Darlington New Nuclear Power Plant Project Joint Review Panel Announces
Public Hearing

OTTAWA, Dec. 14 /CNW/ - The Joint Review Panel for the Darlington New Nuclear Power Plant project today announces that it has scheduled the public hearing for the project. The Panel has determined that the Environmental Impact Statement and the information in support of the application for a Licence to Prepare a Site, along with additional information supplied by Ontario Power Generation, has provided the Panel with enough information to proceed to a public hearing.

The public hearing sessions will begin on March 21, 2011 at a venue in or near the project area. More information on the location of the hearing, hearing session dates and a schedule will be available in advance of the hearing.

The public hearing will give any person with an interest in the project the opportunity to hear about the project and its potential environmental effects and to provide their views to the Joint Review Panel. The hearing will also allow the proponent to present an overview of the project and to offer clarifying information and additional technical information as required. Any person may attend the public hearing as an observer or may view the written transcripts of the proceedings or the hearing submissions on the online registry.

Public Hearing Procedures that lead to an online Application Form are being issued by the Panel today and are available on the Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry internet site at www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca , reference number 07-05-29525 and on the Web site of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission at www.cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca .

Members of the public, Aboriginal groups, other interested parties and government organizations that wish to participate in the public hearing are required to register with the Panel Secretariat by January 13, 2011 as detailed in the Public Hearing Procedures. If you have any questions about the process or participating at the hearing, contact:

All information received by the Joint Review Panel throughout the review process is considered to be public and is posted on the online public registry.

Next steps and Key dates

Activities	Deadline
All Participants - registration	January 13, 2011
Government and Proponent - written submissions	January 31, 2011
Intervenors - written submission	February 14 2011
Government, Proponent and Intervenors - slide presentation (if desired)	March 9, 2011

Within 90 days of the close of the public hearing, the Joint Review Panel will submit an environmental assessment report to the federal Minister of the Environment outlining its conclusions, rationale and recommendations. Subject to the Government of Canada's response to the Panel's Report, the Panel may then proceed to make a decision on the proponent's application for a Licence to Prepare a Site.

The project is a proposal by Ontario Power Generation for the site preparation, construction, operation, decommissioning and abandonment of up to four new nuclear reactors at its existing Darlington Nuclear site located near Oshawa along the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the Municipality of Clarington. The project is expected to generate up to 4800 megawatts of electricity for delivery to the Ontario grid.

The Joint Review Panel for the Darlington New Nuclear Power Plant Project is an independent body, mandated by the Minister of the Environment and the President of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to assess the environmental effects of the proposed project and review the Application for a Licence to Prepare a Site.

For further information:

Lucille Jamault
Manager, Communications
Darlington New Nuclear Power Plant Project Joint Review Panel
Tel.: [phone]