Participant Funding Program decision –Denison’s Wheeler River Project – Phase 2

Status

This participant funding opportunity is now closed, and funding has been approved.

Background

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) previously announced that it was offering up to $250,000 in participant funding to assist Indigenous Nations and communities, members of the public and interested parties in reviewing the environmental assessment (EA) and licence application for Denison’s Wheeler River Project and in participating in a future Commission hearing process. This was the second opportunity to apply for participant funding for the Wheeler River Project. The Commission has not yet announced any details, such as date or location, for a hearing on Denison’s application. For more information on the earlier Wheeler River funding opportunity, please see the previous participant funding notice.

Denison is proposing to develop an in situ recovery uranium mining and processing operation located in the Athabasca Basin in northern Saskatchewan, approximately 600 km north of the city of Saskatoon, 4 km west of Highway 914, and midway between Cameco Corporation's Key Lake Mill and McArthur River Mine. The proposed Wheeler River mine would produce up to 12 million pounds of uranium concentrate (U₃O₈) annually for 15 years. Under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, Denison's proposal requires CNSC authorization, which must include an EA decision under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, affirming that the proposed activities will not cause significant adverse environmental effects, followed by a licensing decision.

CNSC participant funding decision

A funding review committee (FRC) was established to review the funding applications received by the CNSC’s PFP administrator and to make recommendations on the allocation of funding to eligible applicants. The FRC was given the flexibility to recommend funding beyond $250,000 based on the value-added nature of the funding applications received.

The CNSC carefully considered the FRC’s recommendations on the allocation of participant funding and approved the reimbursement of up to $545,639.94 to the following recipients:

Recipient	CNSC approved funding
Birch Narrows Dene Nation	$56,166
English River First Nation	$75,814.44
Kineepik Métis Local #9	$65,800
Lac La Ronge Indian Band	$45,000
Métis Nation – Saskatchewan	$94,477.10
MiningWatch Canada	$32,200
Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation	$45,422.40
Saskatchewan Environmental Society and Nuclear Transparency Project	$40,600
Ya’thi Néné Land and Resource Office	$90,160
Total	$545,639.94

Eligibility and funding criteria

For more information on participant funding and how it works, including details on eligibility and funding criteria, please read the PFP guide.

Contact information

Participant Funding Program Administrator  
613-415-2814  
pfp@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca