IV 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 197 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President 
and the Secretary of State should ensure that the Canadian Government 
does not permanently store nuclear waste in the Great Lakes Basin. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 13, 2017 
Mr. KILDEE (for himself, Mr. BISHOP of Michigan, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. JOYCE 
of Ohio, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. POCAN, Mr. TROTT, Mrs. 
WALORSKI, Mr. GUTIE´RREZ, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. MITCHELL, Mr. HIGGINS 
of New York, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. MOOLENAAR, and Mr. CONYERS) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the President and the Secretary of State should ensure 
that the Canadian Government does not permanently 
store nuclear waste in the Great Lakes Basin. 
Whereas the water resources of the Great Lakes Basin are 
precious public natural resources, shared by the Great 
Lakes States and the Canadian Provinces; 
Whereas the United States and Canada have, since 1909, 
worked to maintain and improve the water quality of the 
Great Lakes through water quality agreements; 
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•HRES 197 IH 
Whereas over 40,000,000 people in both Canada and the 
United States depend on the fresh water from the Great 
Lakes for drinking water; 
Whereas Ontario Power Generation is proposing to build a 
permanent geological repository for nuclear waste less 
than one mile from Lake Huron in Kincardine, Ontario, 
Canada; 
Whereas nuclear waste is highly toxic and can take tens of 
thousands of years to decompose to safe levels; 
Whereas a spill of nuclear waste into the Great Lakes could 
have lasting and severely adverse environmental, health, 
and economic impacts on the Great Lakes and the people 
that depend on them for their livelihood; 
Whereas over 187 local, county, State, and tribal govern-
ments have passed resolutions in opposition to Ontario 
Power Generation’s proposed nuclear waste repository; 
Whereas Tribes and First Nations’ citizens have a strong 
spiritual and cultural connection to the Great Lakes and 
its protection is fundamental to treaty rights; 
Whereas Ontario Power Generation has promised not to move 
forward with their current proposal without the support 
of the First Nations that would be impacted; and 
Whereas during the 1980s when the Department of Energy, 
in accordance with the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 
1982, was studying potential sites for a permanent nu-
clear waste repository in the United States, the Canadian 
Government expressed concern with locating a permanent 
nuclear waste repository within shared water basins of 
the two countries: Now, therefore, be it 
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•HRES 197 IH 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) the Canadian Government should not allow 
a permanent nuclear waste repository to be built 
within the Great Lakes Basin; 
(2) the President and the Secretary of State 
should take appropriate action to work with the Ca-
nadian Government to prevent a permanent nuclear 
waste repository from being built within the Great 
Lakes Basin; and 
(3) the President and the Secretary of State 
should work together with their Canadian Govern-
ment counterparts on a safe and responsible solution 
for the long-term storage of nuclear waste. 
Æ 
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