A resolution passed at the 2012 Annual Meeting by the Great Lakes United membership on Radioactive Waste Burial. 

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Great Lakes United, in concert with stakeholders, urge the Governments of Canada and Ontario to commit, on the signing of the next Canada-Ontario Agreement, to the establishment and resourcing of a 10-year, $ 1.0 billion (total) CDN fund, to be made available on a cost-share basis to municipalities for the implementation of large-scale ( (greater than $10 million CDN) Remedial Actions that address contaminated sediment, combined-sewer overflows, or other green or grey infrastructure upgrades as required to meet Beneficial Use Impairment delisting criteria in the remaining Canadian Areas of Concern.
THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Great Lakes United advocate that the Governments of Canada and Ontario determine cost-sharing formulae for large-scale Remedial Action projects in consultation with Area of Concern municipalities and other stakeholders.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Great Lakes United urge the provincial and state governments of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River region to give integrated watershed planning legal standing in water management instruments, including the Planning Act and Provincial Policy Statement, the Water Resources Act, Clean Water Act, and Conservation Authorities Act;

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Great Lakes United urge the state and provincial governments of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River region to quantify the economic, social, environmental, and health benefits of green infrastructure, and that such accounting be inclusive of any savings realized from the extended life of existing grey infrastructure;

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Great Lakes United urge municipalities and the state and provincial governments of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River region to set ambitious, achievable performance measures and targets to ensure sustainable water resources on a watershed and aquifer basis; such targets will take into consideration human, economic, and ecosystem needs;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Great Lakes United:
--Opposes the deregulation, release, and dispersal of radioactive waste metals and materials into commerce and the environment;
--Opposes the processing for release, buying and selling of any materials or products from or made from materials that have been contaminated by nuclear power or weapons fuel chain facilities;
--Opposes setting the precedent of shipping radioactive waste metals and materials on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.
--Advocates public policy which prohibits releases of radioactive wastes and materials into commerce or their unrestricted dumping; that radioactive waste metals and materials be regulated and isolated from the environment and public for their entire hazardous life; that all costs of recapturing, isolating and managing radioactive wastes and materials be borne by the generator;
--Appeals to all public officials at all levels to oppose and prohibit the deregulation of radioactive wastes and materials for “clearance,” “release,” “recycling,” “exemption,” listing them as “below regulatory concern,” or any other legalistic mechanism that results in dispersal of nuclear wastes and materials into public commerce or unrestricted dumping, or in any way being treated as if they were nonradioactive.

Therefore be it resolved that Great Lakes United urge each jurisdiction in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin to pursue a goal of No New Water by living within their existing water quantities and sources, including accommodating any community growth within existing water supplies.

Therefore be it further resolved that Great Lakes United push for the goal of no new water in the conservation plans in development as per the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement.

Therefore be it further resolved that Great Lakes United urge each Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River jurisdiction to direct funds towards the conservation and reuse of water in lieu of expansion of existing water sources and development of new water sources.

Therefore be it resolved that Great Lakes United supports a precautionary moratorium on all new or expanding Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) that produce untreated animal waste; and, Therefore be it further resolved that Great Lakes United supports: The improvement and similar wastewater transportation, delivery, and treatment systems on each CAFO site within the Great Lakes watershed, at least as stringent as the U.S. federal or Canadian provincial water quality mandates and standards required of municipalities producing the same volume of human waste; and that these improvements should apply to all medium and large livestock operations; and, that safe nutrient management practices and disposal of sludge should be included in the requirements in order to maintain adequate water quality standards in ground and surface waters.

Therefore, be it resolved that Great Lakes United urges the DOE and NYSERDA to immediately select the Site-wide Waste Removal cleanup approach at West Valley in order to effectively protect public health and the Great Lakes region from the West Valley’s hazardous radioactivity; and,
Therefore be it further resolved that Great Lakes United opposes radioactive waste reprocessing due to its inevitable risks of nuclear weapons proliferation and environmental devastation, as well as astronomical cost to taxpayers; and, Therefore be it further resolved to deliver a copy of this resolution to the appropriate DOE and NYSERDA officials by their June 8, 2009 deadline for public comments on the West Valley Draft Environmental Impact Statement and decommissioning plan, as well as to other government agencies and public officials.

Therefore be it resolved that Great Lakes United calls on our federal, state and provincial governments to immediately shift taxpayer funds away from fossil fuels and nuclear power into support for distributed renewable energy generators, energy efficiency, and conservation measures, to massively reduce greenhouse gas emissions and their health and environmental harms, and urgently try to mitigate as much as possible the effects of global warming and climate change.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Great Lakes United calls on the relevant federal, state and provincial governments to declare and enforce moratoria on uranium mining and exploration activities within the Great Lakes basin for the indefinite future.

Therefore, Be It Resolved, that Great Lakes United, a basin wide organization concerned with the health of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence ecosystem and its inhabitants opposes the construction of this plant.