L-2025-194, Unusual or Important Environmental Event - Queen Conch
| ML25353A246 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Saint Lucie  |
| Issue date: | 12/19/2025 |
| From: | Mack K Florida Power & Light Co |
| To: | Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, Document Control Desk |
| References | |
| L-2025-194 | |
| Download: ML25353A246 (0) | |
Text
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Attn: Document Control Desk Washington, DC 20555 Re:
St.,Lucie Units 1 and 2 December 19, 2025 Docket Nos. 50-335 and 50-389 Environmental Protection Plan Report Event Date: November 24, 2025
~nusual or Important Environmental Event - Queen Conch.
L-2025-194 10 CFR 50.4 EPP-4.1 On November 23, 2025, an adult Queen Conch (Aliger gigas) was captured along the bank of the St.
Lucie Plant Intake Cooling Canal, east of the five-inch turtle net. The Queen Conch was captured, catalogued and then returned to the ocean in good health. The Queen Conch was listed as threatened in the Endangered Species Act in 2024.
The attached report is being submitted pursuant to the requirements of Section 4.1 of the St. Lucie Units 1 and 2 Environmental Protection Plan (EPP) to provide the description of the capture of an adult Queen Conch.
Should you have any questions regarding the submission, please contact Maribel Valdez at 561-904-1564.
Sincerely, ng and Regulatory Compliance Florida Power & Light Company Attachment cc:
FDEP Siting Office Audra Livergood, National Marie Fisheries Service Briana Arlene, Biologist, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Meghan Koperski, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Florida Power & Light Company 6501 S. Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach, FL 34957
DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENT L-2025-194 Attachment Page 1 of 1 On November 23. 2025, a site biologist identifed an adult Queen Conch moving in shallow water along the bank of the St. Lucie Plant Intake Cooling Canal. The biologist captured the Queen Conch, subsequently documenting its condition through photography and cataloguing. The Queen Conch was released back into the environment at the adjacent Walton Rocks Reef area.
CAUSE OF EVENT The discovery of the conch in the intake canal was unforeseen. It is believed that the specimen either entered the canal as an adult through the offshore velocity channel or arrived as larvae and subsequently matured within the canal.
CORRECTIVE ACTION Biologists perform ongoing monitoring of the canal for the presence of turtles. Regular surveys are also conducted along the canal banks and with turtle nets. St. Lucie will now include Queen Conch in its shallow water bank inspections, free diving activities, and reporting protocols.
ACTIONS TO PRECLUDE FUTURE EVENTS The entry of Queen Conch into the canal cannot be prevented; however, following its discovery, St.
Lucie has included this species in its inspection and dive activity monitoring protocols.
AGIENCES NOTIFIED The National Marine Fisheries Service was notified on November 24, 2025, in accordance with the St. Lucie Site Environmental Protection Plan. Notification was made to the NRC on November 24, 2025, in accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR 50.72(b)(2)(xi), notification to an offsite agency.