Cameco welcomed representatives from Families Against Radiation Exposure (FARE), Port Hope Community Health Concerns Committee and Lake Ontario Waterkeeper for a tour of the Port Hope conversion facility on Friday, September 25.
Each of these groups has received funding from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) to participate in the environmental assessment for Vision 2010. The Vision 2010 project is Cameco’s plan to clean up, renew and rejuvenate its facility on the Port Hope waterfront.
A total of 15 individuals from the three organizations participated in the tour. Representatives from CEAA and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) were also present.
Those attending were provided an introductory overview by Andy Thorne, general manager of the Port Hope conversion facility. Aldo D’Agostino, project manager for Vision 2010, then provided a more detailed presentation on various aspects of the project. An initial question-and-answer session was held prior to the start of the walking tour.
The 90-minute tour focused on the areas identified for remediation as part of the Vision 2010 project. Following the tour, a final question-and-answer session was held.
Cameco expects to submit its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) on the project to the CNSC in 2010. The draft EIS will identify Cameco’s preferred option for site remediation and redevelopment.
Valued Ecosystem Component Workshop
On May 7, 2008, Cameco hosted a workshop to solicit community input on valued ecosystem components (VECs) that should be considered as part of the EA. VECs are features of the environment selected to be a focus of the EA because of their ecological, social, and economic value, and their potential relationship to the environmental effects of the project.
The workshop featured a presentation that outlined the EA process. Cameco then presented a preliminary list of potential VECs, based on public input on previous projects in Port Hope. Workshop participants were provided with a booklet that included a list of proposed VECs and had the opportunity to suggest others that should be included in the EA.
Introductory Open House
On March 18, 2008, Cameco held an open house to mark the launch of the environmental assessment (EA) for Vision 2010. Project manager Aldo D’Agostino delivered a presentation outlining the project, as it was planned at that time. Representatives from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency were also present to provide information about the EA process. Tom Smith, senior environmental specialist, explained the environmental assessment process to be followed.
Involving the community
In the fall of 2005, Gartner Lee Limited was engaged by Cameco to design and conduct a consultation and communications program around the Vision 2010 project. Between November 2005 and January 2006, Gartner Lee Limited implemented a series of targeted communications and community engagement initiatives, with the goal of including a wide and representative cross-section of the Port Hope community in open and creative discussions about how the project should evolve.
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To ensure participation from as many segments of the community as possible, the overall engagement strategy employed a range of communication materials and consultation activities that fit both the needs of the project and the Port Hope community context. This strategy sought to develop areas of agreement where possible, and where it was not possible, to identify areas of community convergence and divergence for Cameco to consider in moving Vision 2010 from planning through to implementation.
Underlying Gartner Lee’s community engagement plan was the philosophy that there are no ‘wrong’ ideas, and that every piece of stakeholder input would be listened to and documented for consideration. This willingness to consider and document all feedback was communicated to stakeholders at each step of the consultation process.
Over the course of the consultation’s three-month duration, Gartner Lee engaged directly with over 150 stakeholders and received 422 responses to a mail-out questionnaire.
