MI SR0151

Urges the President, Secretary of State, and Congress to invoke the International Joint Commission under the Boundary Waters Treaty to evaluate Ontario Power Generation's proposed underground nuclear waste repository near Lake Huron, located less than a mile from the shore.

Notes Michigan law (Public Act 204 of 1987) prohibits siting radioactive waste facilities containing the same types of waste within 10 miles of the Great Lakes, and expresses concern that a leak could damage the lakes' ecology and harm tens of millions of residents depending on them for drinking water, fisheries, and recreation.

References the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty's establishment of the International Joint Commission as an impartial body composed of three United States and three Canadian members to oversee shared boundary waters and resolve disputes between the countries.

Urges other Great Lakes states and Canadian provinces to adopt protective regulations and petition their federal governments to engage the IJC for evaluation of the proposed facility.

Urges the Prime Minister of Canada and Canadian Parliament to suspend the Joint Review Panel process pending input from the IJC, Great Lakes Commission, and the state of Michigan.