The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

06 August 2008

In June 2008 the Government published a White Paper "Managing Radioactive Waste Safely: A Framework for Implementing Geological Disposal".

The White Paper outlines UK Government's framework for managing higher activity radioactive waste in the long-term through geological disposal, coupled with safe and secure interim storage.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is responsible for planning, and delivering, the geological disposal facility. The White Paper sets various requirements on the NDA including:

• Following publication of the White Paper, the NDA will set out its framework for public and stakeholder engagement and communication during development of the geological disposal facility. Stakeholders will be invited to comment on the framework to allow an engagement and communications strategy to be developed. Views will be sought on what stakeholders want from engagement with the NDA, the timing of that involvement and their preferred means of engagement. The resulting strategy must be agreed by Government.
• Government is committed to ensuring that the NDA’s geological disposal facility programme fully assesses and accounts for environmental impact and sustainability issues through the application of Strategic Environmental Assessment, Sustainability Appraisal and Environmental Impact Assessment. The Government expects the NDA to undertake sustainability appraisal, meeting the requirements of the SEA Directive. The Government and the NDA will undertake work on the scope of that sustainability appraisal following publication of the White Paper. There will be close co-ordination and integration of this work and it will continue after candidate communities have been identified to enable local issues and views to be integrated into the sustainability appraisal. Following the publication of the White Paper, NDA will prepare and publish for consultation its proposals for sustainability appraisal and environmental assessment.

The NDA has published two consultation documents to meet these requirements:

 NDA Consultation on a Public and Stakeholder Engagement and Communications Framework for Geological Disposal August 2008 (500Kb)

This consultation document outlines the proposed aims and objectives of the Strategy and how the NDA proposes to engage and communicate with stakeholders about its work programme on geological disposal.

 NDA Consultation on a Framework for Sustainability Appraisal and Environmental Assessment for Geological Disposal (500Kb)

This consultation document outlines the proposed aims and objectives of the assessments, when and how they would be undertaken in relation to the Managing Radioactive Waste Safely (MRWS) site selection process and how stakeholders could be involved.

Hard copies are available from:

John Dalton
Head of Communications
Radioactive Waste Management Directorate
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
Curie Avenue
Harwell Campus
Didcot
Oxon
OX11 0RH

Email: gdf.pse@nda.gov.uk  and gdf.sustainability@nda.gov.uk respectively

The NDA would like responses to the consultation documents by 30 November 2008.

Responses can be submitted to the above email addresses or in hard copy to John Dalton.