Meeting of the High-Level Committee: announcements to strengthen dialogue and consultation
Under the presidency of Sébastien Lecornu, Secretary of State to the Minister for Ecological and Inclusive Transition, the High-Level Committee (CHN) met on Wednesday 7 March 2018 at the Ministry for Ecology, in the presence of elected officials (members of Parliament, EPCI Presidents, local mayors), Andra, guarantors from CNDP (national public debates commission) appointed to monitor the consultations implemented by Andra, producers (EDF, Orano and CEA), GIP 52 and 55, the prefect of the Great East region, the prefects of departments 52 and 55 and all stakeholders involved in the rollout of the Cigeo project (Caisse des Dépôts et des Consignations, State central services, etc.).
During the CHN meeting, Pierre-Marie Abadie recalled the history of the project, gave an interim briefing of progress made in the design studies, presented Andra’s dialogue and consultation efforts and noted Andra’s involvement in supporting and developing the local economy.
The purpose of the CHN meeting was to announce the implementation of additional dialogue and consultation tools as well as the creation of specific working groups on local taxation issues that apply to Cigeo and on modernisation of the roads infrastructure in order to reach a consensus among local stakeholders by the time of the next CHN meeting in September 2018.
With regard to dialogue and consultation, the secretary of state announced that a public debate would be held on radioactive waste management as part of the public debate on the National Radioactive Materials and Waste Management Plan (PNGDMR), stating to the press that he considered that “for an exceptional project, consultation should also be exceptional”.
Sébastien Lecornu also announced that a quarterly meeting of scientific experts and intellectuals under the aegis of Minister Nicolas Hulot would be held to discuss project progress and points of view until the construction license application is submitted. A shared on-line resources platform will be created by the summer to make all information about the Cigeo project available to citizens and provide answers to their questions.
A study group comprising members of Parliament, representatives of environmental protection associations, journalists and representatives of the producers, and led by the secretary of state, will visit Finland before the summer in order to assess the progress of the work done in Finland where, it should be recalled, an industrial geological disposal facility has been licensed.