now; it will take 10 years to get to the final stage of the west cell. We will talk about it more with communities, with conceptual models and artists’ drawings. • Key Lake Extension Project: This is to allow us to store more tailings (we have 5-6 years space left to the current assessed level), and to increase production to 25 million pounds annually. The draft EIS was submitted in April 2012. Questions/Comments M. Aubichon: I worked there so I know how it works. But today people are still afraid to bring things forward. K. Himbault said his door is always open. N. Wolverine: I hear rumours from Rabbit Lake that there may be a road built from McArthur to Cigar. K. Himbeault replied that the EA has been submitted to Saskatchewan Highways and is in process. W. Kelly: What about Millennium ore going to Rabbit Lake? K. Himbeault: I can’t speak to that. N. Wolverine: What are the plans for the ore haul from McArthur River to McClean? R. Gladue said it is now down to about three months. We started with a three-year project, reduced it to 6 months, now it’s down to 3. There will be two loaded and two empty trucks a day. If there are any options not to do it, we won’t do it. If Cigar says they’ll start production in September, we’ll start commissioning the mill in June. We may have enough ore on site. We’ll keep you posted. W. Kelly: Will this project add tailings capacity? K. Himbeault replied no; it will prevent losing tailings capacity from sloughing sand. We have areas for dump spots. We will be sorting sand – select quality goes into a pile and is taken to be used at McArthur River. M. Aubichon: What happens with the water in the monitoring ponds? K. Himbeault It will be recycled through the process and treated in the bulk neutralization process. Water treatment will be the last thing to go. Once it meets water quality guidelines, the reverse osmosis plant will be shut down, and a smaller treatment plant will treat waste and ground water on the north side of Deilmann for 15-20 years, then once it’s OK, it will also be shut down.

7 McArthur River – Mark Warbonski, Environment Dept. • Employment as of May 31 was 517, of which 192 were RSN. The site is busy with projects this summer. Camp capacity is almost exceeded – some workers had to stay at Key Lake. Safe, Healthy & Rewarding Workplace • We won the John T Ryan Award for the lowest safety incident frequency of all mines in Canada for the second year in row. Our mine rescue team was a runner-up in recent provincial competitions. Seven teams took part in an in-house mine rescue competition two weeks ago. • We have worked 10% more hours worked than last year because of expansion activities. We have one year lost-time-accident free while working two million man-hours. The Occupational Health & Safety recordable incident rate is trending down. Clean Environment • In 2012 we have had no reportable spills and no reportable incidents. We achieved a 94% reduction in Mo – the site target is 85%. • We upgraded the contingency dewatering system and fused secondarily contained lines. • We carried out a far-field sampling program, and did some hydro seeding last summer. Construction • The camp expansion will add 230 rooms; the trailer sections were assembled throughout the winter. The exterior shell is complete; mechanical and electrical work is in progress; completion is expected in September. Snake Lake and Pinehouse Business North are doing a good job. Kitchen expansion: the shell is constructed and interior work started, the floor poured. This will double the size of the existing kitchen. Sewage lagoon construction is in the commissioning stage. Capacity was doubled. The potable water plant expansion will be commissioned in mid-July; we will then have potable water in the admin building. Earth works for the MRX and electrical substation are under way by Snake Lake and Johnson. Dirt was removed from hillsides to make room. The North expansion construction includes Shaft 4, a headframe, electricity, clean water, waste rock, and freezing capacity, to access new orebodies there. We want to increase production from 18 to 24 million pounds. This will mean one more truck per day on average. • Surface lease: No changes. The immediate site covers four sq. km. There may be new disturbance within the lease. There is 35 years of mine life as known.

Questions/Comments S. Roberts: Within the surface lease, do you require permits for new projects? Mark replied that if the work is permit-dependent, you need approvals. For an expansion like this we must do a whole EA. We need approvals because it changes the scope of what we’re doing. S. Roberts: to Darwin: The companies give money to the province; does anyone monitor what goes to the highways? D. Roy responded that we don’t monitor it annually but we have liaison with government at the corporate office who might have access. R. Gladue said AREVA keeps track, but he’s not sure if it’s public knowledge. We don’t monitor what the government spends. V. Larlham said the amount we give is public, but the specific amount by department is not. She will ask about that. W. Kelly: It’s hard to find out what government does with that money – it goes into general revenue. I could not get an answer from government. S. Boyes suggested asking the area transportation committees. S. Roberts said he has asked highways and they couldn’t answer either. Some NRT own- ers are asking for more money to go to the roads because of wear and tear on vehicles. They ask questions about where the money is going.

