May 8, 2017

From: Ronald and Michele Kaulbach

To: Nicole Frigault Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

By email: cnsc.ea-ee.ccsn@.ca

Submission letter to CNSC re EIS CNL's proposal for NSDF at

CEAA Reference number: 80122

Dear Ms Frigault,

The Ottawa Valley is one of the many unspoilt wilderness areas that has been sought after by Europeans for farmland or recreation since the end of World War II. The Irish settled along the River out of desperation, during the potato famine. They farmed the rock filled fields and made a life for themselves. Some of them later joined the Canadian loggers and River drivers.

The Fraser family, on my husband’s side, came to Pembroke from Scotland to manufacture the famous Fraser Hob-nailed boots, used for decades by those brave men who rode the logs on the and tended the booms until the day the Federal Government shut down logging. Environmentalist had discovered that the bark and sunken logs were causing too much acidity in the water and plant life and fish were endangered.

The Frasers had originally floated a cottage across the River to Old Fort William Bay. Extended family and friends summered there beside the old Steam Boat Pontiac Hotel, all those years watching the tug boat pulling the log booms down River at sunset. My husband’s father decided to invest in further property for future generations up River (three adjacent lots).

When my husband first introduced me to the area I absolutely fell in love with the forests and mountains and long white beaches, all protected by vast acres of crown land. The night skies still take one’s breath away. This was never a populated, sophisticated week-end get-away . One always felt the sacred presence of the Native People. The early history of Canada and Samuel de Champlain comes alive there. We have since rebuilt the cottage and also purchased Davis Island. This pristine 24 acre island, with its 100 year old cabin, is just around the corner from the lighthouse and the Chalk River Plant, certainly first in the “emergency zone”.

Interestingly enough, we have heard absolutely nothing from Laurentian Hills where we pay our taxes, about the plans for the old Chalk River Atomic Energy Plant. One would think that they would be obliged to inform all tax payers of such an important issue. However, we are members of the OFWCA. As a matter of fact, my husband started the association years ago to raise money for a floating pump that we could all have access to in case of fire. I am a member of the committee that prepared our resolution of opposition to CNL’s plans to store nuclear waste. We have always had a local member who attends meetings at the Plant to keep us informed about what is going on. How could we possible just stand by and accept this proposal? If my husband and I had not attended the OFWCA meetings and been involved citizens of the community, we would never have know anything about it. We would have been in the dark like many other permanent residents or seasonal owners. Or we might have heard one of the persuasive versions the CNL is obliged to present to the public. We have personally attended four separate sessions with them. One senses immediately that they do not enjoy the process at all. They just want to move forward, make the money and leave after a decade. We think of Love Canal and Fukushima Our association fought so hard to introduce the idea of recycling to the local people and now we are exemplar as a rural community. How can we accept what CNL wants to do on the River?

We are very concerned about the looser environmental laws that the Harper Government introduced. We live in Montreal and so you can imagine our thoughts when we learned about the GOPRO operation the Government is funding and you are overseeing. With the involvement of SNC Lavalin, we do not feel very assured. They are presently faced with a ten year ban prohibiting them from bidding on any world bank-financed projects. We read that Lavalin presently has a diversification plan and is seeking to move away from its dependence on oil and gas. They choose Nuclear energy! There has to be big money in this for any corporation, from England or Canada or the US to get involved in nuclear waste. Yes, Canada has a problem with dealing with its nuclear waste, as do many other countries, but this plan of the present Federal Government does not seem to be the right solution. To think that the Federal Government is using our tax payers money, to the tune of billions of dollars, to fund the creation of a near surface nuclear waste disposal on the banks of the Ottawa River is astounding. The dump will be five times more voluminous than OPG’s proposal at Kincarden. We always knew the Chalk River Plant was there, and we remember well seeing the warning signs about not approaching the shore. However this proposal is a whole different story. We are extremely concerned when we read in the local papers about how the Plant has been transporting nuclear products by road; that they have been selling tritium to SRB technologies who has created its own dangerous waste in Pembroke; that CNL was forced to temporarily shut down the isotope making business a few years ago; that there have been unreported leaks and problems. As a result we have no confidence in our security.

Some of your committee may have visited , but have any of you ever climbed to the top of Oiseau Rock, across from the Plant, and climbed up the National Heritage Indian trail to the lake at the top? There is a prominence on the cliff where you can stand and look down River for miles, visualizing Champlain’s route. You can see the entire Garrison and beyond, the forests and mountains that border both sides. It used to make us so proud to be Canadian. This would make you understand more about what you are about to destroy forever.

How can anyone think that this would be the solution to Canada’s nuclear waste legacy? A near surface disposal “mound” on the banks of the River, at its deepest, most pristine and unspoilt location, three times the size of our 24 acre island, is a horrific thought. How can one make plans for 300 years hence when the “institutional control period begins”? It is very cynical, however, but unavoidable, for us to think that this would be the most perfect dumping ground from CNL’s point of view. It is isolated. There is a serious lack of public information, television, radio and newspapers. The locals only reference has been through CNL meetings, if they even attend. . These facts definitely work in CNL’s favour.

