Environmental Assessment of Small Modular Reactors at the CNSC

Abstract

The environmental assessment (EA) of small modular reactors in Canada could be undertaken under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEA Act 2012) or under a northern EA regime. Under the CEA Act 2012, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) is now solely responsible to conduct EAs for nuclear projects. As such, the CNSC is in the process of updating and developing key documents in order to provide proponents with clear guidance on EA requirements for reactor-related projects.