Millennium Project Robin Kusch, EA coordinator for the project. PowerPoint • This will be an underground mine, smaller and lower-grade than Cigar Lake or McArthur River. It will involve five years of construction, and 5-10 years production life. It is 36 km north of Key Lake. A new 21-km site access road will be required. There will be two shafts, a clean waste rock pile, ore

8 storage, a mine water treatment facility, a treated mine water discharge structure in Moon Lake; a water intake in Slush Lake, and a potable water treatment plant. We will not have a mill or a long- term problematic waste storage. • The workforce will peak at 100 for construction, and about 135 for operations. • There will be four phases, with a federal license required at the start of each phase and throughout the life of the project. First will come a surface lease agreement. • We will need permits to release treated mine water and for potable water supply activities. • After decommissioning there will be only a clean rock pile left, contoured and revegetated. 2012 activities • Cameco recently purchased AREVA’s share, giving it 70%; JCU has the other 30%. • We will complete the ore characterization and draft the EIS. We will identify resources and wildlife in the area. There will be ongoing community engagement. The EA draft will be submitted in late June or early July, and will go out for public review and comment. We expect final approval by Feb. 2013, and construction will begin in the fourth quarter of 2014. Production will start in 2019-2020.

Questions/Comments W. Kelly: Will higher-grade ore stored on surface be outside or under cover? Rob Stanger responded that if it was under cover it would need ventilation. We have assessed ore piles with high- grade components and it’s OK to store them outside, or blend them underground. J. Caswell: What is the purpose of downgrading ore for transport? Rob Stanger explained that federal regulations limit the grade to 2.38%. S. Eaton added that some of the sites use special containers to transport high grade; here they will use normal trucks to transport it. W. Kelly: The EQC previously suggested Cameco consider Slush Lake for discharge. Further studies showed that the life cycle risk assessment identified that Moon Lake is still the best location. There will be a Millennium meeting in La Ronge in late July, with detailed results of the EA and ERA as well as the physical effects. N. Wolverine: We need a second opinion from an independent expert about releasing water to Moon Lake rather than Slush Lake. R. Kusch explained the rationale for the decision. Is the problem that we haven’t communicated, or you’re questioning the science? It’s hard to identify anyone outside Cameco who could evaluate it without all the modeling. We build a model, then project the effects of the project. They would need access to our model, and it would take a long time to analyze. W. Kelly commented that the precedent is A Zone, where Hatchet Lake asked for an independent con- sultant evaluation. Discussion. N. Wolverine: Maybe we should do it ourselves. S. Eaton indicated there may be funding from both CNSC and CEAA to do this. W. Kelly said the EQC is not eligi- ble for participant funding. M. Aubichon: What does the local land user say? R. Kusch: We meet with Bobby John regularly and provide the information he asks for. We have had no feedback. He uses Moon Lake once a year for 10 days. He has two cabins on different lakes in the regional study area.

CNSC Update – Sarah Eaton, Project Officer, Cigar Lake Our mandate is safety for the public, the environment and the workers. McArthur River: Three action notices were issued. An administrative amendment was made to the licence to reflect surface lease changes. The surface lease is used to reference the location. There were ongoing reviews of environment and radiation reports. Relicensing is due in 2013. Key Lake: Tom Gates is the project officer. One inspection is complete, three more are planned. Two action notices were issued. Rabbit Lake: Six action notices were issued; there were two technical reviews, on the reverse osmosis plant and the TMF Expansion. We also reviewed safety reports. McClean Lake has been shut down since July 2010. The ore haul review is complete. The Midwest

