Resolution Urges Biden Administration to Work with Canada to Find Alternative Location

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced a resolution opposing Canada’s placement of a permanent nuclear waste storage site near the shared Great Lakes Basin. Canada is currently considering a storage site at South Bruce, just 30 miles from Lake Huron. The resolution urges President Biden and his administration to work with the Canadian government to find an alternative location to permanently store nuclear waste that does not pose a threat to the Great Lakes. 

“Placing a nuclear waste facility next to one of the world’s largest supplies of freshwater makes absolutely no sense and is dangerous. Our Great Lakes are central to our Michigan way of life, and any nuclear waste spill would be devastating. I strongly urge our Canadian neighbors to make the right choice and stop any plans to store nuclear waste so close to the Great Lakes,” said Senator Stabenow. 

“It’s simple: hazardous nuclear waste should not be stored anywhere near the Great Lakes. Not only do they provide drinking water to millions of Americans and Canadians – they are also an economic and ecological treasure,” said Senator Peters. “Any accident could be long-term and catastrophic – and could directly threaten the health and well-being of Michiganders. I strongly oppose this proposal from the Canadian government and urge them to reconsider.” 

Over 40 million people in the United States and Canada get their drinking water from the Great Lakes. Meanwhile, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, a nonprofit created by the Canadian government, is proposing to build a permanent nuclear waste repository at South Bruce to store high-level nuclear waste in the Great Lakes Basin. The highly toxic waste could take tens of thousands of years to decompose to safe levels.  

U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) are cosponsors of the resolution.  

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