What Does a 160-Year Project Look Like for Melgund?
As we go about our daily lives here in Northwestern Ontario, it is hard to imagine what our corner of the world will look like in the year 2193. However, that is exactly the timeline being proposed for the Revell Site. The Nuclear Waste Management Organization has recently shared its anticipated schedule for the proposed Deep Geological Repository, and the Impact Assessment documents reveal a project that will span more than 16 decades.
What We Are Learning: The plan is broken down into four main chapters. First, there is a 13-year period for site preparation and construction starting in 2030. This is followed by 50 years of active operations where the waste is actually moved into the site. Then, things get interesting: a 100-year period is set aside for decommissioning and ‘extended monitoring’ before the site finally enters ‘institutional control’ in the late 22nd century.
The Reality Check
What is being promised: A structured, predictable timeline that safely manages nuclear waste from construction through to final closure over 160 years.
What we need to verify: Why does the decommissioning phase require a full century? A 100-year monitoring period is unusually long and suggests the site will need very close attention for a long time. We also need to know how the 2030 start date was chosen and what happens if regulatory delays push that date back.
The Path Forward
The report noted a significant gap in how the project will handle the ‘social memory’ of the site; therefore, we are calling for a robust Intergenerational Knowledge Management framework. It is not enough to plan the engineering; we need a plan for how our great-great-grandchildren will know what is buried at the Revell Site and how to stay safe. Additionally, because the 100-year decommissioning phase is so vague, we are recommending a more granular breakdown of activities. We need to ensure that ‘monitoring’ isn’t just a placeholder for deferred action, but a technically sound plan with guaranteed funding that won’t become a burden for future taxpayers in Melgund Township.
Why It Matters Here
For those of us in Melgund Township, Borups Corners, and Dyment, this isn’t just a calendar—it’s a transformation of our backyard. A 13-year construction phase means over a decade of industrial noise and heavy traffic on our roads. A 50-year operation phase means two full generations of our families will live alongside the transportation of nuclear waste. The 100-year monitoring phase means the silence and natural state of our hunting and fishing grounds will be replaced by a permanent industrial ‘control’ zone for the rest of our lives and beyond.
Have Your Say
This affects our future. Submit your feedback on this specific issue via our Engage page to ensure the Impact Assessment Agency hears from our community.
The Melgund Integrated Nuclear Impact Assessment Project
The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) is reviewing the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s (NWMO) proposed Deep Geological Repository (DGR) at the Revell Site, located near Ignace and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation in Northwestern Ontario.
This major nuclear infrastructure project is undergoing a joint federal review by the IAAC and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) to evaluate environmental, health, social, and Indigenous rights impacts over its projected 160-year lifecycle.
Public Feedback Open: Comments on the Initial Project Description are accepted until February 4, 2026. Submissions help shape the formal impact assessment guidelines.
This short article and summary is based on an initial analysis of a proponent’s initial project description. It does not represent, any community the NWMO or the Government of Canada. Learn more at the Melgund Integrated Nuclear Impact Assessment Project project page.
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