9 study is out for public review. The TMF expansion and the JEB mill expansion are currently under review. Cigar Lake: There was one inspection last week, and two more are planned. The license application to operate is expected in early 2013. Proposed projects: Millennium: we expect the draft EIS shortly. Sarah explained about Kiggavik in Nunavut and Matoush in northern Quebec, which could be the next new uranium mines outside Saskatchewan. The federal budget bill has passed second reading. Implications for CNSC are still unclear, but day- to-day jobs will stay the same, and technical reviews will continue as usual. We will be able to impose fines for non-compliance –up to $25,000 for an individual and $100,000 for a business. The 24-month timelines mean working months, not calendar months; the clock stops if more information is required. This does not include consultation on EAs or technical reviews. Panels are no longer required. CNSC continues with duty to consult requirements. We have a compliance team to focus on compliance and do independent inspections. We will review compliance reports monthly/annually and there will be an annual compliance report. There is also additional support for project officers. License Reform: Licenses will be shorter and clearer. A License Conditions Handbook will contain details on license conditions and clear criteria about what the licensee must do and what compliance will be measured against. I will bring it to the next meeting. Providing Information to the Public: Contact me if you need scientific or regulatory information. Our website has an interactive section on how we regulate uranium mining. It’s easy to understand, designed for many reading levels and ages. I will show it to you for your input on how to make it better. We do vigorous technical reviews; we have a strong technical team. We are working on one-page fact sheets to get true nuclear information into high schools. Questions/Comments: N. Wolverine: Do you have any run-ins with Saskatchewan regulators? S. Eaton: There’s a harmonized agreement with Saskatchewan. On the project officer level, we share inspection reports, and have a strong working relationship with Environment and Labour. S. Boyes: The federal budget said the federal EA process would be streamlined. Is there any move to further harmonization? S. Eaton: There are a lot more decisions to be made, such as what will we require in an EA etc. I would be speculating otherwise. S. Naytowhow: Do you do inspections on pre-development projects such as nuclear waste storage facilities? S. Eaton: We do. Before a project, there are consultations or public engagement. Once a site is selected would licence it. Sarah explained the stages of licensing. Ottawa is monitoring activities, but until there’s a site we do not participate. M. Aubichon: What if we say we don’t want nuclear waste storage? In only 10 people are consulted . . . S. Eaton: That’s a social license. CNSC’s mandate is about safety. There are also provincial requirements for many projects. Discussion. N. Wolverine: You should bring in someone from CNSC to explain radiation to people in our community; they have questions that I can’t answer.

Rio Tinto Introduction Jay Fredericks, Director, External Relations • Jay introduced the newest player in the uranium game, an international company operating in 50 countries which produces iron, aluminum, coal, copper, potash, and uranium worldwide. They recently bought Hathor Exploration, giving them six exploration properties in the Athabasca basin, including Roughrider, Russell Lake and a joint venture at Red Willow. They have offices in Saskatoon and 10 Regina. • The company has a strong commitment to safety, and contractors and visitors are expected to operate to the same standards. Last winter they found drill rigs did not have all the safety measures, so they delayed the program until the company got properly equipped. • Roughrider is the advanced property. It is close to infrastructure – 7-8 km from Points North, 3-4 km from Midwest, 11km from McClean, 25 km from Rabbit Lake, and has potential for expansion. Russell Lake is in the centre of major deposits in the basin, and on a major unexplored geological trend. Near-term objectives: • We will complete an Order of Magnitude study on the Roughrider project to confirm its feasibility. We will try to increase the resource estimate and are already collecting environmental baseline information. We will drill close to 69 holes over the coming year to further understand the geology and hydrogeology • We have started introducing ourselves to nearby communities, to get a feeling of how the communities wish to be consulted. Our framework for community engagement: we prefer business enterprise and self-determination over subsidies and donations. We want communities to benefit in the long run. • A publication – The Way we Work – was distributed.

Questions/Comments W. Kelly: Does Team Drilling meet provincial standards? J. Fredericks: They didn’t, but they operated safely for Hathor. Rio Tinto operates to a higher standard than the province regulates. S. Hansen: Will you use an existing mill ? J. Fredericks: There’s no decision yet; we’re still in the exploration stage and all options are on the table. Toll milling is an option, but we have not yet discussed the capacities or possibilities. We also may develop a stand-alone mill. N. Wolverine: Is it a joint venture? J. Fredericks: Hathor owned 100% of its properties, except for a majority joint venture on Henday. Rio Tinto tends to develop as a 100% owner. We are involved in some joint ventures, but Roughrider is 100% so there’s no need to joint venture. N. Wolverine: So you go to local communities to learn more about the area? J. Fredericks: We try to start community engagement before a mine decision is even made, find out what peoples’ thoughts and needs are. Rio Tinto had a lot of questions about Hathor’s activities in the region and how well respected it was as part of the decision to enter the bidding war. W. Kelly: If you get to the EA stage, will you assess the cumulative effects? J. Fredericks: Cumulative effects are an important part of the EA. When we look at potential discharge sites, one on Collins Creek is already involved in a number of operations so cumulative effects will come into play. S. Naytowhow: What do you mean by internal approvals? J. Fredericks: The project must meet a certain standard before Rio Tinto will proceed with it. He explained why it would not proceed 1) the project can’t get to the resource size needed; 2) hydro/geotechnical issues 3) the federal non-resident ownership policy. (Rio Tinto is based in London and Australia, and is not considered a Canadian company. The federal government may be looking at changes to the policy). Also, will we need an underground exploration program prior to mine development, or can we go straight into the approval process? At the moment there are a lot of options. The Order of Magnitude study will help us prioritize these options, and perhaps remove some. W. Kelly: Would the fourth requirement be a social license? J. Fredericks: definitely. S. Singh said this will be a part of the Order of Magnitude study. S. Hansen: Another mill would be an issue for the communities – there are several already, why another one? J. Fredericks: We would look at current or planned capacity at the other mills; what tailings capacity is available; are there other options for new tailings capacity, and other factors. S. Hansen: Where do people send their resumes for drilling? J. Fredericks: To Team Drilling. Some are already employed from the Athabasca Basin. Rio Tinto also hired a few people in our camps. S. Naytowhow: When you begin mine development, what financial assurances will there be? 11 J. Fredericks: It’s a requirement of the government of Saskatchewan and the CNSC that full financial assurances are in place to cover the cost of decommissioning and reclamation of the site. As part of the approval to develop, we would have to provide costed decommissioning plans; these would be reviewed and adjusted by regulators. We would put a financial guarantee in place before we start turning soil.