The decisions you make now will be on your shoulders forever. You have an obligation to fulfill to Canadian citizens. It is your responsibility now to assess this plan of theirs in depth .There are so many unanswered questions; so many serous concerns and so many possible consequences that have been put forth by scientists and environmentalists that need to be examined. We are not the only country facing this nuclear waste dilemma. We urge and implore you not to act in haste; not to be influenced by business incentives. 200,000-300,000 tons of nuclear waste presently exist on this planet. Set an example. Lead the way to world consultation/conferences. England, India, Japan, China, France, Germany, the US all share this issue. We cannot solve the problem on our own. Look very deeply into this decision. Since July 2016 we have done extensive research; spoken and listened to many experts; read vastly about this subject Critical thinking is vitally important.

I used to work in advertising, and what I have observed is a very skillful avoidance of information on the part of CNL, There has been a very crafty, slow release of their exact plans: a clever use of words and very strategic timing. They never give the whole picture up front, not even when specific questions were asked. This is deceptive and manipulative. This is a sure way to seduce the public into accepting and approving the project. Their glossy posters make the mound look like “a grassy outcrop”. It is definitely not a way to build up trust, which is sorely needed in a case like this. CNL claims that they “understand the movement of radioactive materials”, and that they “are taking responsibility for nuclear waste” at Chalk River, but also from elsewhere in Canada. As Carl Sagan said “Science is a way of thinking, much more than it is a body of knowledge.” Science should not be a list of facts, arrogantly put forth by a scientific researchers, funded by, and overseen by the Government. Someone stands to make a lot of money in this project. Why else would anyone get involved in this very dangerous, precedent- making field? The last release of information from CNL explains their plans further. They will be producing a new generation of isotopes and heavy water for export. One cannot expect any lay person to read and understand a 1000 page document written by a scientist. We were shocked by the “Executive Summary” of the EIS the CNL were merrily handing out last week in Sheenboro. People need to read a totally independent review to understand this. We feel there is very much a political and financial agenda working here. Facts can be twisted to suit that agenda. That is frightening.

We feel very strongly that this is not the time for a permanent solution to the nuclear waste created at Chalk River or elsewhere in Canada. Do not act hastily. There are absolutely no comparable forerunners in this field. You will be making decisions under a great deal of uncertainty. You have an obligation to tell people what you do not know and cannot predict: climate changes; forces of nature ; the power of water; the reaction of such mixtures of nuclear wastes; unforeseen human error or intervention, increased seismic action. Our particular part of the River is known for its huge storms, violent wind shears, and for the lightening displays that seeming come out of nowhere when the water suddenly becomes eerily flat calm. Roads are impassable for days with huge pines that have twisted and fallen. How could people leave or even reach the plant to deal with an emergency? If grass and weeds scan grow out of concrete and asphalt, and tree roots can split huge boulders, it would be impossible to say that the “mound” will last for 100 years, let alone 1,000 years without problems. One cannot guarantee stable conditions above or below ground for 100 years. We read about other possible locations for a site away from the water. I think the Government needs to think much much further.

One particular sentence in the EIS continues to haunt us: "1% of the total amount of acceptance” This is in regard to the intermediate waste they intend to put into the “mound”. This is misleading and very deceptive to most people. The fact is that 1% is 10,000 cubic meters. That is not a small amount. We were also very disturbed last week by the little rubber “nuclear watchdog” and the container of pills ( candy,I found out later, not the potassium pills we heard about!) that were distributed at the CNL meeting in Sheenboro. We found this to be in very bad taste.

There are no archives on nuclear waste. You are creating them now. Nobody wants to read or hear about nuclear accidents or mis-steps. Nobody wants to read about cover-ups after the fact.

We beg you to be vigilant and communicative in your supervisory position. Insist that CNL be totally transparent and up-front. Do take the extra time to “Do the Right Thing”. Think deeply before you approve this plan as it will have effects for centuries in this country, on this earth. Your primary concern should be the public you serve and our environment, not CNL you are regulating.

It can be shown that nuclear energy provides the easiest, most cost- effective, low carbon electricity and also provides thousands of highly skilled highly paid jobs. However it is not an energy without high risks and it does come with the enormous problem of nuclear waste forever. Natural gas has even fewer dangers and no residual effects. We are fortunate to live in Quebec with our vast hydro power output. We are encouraged by the news we hear from the next generation of young scientists and their mentors. Younger generations in general are more passionately aware of the environment perhaps because of all the negligence and disasters they have encountered. We are globally connected today. We can surely make a difference by reaching out for help. We hope you and our Government will.