CONSULTATIONS – COMPILATION 200 COMPILATION – CONSULTATIONS Consultations according to the Environmental Code 9–2010 Compilation 2009–2010 Swedish NuclearBox 250 Fuel 101 and 24 Waste Stockholm Management Co Box 250, TelefonSE-101 08-45924 Stockholm, 84 00 Sweden Phone +46 8www.skb.se 459 84 00 www.skb.se Consultations according to the Environmental Code Compilation 2009–2010 ISBN 978-91-978702-6-9 CM Gruppen AB 2011-12 Photo: Lasse Modin, Curt-Robert Lindqvist, SKB’s image archive. English translation: Richard Nord Translations AB. Contents A milestone for final disposal of spent nuclear fuel 4 Consultations according to the Environmental Code 6 Eight years of consultations concluded 9 Local information 13 Documentation of the consultations 15 Completed consultations 17 Excerpts from minutes 21 CONSULTATIONS – COMPILATION 2009–2010 3 A milestone for final disposal of spent nuclear fuel – Site for final repository selected, consultations concluded and licence applications submitted! The ambitious, broad-based and transparent work with consultations according to the Environmental Code which we have conducted for many years, mainly in the municipalities of Östhammar and Oskarshamn, are now concluded. After our decision to apply for licence for a final repository in Forsmark was reached in the summer of 2009, the consultations were concluded in May 2010. SKB’s work preparing the licence applications under the Nuclear Activities Act and the Environmental Code then intensified. We submitted a total of around 9,000 pages to the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority and the environmental court on 16 March 2011. This represented a mile- stone for SKB, for the Swedish nuclear waste programme and for the management of spent nuclear fuel in the world. The dialogue on the planned facilities and the applied-for activity will now continue under new forms, with the licence applica- tions in the centre of attention for the next few years. Now as we summarize our impressions in this last compilation of the consulta- tions for 2009–2010, nearly ten years have passed since we initiated the site investi- gations and the formal consultations after a long period of preparations. For all of us at SKB who have been involved, just as for many of you who have participated, this has been a period of dedicated, patient and hard work. At the same time it has been extremely interesting, exciting and stimulating to be a part of this collective effort. It has been a privilege to get to know all of you who have contributed your knowledge, your questions and your viewpoints, as well as to work with your municipalities, your communities and your organizations. Nearby residents, concerned landowners, private citizens, organizations and decision-makers in both municipalities as well as at the county administrative boards, the regional councils, the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM) and the Swedish National Council for Nuclear Waste and the environmental organiza- tions that receive funding from the Nuclear Waste Fund have continued to follow our work right to the end. Since site selection and as we have approached the time for the licence applications, increasing interest has been shown by politicians, the media and other parties at the national and international level. This compilation presents viewpoints and questions from the consultations during the last two years, 2009–2010. 4 CONSULTATIONS – COMPILATION 2009–2010 A virtually complete environmental impact statement (EIS) and a number of reports on planned water operations were compiled as a basis for the concluding consultation meetings. The concluding consultation meetings were held first in Östhammar and then in Oskarshamn in early February 2010 with presentations on the theme “Overall environmental consequences, including safety and radiation protection, and water operations”. In response to the discussions, especially at the meeting in Östhammar, and the written viewpoints that were then submitted, a final extra consultation meeting was held in Östhammar on 3 May 2010 on the theme “The role of the safety assessment in the EIS”. As during the immediately preceding years, several separate consultation meet- ings were held in 2009–2010 as well with special groups such as nearby residents in Forsmark, Östhammar Municipality, the County Administrative Board in Uppsala County, the Misterhult Group in Oskarshamn and Oskarshamn Municipality, as well as SSM and the Swedish National Council for Nuclear Waste. Some examples of issues addressed at these separate consultations are facility design, local envi- ronmental consequences, water operations, safety and radiation protection with a focus on post-closure safety, the content and structure of the applications, and the handling of alternatives (particularly other methods than KBS-3) in the applications and the EIS. Two information meetings were also held in April 2010 – one for decision-makers and officials and one open to all interested parties – in Mariehamn on Åland, due to the attention the issue had attracted there. The second and concluding part of the consultation on possible transboundary environmental impact according to the Espoo Convention, is now all that remains of the consultations. In conclusion I would once again like to address myself to all of you who have taken part in the consultations and contributed to the work with the environmental impact assessment: Thank you for your commitment, your interest and your perseverance over the years! The knowledge and the questions and viewpoints you have contributed are invaluable to us in our continued efforts to realize the long-term safe final disposal of spent nuclear fuel necessary for man and the environment. Wrapping up the consultations according to the Environmental Code is an important milestone, but will hardly be felt as any great change. A local pres- ence, transparency, openness and a good dialogue will continue to be just as important for us at SKB after the consultations as they have been up to now, albeit under different forms. We’ll see you soon in Forsmark and Oskarshamn! Erik Setzman Head of the EIA Unit CONSULTATIONS – COMPILATION 2009–2010 5 Consultations according to the Environmental Code The nuclear power utilities in Sweden joined forces in the 1970s to form Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB (SKB, Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co). Our mission includes management and disposal of the spent nuclear fuel from the Swedish nuclear power plants. Within the framework of this work, we have held consultations according to the Environmental Code during the period 2002–2010. 6 CONSULTATIONS – COMPILATION 2009–2010 SKB’s proposal is that the spent nuclear fuel will be disposed of according to the KBS-3 method. This involves encapsulating the fuel in copper canisters with nodular iron inserts and depositing the canisters at a depth of 400–700 metres in the bedrock, where stable mechanical and chemical conditions prevail. The canisters are surrounded by bentonite clay, which constitutes a buffer against minor rock movements and prevents corrosive substances from getting into the canister. The clay also effectively absorbs radionuclides that are released if the canister is damaged. The key components for disposal according to the KBS-3 method are an encapsulation plant and a final repository. Today he spent nuclear fuel is being temporarily stored in Clab (central interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel) in Oskarshamn Municipality. In November 2006, SKB submitted an application under the Nuclear Activities Act for a licence to build and own an encapsulation plant for spent nuclear fuel and to operate it integrated with Clab. This means that the licences for Clab are also being reviewed. Extensive site investigations in preparation for siting of the final repository have been conducted in both Oskarshamn and Östhammar municipalities. After the material had been reviewed, analyzed and evaluated, SKB selected Forsmark as the site for the application for licence under the Nuclear Activities Act for the final repository, which were submitted in March 2011. At the same time, SKB applied for licence under the Environmental Code for the interim storage facility, the en- capsulation plant and the final repository. A joint environmental impact statement (EIS) was appended to the applications. Consultations according to the Environmental Code The consultation procedure for applications under both the Environmental Code and the Nuclear Activities Act is regulated by Chapter 6 of the Environmental Code. The consultations are supposed to deal with the siting and design of the applied-for activities as well as the form and content of the EIS. Consultations must be held with the County Administrative Board, the concerned national authorities, the municipalities, the public and the organizations that are likely to be affected. If an activity is likely to have a significant environmental impact in another country, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency is required by the Espoo Convention, to inform and hold consultations with that country regarding any transboundary environmental impact. The consultation process for the Spent Fuel Repository began in 2002 and was concluded in May 2010. Since the interim storage facility, the encapsulation plant and the final repository are parts of the system for final disposal of spent nuclear fuel, SKB coordinated the consultations and they were held simultaneously in Oskarshamn and Östhammar municipalities. An account of the proceedings, what