Saskatchewan Environmental Code – Jeff Paterson, Technical Resources • Why a Code? In 2008 we realized there was a lot more activity, we had a smaller workforce and were losing critical skills in government. The province has moved to results-based regulation, which means that many previous regulations can be repealed and their provisions include in a provincial Environmental Code. The changes also add two sections to the Ministry of Environment: Technical resources (which Kevin McCullum heads) and a Client Services office. We hope to implement the Code this fall. • There will be a four-step process: reporting, assessment, corrective action, closure. If there’s no adverse effect, there are no requirements to clean up. The Code will often kick in if a site is sold, because they need MOE closure on the site. • The Code provides clear directions and reduces duplication. It provides options to achieve compliance. For low to medium-risk projects we will get rid of permits, although there are still requirements. We hope it will provide routine delivery of environmental protection. Some activities will still need approvals and licenses. • A Code Development Committee and eight content committees developed the Code and its technical requirements. There is also a Qualified Person advisory committee. They are all managed by the Code Secretariat. The Code has 20 chapters in five divisions; there will be future chapters. • Any change in the Code must go through cabinet (originally the minister). • Contact [email protected] or 306-787-2323

Questions/Comments S. Boyes: You said you hope do away with permit requirements. Please give examples. J. Paterson: The 20 chapters were old permits which will not be issued any more. Not a lot applies to mining, just old environment spill stuff. For storing hazardous substances they can just follow the code. S. Eaton: What if your Qualified Person screws up? For example, if there’s a large spill and they’re not really qualified. J. Paterson: We rely on professional associations for discipline; they can impose penalties. We hold the proponent accountable. What about transfer of ownership? J. Paterson: We would go after the buyer. A site assessment and cleanup/monitoring plan must be done before we sign off on the transfer. W. Kelly: How does this impact the uranium industry? J. Paterson: Bits of the comprehensive permit will go into the code. Because of the risk and public perception, we would not codify a lot of those permits. D. Hovdebo added that hazardous storage is already part of the approval to operate; it could be removed and follow the code. N. Wolverine: How does this apply to reserves? J. Paterson: It does not apply on federal lands. S. Roberts: What’s the process for decommissioning landfills and lagoons? I know there’s some discharge onto the land. J. Paterson: They would need to state corrective action. There are many ways of cleaning up a site. With a landfill it takes longer. We would monitor it for 10-30 years. We would fill and monitor a lagoon using piezometers to monitor seepage. S. Roberts: We got a letter from the provincial government in January saying they had formed an Aboriginal committee to work with provincial code changes; we were not contact- ed. Were aboriginal people consulted at all? I’m concerned that there’s no aboriginal involvement in the code changes. It’s another thing that’s slipped by us. It seems to be a trend. J. Paterson: In late January and early February we held public meetings in Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert. Part of the Aboriginal Affairs branch looked at a First Nations and Métis advisory committee; the inaugural meeting was a couple of months ago to see if there was interest in creating the committee. 12 Jennifer McKillop is leading the setup. We had Vice Chief Don Deranger of PAGC and Robert Lafontaine of MNS. N. Wolverine: I went to one of the PA sessions, and it was not well discussed. I have concern about First Nations consultation. The way mining is handled today, a lot of things are skipped. There are no conservation officers in the north, and we have environmental concerns. If you’re not consulting First Nations, you get no knowledge of the north. J. Paterson: That’s why that committee was looked at. It would be broader than the code; it would be for a lot of environmental decisions being made by the ministry. S. Roberts: If you do form a committee, is there a possibility of revisiting the code? J. Paterson: It can be updated quickly. I will get you in contact with them. S. Hansen: When a person has an existing licence or permit for storing fuel – if they don’t follow the provincial code they must upgrade their tanks and clean up; if they don’t they can lose their licence. What if they put in new tanks but don’t clean up? In my community the tanks were above ground, close to the shoreline; we could see the flames coming out when they were digging. I called Environment in Stony and they said the land not is contaminated. Small communities are left out and they walk all over us. It has to stop. If Environment is on top of the codes, they should be on top of the work, all the time. J. Paterson: They could lose their permit and then have to clean up the site. If they replace underground tanks they have to monitor and make sure contamination is not going anywhere. It’s not in the Code yet, but if it’s causing adverse effects, there is a requirement to clean that up. W. Kelly commented that things don’t work perfectly in the north, and conservation officers have been cut back. N. Wolverine: Mining companies have tailings – they put contaminated stuff right over the tailings and are getting away with it. So if you have money for later, you can do what you want? J. Paterson: Tailings are monitored. S. Eaton: There’s vigorous oversight on uranium mining. It is approved by the province and CNSC. S. Singh asked about greenhouse gas reduction targets, and what happens if they’re not met. J. Paterson: The target is a 20% reduction on 2006 levels by 2020. If not, they have to pay into a technology fund. S. Naytowhow: Does this apply in a federal park? J. Paterson: No. N. Wolverine: Does forest fire smoke count as a greenhouse gas? A lot of issues in the north are not affected by the code, it seems. J. Paterson: Just industrial activities, ones we can control. W. Kelly: The Code will probably not have a big effect on the uranium industry.

