A report saying SaskPower is looking at putting a nuclear power plant near Elbow in the Lake Diefenbaker region is drawing mixed reactions from residents in the village of about 300.
The report, obtained by CBC News, says that if a nuclear power plant is going to be built in the province, the Lake Diefenbaker area would be the best location of several possibilities.
The 2007 report written by Stantec Consulting for the Crown utility recommends a site on the eastern shore of the lake between the Gardiner Dam and Elbow.
Elbow is about 145 kilometres south of Saskatoon.
The recommendation alarms people like Scott McKenzie, who has been vacationing in the Lake Diefenbaker area for seven years and plans to make it his home.
"It shocks me a little to begin with," McKenzie said. "One is always worried about a catastrophe, an accident or something like that."
However, Russ Boyle, who is building a house near the lake, doesn't share McKenzie's concerns. In fact, he wouldn't mind if a nuclear facility was nearby.
"I think we do need a nuclear plant," he said. "I'd like to see it coming into the area, and shut down the Gardiner Dam and save the water 'cause we're going to be short of water."
Mayor doesn't want tourism jeopardized
Elbow Mayor David Cross said he's not opposed to nuclear power and would welcome the jobs a nearby plant would create, but he still has concerns.
"We are a tourist-based town and we would not want to be entertaining anything that would jeopardize the tourism aspect," he said.
Meanwhile, Saskatchewan Crown Corporations Minister Ken Cheveldayoff said SaskPower will not be building a reactor, but will be in discussions with companies like Bruce Power, Cameco and Areva.
"We will invite them to bring their proposals forward because we will look at it in an environmentally responsible manner, never compromising the safety for Saskatchewan people," he said Wednesday in the legislature.
