Government consults on new site selection process for the disposal of radioactive waste

Under the proposed new siting process, a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) development would be designated as a  Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) under the Planning Act 2008 , given its scale and national importance and a new National Policy Statement on GDF would be prepared to follow the launch of the new siting process.

The proposals will also involve local communities, represented by the most local competent authority such as a district council (the 'representative authority'), earlier in the siting process and a "positive community-wide demonstration of support" would need to be demonstrated before plans could go ahead.

A GDF would allow the disposal of higher activity radioactive waste in a secure site deep underground. The site, which would be permanent, would allow for the disposal of both existing legacy waste and waste from new nuclear power stations.

"Geological disposal is the right approach for the long-term, safe and secure management of the UK's higher activity radioactive waste," said Energy Minister Baroness Verma.

"Hosting a site would bring lasting economic benefits with jobs, opportunities for businesses, and a generous benefits package to support the community. We want to make sure those benefits are well understood and supported by all those in the area surrounding any host community," she said. 

This consultation has been issued jointly by the UK Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.   

The "first step" in the new process proposed by the consultation would be a "period of public information sharing and discussion", during which the UK Government would try to raise national awareness of the GDF project. Any interested communities could then get involved in informed initial discussions based on clear, easy-to-access information on regional geology, the inventory of waste for disposal and the general socio-economic impacts of hosting a GDF. The Government would also provide greater clarity, at an earlier stage, about the scale and timing of community benefits and the likely investment in the area.

A new continuous siting process would consist of two main phases, namely: ‘learning’ and ‘focusing’ phases. The learning phase "would involve the production of independent reports on local geology and the potential socio-economic impact of a GDF on the local area, paid for by the UK Government and delivered to the representative authority". The subsequent focussing phase would only begin if the representative authority and the UK Government both wished to proceed and would "seek to identify potentially suitable sites within a community that has agreed to participate in the process and investigate them in more detail." Any applicable community benefits package would apply at the focussing phase and a 'consultative partnership' representing wider interests would be established.

According to the consultation, development of a GDF could not proceed under the new regime "without a positive demonstration of community support". 

The consultation on the proposals, which does not cover requirements for environmental and sustainability appraisal or regulatory consents, is open until 5 December and will include a series of national public events. The Government plans to restart the national selection process for a suitable site for a GDF next year, it said.