Rep. Mitchell sends message to Canadian government
U.S. Congressman Paul Mitchell, representing Michigan’s 10th District, recently delivered an indirect message to the Canadian government, urging it squash the proposed development of a deep geologic repository for nuclear waste on the shores of Lake Huron.
On Sept. 14, Mitchell offered an amendment to a House funding bill that would prohibit U.S. staff members of the International Joint Commission from attending a water resources conference next year.
Is the amendment anything other than symbolic?
Frank Bevacqua, public information officer for the IJC, had not heard about Mitchell’s amendment as of Sept. 17.
“My amendment serves to highlight to the Canadian government the gravity of this issue,” said Mitchell, as heard on C-SPAN. “The International Joint Commission was developed to resolve binational water disputes between the United States and Canada, yet they have not addressed this critical issue to the Great Lakes.”
The IJC was formed in 1909 as part of the Boundary Waters Treaty between the United States and Canada.
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Mitchell called his amendment a “step to protect the Great Lakes.”
“Ontario Power Generation, an Ontario energy company, has proposed to build an underground nuclear waste facility along the shores of Lake Huron, which borders my district,” Mitchell said on the floor. “Their plan is nothing short of irresponsible. Any failure at this site would have devastating impacts on Michigan and Canada, who rely on the Great Lakes for drinking water, tourism and commerce. Canada and OPG have displayed intransigence in the face of the near-universal objection of my constituents and the residents of the Great Lake region.”
As of June, 227 resolutions opposing the waste dump had been passed by governmental bodies on both sides of the border, according to the website Stop the Great Lakes Nuclear Dump. Earlier this year, the city councils of Marysville and St. Clair restated their opposition to the dump.
Read more at Efforts to squash plans for nuclear waste dump on Lake Huron escalate
