Statement by congressman Dan Kildee on decision to abandon Canadian nuclear waste storage facility on Lake Huron

Statement

Congressman Dan Kildee, Chief Deputy Whip of the House Democratic Caucus, issued the following statement after Ontario Power Generation announced that it will give up its plans to build a permanent nuclear waste storage site less than a mile from Lake Huron and seek an alternative location in Canada:

"I am pleased to see Ontario Power Generation abandon its plans to build a nuclear waste storage site on the shores of the Great Lakes. Since my first year in Congress, I have worked to bring people together, in both the U.S. and Canada, to stop this risky proposal. Today's announcement is a huge victory for protecting our environment and our economy that relies on the Great Lakes.

"Canada's proposal to permanently store millions of tons of nuclear waste in Kincardine, Ontario, less than a mile from Lake Huron, never made sense. Nuclear waste remains radioactive for thousands of years, and burying it next to the Great Lakes would have threatened our economy and clean drinking water for over 40 million people. Surely in the vast land mass that comprises Canada, there has to be a better place to permanently store nuclear waste than on the shores of the Great Lakes.

"I want to thank those who have stood with me in opposition to this Canadian nuclear waste site. In 2013, I first voiced opposition to the Kincardine nuclear waste site. Since then, many Republicans and Democrats have joined our efforts to stop this nuclear storage facility. Hundreds of communities, in both the U.S. and Canada, have also passed resolutions voicing opposition to permanently storing nuclear waste on the shores of Great Lakes. I also have great respect for the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, whose opposition to this proposed nuclear waste site made this day possible.

"I will continue to work in Congress to protect our Great Lakes."

Congressman Kildee represents Michigan's Fifth Congressional District, which includes 118 miles of Lake Huron shoreline. In October 2013, Congressman Kildee first voiced opposition the nuclear waste site, sending a letter to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

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