IGNACE – As 2023 edges to a close, Ignace is paving the way for a new year in its multi-year funding agreement with the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO).
Township of Ignace councillors earlier this month approved a resolution authorizing final reporting on how it spent 2022 funds from the NWMO, a step that a township news release says “allows the final reporting” on the two parties’ 2023 funding arrangement.
That, the news release says, will open the door to the township making “special project funding requests” for 2024 under the multi-year funding agreement.
The Ignace-Wabigoon Lake area is one of two finalists for hosting a proposed deep geological repository (DGR), which would be an underground facility for managing spent fuel from Canadian nuclear power plants.
If the NWMO chooses the Northwestern Ontario location and the project overcomes regulatory hurdles, construction of the DGR near Ignace on Lake Wabigoon Ojibway Nation land could begin about 10 years later.
The other finalist in site selection for the DGR is the South Bruce area in southwestern Ontario.
As a site finalist, Ignace signed a memorandum of understanding with the NWMO. That memorandum was renewed this fall in a vote by township council.
NWMO spending in Ignace has included paying for a nearly $700,000 fire truck and a $54,000 pickup truck.
Jack Pastore, a contracted spokesperson for Ignace, said Wednesday that further details on how NWMO money was spent will be made public in early 2024.
Ignace’s multi-year agreement with the NWMO ends in 2024, Pastore said.
A new agreement would be reached and implemented if the NWMO selects Ignace-Wabigoon Lake, he said.
