Liberals push back decision on burying nuclear waste near Lake Huron

OTTAWA – The new Liberal government has pushed back the deadline for approving a plan to bury nuclear waste near Lake Huron.

The decision will now come by March 1.

The government was initially supposed to decide by September whether to greenlight the proposed deep geologic repository.

However, the previous Conservative government pushed that back until December — after the election.

A $1-billion underground storage bunker near Kincardine, Ont., has won preliminary approval, but needs a green light from Ottawa.

Critics — many of them Americans — argue it would be folly to bury the toxic waste close to the lake but proponents say it’s safe.

It’s not clear what impact the delayed approval decision will have on a court challenge to the proposed repository.