Bipartisan Michigan lawmakers pen letter against Canadian nuclear waste site in Great Lakes basin

BY KYLE DAVIDSON, MICHIGAN ADVANCE

MICHIGAN—US Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Flint), US Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) and US Rep. John James (R-Shelby Twp.) last week led a letter to the authors of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, asking them to include Kildee’s amendment opposing the permanent storage of nuclear waste in the Great Lakes basin in the final bill.

According to Kildee’s office, the Canadian government plans to build a facility to store more than 50,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste in South Bruce, Ontario, within the Great Lakes Basin.

Kildee has long opposed permanent storage of nuclear waste in the Great Lakes basin, warning of threats to the state’s drinking water and economy.

“High-level nuclear waste is the most dangerous form of nuclear waste and remains hazardous for tens of thousands of years. Any accident involving radioactive waste near the Great Lakes would have devastating and long-term consequences for the health of Michiganders and all other people who depend on the Great Lakes for their livelihood,” the letter states.

While the final version of the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed by the House included Kildee’s amendment to oppose the permanent storage of nuclear waste in the Great Lakes basin, the letter asks that the amendment be included in the final version of the bill negotiated between the House and Senate.

The letter was also signed by a number of lawmakers from the Great Lakes State: U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.) and U.S. Reps. Bill Huizenga (R-Zeeland), Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor), John Moolenaar (R-Caledonia), Jack Bergman (R-Watersmeet), Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly), Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit).

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This coverage was republished from Michigan Advance pursuant to a Creative Commons license.