Putting Science, Information & Communication in Context Bethany Haalbloom, Indigenous Land Management Institute, U of S Bethany presented the preliminary results of her research into the environmental governance of mining. Since the 1970s there’s been a move to more democratic institutional participation in environmental management. That’s what the EQC represents. She described her research methods. The challenge is to raise the northern public’s level of understanding. You are receiving environmental, technical, socio-economic information – are you able to question, challenge and debate technical aspects? Key themes were the number of people talking, the number of topics talked about, and the amount of text devoted to it. I found some of you are experts yourselves, working in industry, consulting, length of time on EQC, community-based experiences with mining companies; you are informing each other. I saw a high-level discussion. You have a lot of social issues of social justice, moral and ethical assessments of information, alternate visions of environment. Personal experience is important. It’s not just about communication; it’s about putting it in context. She explained the difference between a cultural model of risk and a technical model of risk.

13 Quotes: “I see a lot of distrust, partly because of the awareness of economic benefits”. “How much do they cover up’? “How much goes to government”? “What are we getting”? I heard that people just give us information, and we have information fatigue. There’s a perceived uneven distribution of benefits. You’re saying the companies take these risks at our cost, and all we get is a few jobs . . . Environmental context: There’s distrust in spill reporting; you’d like to see third party environmental monitoring; risk assessments are based on assumptions and personal experience. You have exploration companies coming in and you don’t know who they are. You said you still use the land for subsistence and it means a lot to you. You feel government doesn’t care about your geographical region. Conclusions I’m impressed that you feel free to express yourself about technical information and social issues. I feel the social justice issue is really important for other information you’re getting here, and it influences how you assess the risk. Information and communication can’t be taken out of the social context. Recommendations: Invite independent experts so you can question them, instead of getting the same updates over and over. Get information in advance so you can focus on certain issues. Have experts sit on a panel and you be the jury, then make recommendations as a group. More revenue sharing discussions - there’s potential for exchange with NWT groups. Regional EQC meetings, given that the community experience is so important. Have industry and government talk to you in those spaces. You have the opportunity to bring regional perspectives together for collective information. It’s not just one community focusing on one company or project.

