Draft Scoping Information Document - Ontario Power Generation

July 2011
Draft Scoping Information Document - Proposal by OPG - Refurbishment and
Continued Operation - Darlington Nuclear Generating Station, Clarington, Ontario
3. The proposed project consists of activities (i.e., refurbishment and continued operations)
that represent an incremental change to the overall licensed facility.
4. Under the direction of the CNSC, OPG has continued to make adequate provisions for
the protection of the environment. In making these provisions, OPG has met CNSC
expectations in environmental performance. However, thermal plume effects on aquatic
habitat and biota as well as intake withdrawals of aquatic biota are both an historical
operations and continued operations effect that has been reduced but not eliminated by
the unique designs of the existing submerged offshore intake and diffuser.
5. CNSC staff is familiar with the technology being presented in this project, given the
existing operations at DNGS and the fact that several other nuclear power plants are
undergoing refurbishments. OPG and/or the industry is familiar with all other project
components.
6. OPG and/or industry are familiar with the potential mitigation measures required for the
refurbishment and continued operation of the DNGS.
7. Any new project-environment interactions are expected to be adequately mitigated with
standard and/or proven technology.
8. At this stage of the EA, it appears that this project is not likely to cause significant
adverse effects on the health of workers and the public, cumulative effects, or those that
may arise as a result of accidents or malfunctions. The EA will identify all potential
project-environment interactions and confirm that the project is not likely to cause
significant adverse effects. However, an EA has never been completed for the DNGS
site, including malfunctions and accidents.
As a result of the scan* above, is a simple screening appropriate in the circumstances?
*The criteria identified in the above scan are meant to guide CNSC staff. Other factors can
influence staff’s recommended type of screening. In the case of OPG’s DNGS
Refurbishment and Continued Operation project, the heightened public interest in nuclearrelated
activities as a result of the events at Fukushima; the absence of a previous EA for the
DNGS facility; and the scale of the proposed project are all other factors that have
contributed to CNSC staff’s recommendation that the project proceed as a complex
screening.
YES or NO
e-DOC 3734740 - 30 -
CEAR 11-01-62516