DRYDEN -- Should the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) secure the necessary regulatory clearances for its proposed deep geological repository in Northwestern Ontario, physical work on the site could begin in 2030.

The government-mandated and industry-funded organization made a presentation to Dryden city council on Sept. 8. As part of his presentation, Joe Heil, the NWMO's vice-president of Indigenous and municipal relations and transportation, detailed the expected timeline over the next several years.

The NWMO is currently working on its initial project description, which Heil said they expect to submit to federal regulators "towards the end of October." That submission will kick off the official years-long impact assessment process. The project needs to be cleared by both the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.

"Hopefully early next year, there will be something called the tailored impact assessment guidelines, which will be issued by the two agencies," Heil said. "And that's really a set of instructions on the studies we need to do to demonstrate that this facility can be built safely, not only in the short term (but also) for a very, very long time."

Those studies, he said, will be "serious" and take about three years to complete.

The divisive project has drawn opposition from anti-nuclear and environmental advocates, as well as a number of area First Nations, over concerns about the long-term burial of high-level waste from Canada's nuclear plants and its transportation into the region. The NWMO has consistently maintained the project -- slated for a site near Revell Lake in the Ignace area -- is safe.

Following those studies, Heil said, the organization will submit an impact statement which "will actually describe what we think the impacts are, how those will be mitigated and how we believe this project can be done safely."

Hearings with regulators will follow, he said, where the NWMO will have to defend its submission; should they succeed, he said, the organization would be issued its first licence which would permit site work, including the drilling of the main shafts into the ground and other above-ground property clearing.

"The mining activity actually begins at that point in time," he told council, adding, subject to approvals, that is scheduled to begin in 2030.

Another licence the NWMO would apply for, Heil said, if granted, would permit the construction of above-ground facilities "where the fuel will be transferred from the transportation containers into the long-term storage containers." That work, he said, could start in 2033.

"Construction will take about 10 years, and ... towards the end of construction, we'll get another licence called a licence to operate, and we're hoping to begin operations in 2043," Heil said.

"We're still looking at a number of years from now, about 18 years, so there's still lots of time before we get to that point."

Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation, who, along with Ignace, are the repository's host communities, will also conduct its own separate parallel review process.

The size of the site itself that would require clearing is about 120 hectares, Heil told council. The below-ground work would involve the drilling of three shafts in total -- two main access ones and one for ventilation -- with the main ones being about seven metres in diameter and going down about 800 metres.

If approvals for the work are granted, the bulk of the construction workforce would start arriving in the region around 2030, he said, and could total about 600 people.

Another 600 would then be scheduled in "over the operational period, which is probably 50 to 60 years thereafter," Heil said, before it "ramps down."

"So, a fairly significant amount of people starting in about 2030 if we get our licence to prepare (the) site at that point in time."