Questions/Comments S. Singh, Rio Tinto: How long was the study? B. Halbloom said it started in December 2010 by sitting in on meetings. I met with Warren the previous summer. S. Eaton: The group has been meeting for a number of years – did you see any other posi- tives? B. Haalbloom: I wondered about the need for outside experts. I’m impressed by how people feel they can speak openly; it’s really progressive and positive. The fact you’ve been going for so long is good – people are still coming and engaging. Where does the information go? B. Haalbloom To conferences in an anonymous and confidential form. I will publish it as a paper. We don’t know much about community involvement in mining; this is one of the few. The important thing is you’ve been operating for so long, it’s pretty unique, and on a regional scale. It needs to be talked about more. S. Singh, Rio Tinto: Have you looked at South Africa and the NWT? B. Haalbloom I looked at an overview of the NWT. C. Lentowicz: What influences did you see in the Territories? Bethany responded that she was just reading what has been done. W. Kelly: Some of the diamond mines have travelled here, some of ours up there – they have three separate boards but have not been able to get together. M. Aubichon: Who benefits from this research besides yourself? B. Haalbloom: I’m trying to bring improved awareness in this committee. I can’t control what happens to my study afterwards. N. Wolverine: First Nations people in northern Saskatchewan have connections to the land that no one in the south seems to understand. Each geographical region is unique – Dené, Woodland Cree; the boreal regions have looked after them and they after it. Which company or government recognizes that? Traditional use comes at the end of whatever they see. There are economic benefits to Saskatchewan, but what are we getting? In 15 years nothing has changed – we continue to get information. J. Caswell: Certain people have roots in the north but we need to communicate that broader than the north. You’re from an academic background; how do you communicate to us –

14 we’re not a thesis committee. How do we get that connection to land implemented on these other companies coming in, and have a really living relationship? How do we make that work for people here, as well as for people trying to improve the world through technology? People here are speaking from the heart; we have to challene the companies to come down to heart level. N. Wolverine: I respect other peoples’ cultures, that’s how we were taught. If someone from the Ukraine comes and does things the way they do back home, I respect that. But when we do things, a lot of the time I can see mockery in their faces. To understand the Dené relationship with the land, we have to recognize that our world view is typically more holistic than western science. It’s difficult for white society to understand how integrated the aspects of the environment are. When I talk about our ties to the land, how many people understand the way it is? I try to teach the mining companies but they’re only there for one thing, business. Once they get a paper saying can do it, our culture’s forgotten. I’m not mad at industry; I like working with industry as long as they respect my culture. When we say we don’t get anything, it’s true in a sense. We have a concern about our culture; we are told to bring concerns, so let’s talk about it, not just say we will. S. Hansen: It’s true about the research that’s been done, we’ve been dealing with it for years. An elder told me to ask how many animals have returned to the reclaimed land. He said once the land has been taken apart, the animals never go back. As traditional people, we have that sense of feeling of our land, our water – we live off it, eat wildlife – we know when there’s something wrong with the water when fish are not moving as much; we live off caribou. When the land is destroyed, our people will suffer. That elder knows – he’s the book, the library for our traditional land. We need to go to higher levels of government and company representatives. S. Roberts: Did you talk to the mining industry at all? Bethany replied that that would be another area of research. M. Aubichon: A lady asked a question about spills yet it was shuffled to “not my department”. In my two years here, nothing has been answered directly yet. We need to bring every- body on; we need to find the answers. Many presentations repeat, yet nothing gets answered. We need something different to grow and flourish. We need a dialogue. B. Haalbloom That’s why I suggested a focus deliberative panel – extended dialogue on a particular issue. S. Boyes suggested if you have an issue before the meeting, let Warren know so he can invite the right expert . Some questions are directed at the wrong person.

