Urge both your U.S. Sens., as well as your U.S. Rep., to protect the Great Lakes against Canadian radioactive waste dumping!

Would you bury poison beside your well?

So asks the group Stop the Great Lakes Nuclear Dump (STGLND), comprised of residents who live near Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) Bruce Nuclear Generating Station (BNGS) in Kincardine, on Ontario's Lake Huron shore, just over 50 miles from Michigan.

(See a photo of the Lake Huron shoreline, at left.)

With nine atomic reactors on site, BNGS is the largest nuclear power plant on Earth.

Since 2002, OPG has schemed to bury Ontario's so-called "low-," and highly radioactive "intermediate-," level nuclear wastes, from 20 reactors across the province, at BNGS, less than a mile from the Lake Huron shore. A large U.S.-Canadian environmental coalition, including Beyond Nuclear, has fought hard for two decades to block the insane proposal.

But on Jan. 31, the very nearby Saugeen Ojibwe (First) Nation held a referendum, and voted to block OPG's offer of $150 million, in exchange for SON agreeing to "host" this DGR (short for Deep Geologic Repository; opponents sarcastically call it a DUD, short for Deep Underground Dump).This is a tremendous victory for the environment, health, safety, and justice.

But in early December, Canada's Nuclear Waste Management Organization, comprised of three nuclear utilities and dominated by OPG, named three finalist sites, all in Ontario, still under consideration to become the country's high-level radioactive waste dump, for irradiated nuclear fuel from 22 reactors.

Two -- Huron-Kinloss and South Bruce -- are only 20 miles or so from BNGS, still near Lake Huron.

The third, Ignace, is 150 miles northwest of Lake Superior.

In response, a bipartisan group of State of Michigan legislators has pushed back with a resolution opposing Great Lakes shoreline radioactive waste dumping.

So too has a bicameral, bipartisan U.S. congressional caucus.

In the U.S. Senate, S. Res. 470, A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the President and the Secretary of State should ensure that the Government of Canada does not permanently store nuclear waste in the Great Lakes Basin, has been introduced.

It already has seven co-sponsors, thus far all Democrats and seven from six Great Lakes States.

Please urge both your U.S. Senators to help protect the precious Great Lakes, 21% of the world's surface fresh water and 84% of North America's, drinking water supply for 40 million people, by co-sponsoring S. Res. 470.

Similarly, urge your U.S. Representative to help protect the precious Great Lakes, by co-sponsoring the identical H. Res. 805.

Currently, 13 Democratic U.S. Reps., and 7 Republican U.S. Reps., from six Great Lakes States, are co-sponsors.

You can reach your U.S. Rep.'s and U.S. Sens.' D.C. office, via the Capitol Switchboard, at (202) 224-3121.

Learn more, including links to news coverage, here.