An initial plan for decommissioning should be prepared at the time of designing the facility and submitted by the operator to the regulator in support of the licence application. Many older facilities were designed, constructed and operated with little or no regard to decommissioning — for these, an initial plan should be made at the earliest opportunity.
The initial plan should describe:
- The preferred decommissioning option
- Resources necessary for decommissioning
- Waste management provisions
The initial plan should be reviewed periodically and updated while operation is ongoing. The final Decommissioning Plan would be submitted for regulatory approval most likely just before final shutdown.