Boreal Watershed Initiative – Kevin McCullum, Technical Resources Unit, MOE The five-year program started last year, following after the old CEM program and Northwest project. .We are working in coordination with other ministries to try and break down silos. We pulled together the environmental history we had from CEM, industrial data, spot data throughout the ministry, the 262 EISs done since 1975 to determine an environmental baseline. We are digi- tizing the information, and the plan is to fill the gaps. Goals Assess the current state of the environment for the entire north and measure changes to key environmental components. Work with partners to help deliver programs. Evaluate the environment’s responses to stressors – often multiple – and tie them together rather than deal with them in isolation. Are there places on the map where we don’t have species because of industrial activity? Lake sampling/lake sediment sampling started in 2007 to assess acidification. We are teaming with Environment Canada to continue monitoring. There is a low acid neutralization capacity in the basin; this is a concern. We can read history using lake sediment coring, called paleoecological sampling. Only 20 lakes have been cored so far. We are looking at biota as well as metals. It takes a 15 year and a half to date a core. Corings from trees can determine air quality from years ago. For the aquatic ecosystem we use satellite data to determine air and water quality. Satellite sig- nals are matched with field samples. This works well with larger lakes. Benthic invertebrates: We did two tests in 2006, one in the Prince Albert area and the other in the Oilsands Quest area. We are working with companies in Germany, Norway and some universities on new equipment that shows smaller areas. Wet and dry deposition: We are taking samples from Pelican Narrows to Weyburn. There are two sites going into Island Falls, and a supersite in the middle of the province which will have every piece of monitoring equipment known. Further south, this is part of the North American Acid Deposition program. Wet deposition is airborne; we can backtrack to the source. Dry deposition is dust. Soil quality: we are seeing metals movement on the west side, not sure what carries it. In 2011 we did 110 sites, three samples in each sub-ecozone. Another 100 sites will be done this year in partnership with Environment Canada. The Eastern Athabasca Regulatory Monitoring Program – Kevin showed a map of reference and impact sites. CanNorth is doing the samples; the report is due the end of July. It’s a partnership of government, Cameco and AREVA. There are smaller studies, like a snowpack study, to find out what’s happening. For traditional knowledge, Donna Rae Pacquette is asking people what changes they’ve seen during their years on the land. This year we are partnering with schools, the U of S, and other agencies to bring water sampling programs to northern schools. We will also do one or two proper lab samples. Questions and Comments S. Hansen: Why is there no sampling on Lake Athabasca – you’re looking at an area with no mining. K. McCullum agreed that we have seven samples from lake Athabasca since 1972. It’s a serious gap. W. Kelly: Will you be correlating data with uranium company data? M. Aubichon: If you’re partnering with the uranium companies, it’s not so independent. K. McCullum: If you’re open and transparent, anyone can look at the data. Unless you’re transparent, you could be hiding something. M. Aubichon: Have you found any contaminated areas yet? All we get is data – but what have you done to clear the mercury out of there? K. McCullum: I’ve seen the data myself. We pulled 3,000 climate stations, found one area of interest and asked the industrial branch to follow up. We have identified a mercury source, but it happened 10 years ago. M. Aubichon: Government does some sampling – yet we have traditional people that know things are happening. Bring in an independent person. We have health issues - psoriasis, cancer, asthma – because we live off the land. K. McCullum: I sit on the health biomonitoring committee. If we find something, we need to find out where it comes from. We are seriously looking at these things to find the issues and identify the source. M. Aubichon: What about mercury levels? K. McCullum: Without enough soil samples we can’t determine the source. S. Eaton: What’s the follow-up on the Alberta Study? K. McCullum: People will hear about it; plans are afoot to take it to communities, but there’s no plan yet. J. Fredericks: When might the database go public? Data is a valuable tool. K. McCullum: We are struggling with that, whether to put it out piecemeal or wait until it’s complete. D. Hovdebo: If Mary and I wanted to look at data in a specific area, can we access it? K. McCullum: Yes. R. Turkheim: When all the data is pulled together and available, is it warranted by government to be correct? Can a company, a mayor, a researcher, rely on that data as a basis for

16 action? K. McCullum: It depends how you analyze it, but yes. D. Hovdebo commented that it might depend on the source – we would have to make a professional decision on whether it’s credible or not. Never accept anyone else’s data at face value, because if five years later it’s wrong . . . R. Turkheim: As time and technology march on, we will know greater truths in future than we understood five years ago. This database is a wonderful lab for that. K. McCullum agreed, saying air data used to reported be in parts per million, and is now in parts per trillion. M. Aubichon: I have a problem with sampling. 70 years ago, nobody knows what the environment was. All of a sudden you do your testing and it was there. K. McCullum: We are asking people that lived there what has changed. Also we look at sediments and tree coring. In the NWT we go by difference in ice thickness – it makes a difference to people who have ice roads. N. Wolverine: The Beaver River flows into the Churchill and we don’t know what’s coming down. We need sampling at the entry point to the Churchill. What’s the possibility of getting something done there every spring? K. McCullum: CanNorth is bringing in remote sampling. There will be a continuous sampler there year-round. There’s also sampling on the Cumberland Delta. We’re just finding out who needs what done. N. Wolverine: Does it have to be CanNorth? W. Kelly: Most sampling is done by the uranium industry – CNSC and the province don’t do much. This third party sampling is good. K. McCullum: Some is done by our staff, some by universities in the province and across Canada. S. Hansen: You should also be dealing with the Athabasca Sand Dunes area and into the communities. We’re hearing of a mercury issue in Lake Athabasca. None of the commercial fishermen know there’s an issue. People should be up to date on what’s happening. Fishermen can tell when there are changes in the lake. K. McCullum: It started last year. Discussion about water flows between Lake Athabasca and Alberta. F. McDonald: We are downstream from the mines yet there are no sampling points there. Do you have historic records, maybe old CEM data? K. McCullum: That was soil sampling. We have to go back and redo the area draining into Black Lake. D. Hovdebo noted that some of the water flows from Wollaston Lake through the Reindeer into the Churchill. M. Aubichon: Our people know. If we’re not linked to the south we’re forgotten. We saw how the land has changed. We saw the Cluff decommissioning. They even put a moose there!

