The Property Value Protection (PVP) Program is an integral part of the 2001 Legal Agreement signed by the municipalities of Port Hope and Clarington and the Government of Canada that established the Port Hope Area Initiative (PHAI). The mandate of the PHAI is the cleanup and local, long-term, safe management of historic low-level radioactive waste in Port Hope and Port Granby.
The Government of Canada and the two municipalities recognized that the PHAI could have the potential to create a temporary financial disadvantage to municipal property owners trying to sell, lease or renew the mortgage on their properties while the Port Hope and Port Granby projects were underway. This is especially true for owners of properties in close proximity to the sites of the long-term waste management facility in each community.
In keeping with Article 8 of the Legal Agreement, the LLRWMO established the PVP Program to compensate eligible property owners in the designated PVP Zone for financial losses relating to diminution of property value – that is, a decrease in value– realized on sale, rental or mortgage renewal as a result of the PHAI.
The PVP Program does not compensate for the longstanding presence of the historic low-level radioactive waste in the two communities. The PVP Program is administered by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories on behalf of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), a Crown corporation.
Legal Agreement Article 8 – Property Value Protection Program
8.4.2 The PVP Program will compensate Property owners in each of the three municipalities for financial losses sustained by those property owners as a result of this Project and relating to: a) any diminution of property value realized on the sale of property; b) loss of rental income; and, c) mortgage renewal difficulty.
8.4.3 PVP Program will continue in each Municipality until two years after the date that the relevant Facility in that Municipality reaches a long-term state of surveillance and monitoring.
Options for Filing a Claim
The PVP Program Rules govern the program as it is outlined in the Legal Agreement by providing a process that includes two options for filing a claim for loss or diminution of property value experienced as a result of the PHAI.
Simplified Route
Under the Simplified Route, an owner of a property within a PVP Compensation Framework is required to establish loss of value by means of an appraisal. The PHAI accepts that properties within the Compensation Frameworks have the potential to experience direct, project-related impacts (recognized project effects). Only owners of these properties are eligible to file a PVP claim under the Simplified Route. The PHAI will update the PVP Compensation Frameworks (if required) as the PHAI project progresses.
Standard Route
Under the Standard Route, a property owner is required to establish the pre-project value of the property as well as diminution of the value, and provide prescribed evidence of the cause of diminution, as outlined in the PVP Program Rules.