Radioactive Waste Storage – Taryn Ward PowerPoint Taryn is a NORTEP student; She did this presentation as a class project. • The presentation explained what high-level waste is, where it comes from, why it can’t be reprocessed at present, how it is currently stored, and what a fuel bundle is. • Taryn explained the Nuclear Waste Management Organization and its mandate to find a willing community to host a CNSC-licensed Deep Geological Repository (DRG), a secure storage area 500-1000 metres below surface in solid rock. She explained the multi-barrier concept that would be used to isolate the waste. • A three-phased site evaluation will take place over several years; each step evaluates the site more. It’s up to the community to decide if they wish to continue. (Map of potential sites in Canada). Saskatchewan is being considered because uranium comes from here – three northern communities have shown interest. But we have our own wastes (tailings) in high volumes, so should we add more? An EA process would be required. • There is cultural training for staff; there should perhaps be training about Saskatchewan First Nations, which are different from Ontario First Nations. Taryn suggested more people should be added to the NWMO board – fishers, hunters, mine workers – and it should be reconstituted as an arms-length organization with significant independence. It’s hand in hand with government right now. Questions/Comments

17 N. Wolverine: People should learn about things before they assume they’re no good. We’re just in the learning process. I learned from this presentation. M. Aubichon: Some communities signed a resolution to say they don’t want nuclear waste going by; do they make an alternate road? S. Eaton suggested we should get more information and building a knowledge base. It’s too early for the CNSC to comment. J. Caswell: Make sure you understand the real risks and benefits, or lack of them, before you react. I appreciate your reasoned presentation. N. Wolverine: A former Greenpeace organizer at a Regina meeting said he was now in favour of nuclear power. Whether we’re for or against, how do we know how it will change in 25 years? We can’t have an opinion right now. We must play it by ear. Get those opposed to give us the facts why it’s no good. S. Hansen: It may not be in Saskatchewan; it could be in Ontario. It’s still in someone’s back yard. It could build economic opportunity. We will need a lab, or a school, to train someone. People are jumping the gun too fast. People are still surviving from mining; this waste will be sealed and 500 -800 metres down; it will not be moving. C. Lentowicz: Has the NWMO presented to the EQC with displays? W. Kelly: They did present to the EQC and we’ll have them back. No government will force this on a community. N. Wolverine: They are transporting ore all around from McArthur River to McClean – people are scared. They went to the communities to teach them – to date there’s been no feedback. W. Kelly: That’s a good example of risk communication. S. Hansen: There are lot of pros and cons; we need more education, more understanding. More discussion S. Roberts: Good presentation. Some mining waste is above ground. These are two million fuel bundles not related to mining. There’s pressure to do something about it. S. Eaton explained that the nuclear power plants own the fuel bundles. D. Hovdebo pointed out that Cameco owns some of them. C. Hughes: The nuclear industry has money for a long-tem depository in Canada. No one in the world has long-term storage yet. Any community in Canada has the right to express interest. NWMO is open to anyone who comes forward – there are three in Sask. and 19 in Ontario. Then they start the seven steps over many years. They need a geologically suitable site. Employment and economic benefits come with it. Anything in Saskatchewan will require provincial support as well. D. Hovdebo: This came from the United Nations years ago. A community can withdraw at any point as well. M. Aubichon: How is land selected by NWMO? D. Hovdebo: Places with suitable geology include Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec, but they won’t come in unless invited. W. Kelly: There are three levels of nuclear waste. There’s an EA at Bruce Power for a medium-level waste deep geological depository. S. Roberts: Can the mines approach them to store it at the sites? W. Kelly said the companies will not touch it. It’s one of the most controversial areas. N. Wolverine pointed out they need to avoid saturated sandstone. S. Eaton said the development must be specifically designed to hold nuclear waste, and designed for extracting it if feasible later.

CAMA selection South Central: Simpson Naytowhow. West Side: Mary Aubichon. Athabasca: Sandra Hansen.