ML031250619

Annual Environmental Operating Report

ML031250619
Person / Time
Site:	Hope Creek
Issue date:	04/30/2003
From:	Eggers J Public Service Enterprise Group
To:	Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
LR-E03-0194
Download: ML031250619 (7)

Text

PSEG Nuclear LLC P.O. Box 236, Hancocks Bridge, New Jersey 08038-0236 I

APR3 203 0 PSEG Nuclear LLC LR-E03-0194 CERTIFIED MAIL RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED ARTICLE NUMBER: 7001 1140 0002 6726 5206 United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Document Control Desk Washington, DC 20555 Gentlemen:

2002 ANNUAL ENVIRONMENTAL OPERATING REPORT HOPE CREEK GENERATING STATION FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-57 DOCKET NO. 50-354 The attached 2002 Annual Environmental Operating Report is hereby submitted pursuant to Subsection 5.4.1 of the Environmental Protection Plan (Non-radiological) for Hope Creek Generating Station. The Environmental Protection Plan is Appendix B to Facility Operating License NPF-57 (Docket No. 50-354).

Sincerely, James M. Eggers Environmental Licensing Supervisor

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XAPR 302W USNRC 2 LR-E03-0194 C Mr. Hubert J. Miller, Administrator - Region I U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406 Mr. George Wunder, Licensing Project Manager - HC U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission One White Flint North 11555 Rockville Pike Mail Stop 8B1 Rockville, MD 20852 USNRC Senior Resident Inspector - Hope Creek Mail Code (X24)

Mr. K. Tosch, Manager, IV Bureau of Nuclear Engineering P.O. Box 415 Trenton, NJ 08625-0415

2002 ANNUAL ENVIRONMENTAL OPERATING REPORT (NON-RADIOLOGICAL)

January 1 through December 31, 2002 HOPE CREEK GENERATING STATION DOCKET NO. 50-354 OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-57 PSEG NUCLEAR LLC P.O. BOX 236 HANCOCKS BRIDGE, NEW JERSEY 08038 APRIL 2003

3; TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Title Pacie

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1 2.0 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACTIVITIES 1 2.1 AQUATIC ISSUES 1 2.2 TERRESTRIAL ISSUES 2 3.0 EPP COMPLIANCE STATUS 3 3.1 EPP NONCOMPLIANCES 3 3.2 REVIEW 3 4.0 CHANGES IN STATION DESIGN OR OPERATION 3 5.0 NONROUTINE REPORTS 3

1.0 INTRODUCTION

This 2002 Annual Environmental Operating Report (AEOR) for the Hope Creek Generating Station was prepared in accordance with Subsection 5.4.1 of Appendix B to Facility Operating License No. NPF-57, Environmental Protection Plan (Non-radiological). The reporting requirements of the Environmental Protection Plan (EPP) became effective April 11, 1986, with the issuance of the initial Hope Creek Operating License (NPF-57).

This is the 17th AEOR submitted for Hope Creek Generating Station. It corresponds to the reporting period January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2002.

Hope Creek Generating Station produced 8,843,083 megawatt-hours of net electrical energy during this period.

As required by Subsection 5.4.1 of the EPP, we have included summaries and analyses of all required environmental protection activities. This information is described in Section 2.0. Section 3.0 addresses the issue of EPP compliance.

Changes to station design or operation and the review for potentially significant unreviewed environmental questions are addressed in Section 4.0.

Administrative review procedures and unusual andlor important environmental events are discussed in Section 5.0.

2.0 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACTIVITIES 2.1 AQUATIC ISSUES Subsection 4.2.1 of the EPP references the Clean Water Act as the mechanism for protecting aquatic biota through water quality monitoring. The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) relies upon the State of New Jersey, acting under the authority of the Clean Water Act, to insure applicable requirements for aquatic monitoring are implemented. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is the state's regulatory agency.

The state of New Jersey requires as part of their New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) permit program that effluent monitoring be performed, with the results summarized and submitted monthly on Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) forms. The monitoring is intended to determine compliance with permit (NJPDES No. NJ002541 1) effluent limitations. We have reviewed the DMR's corresponding to the 2002 AEOR reporting period and have determined that no significant deviations have occurred. Copies of monthly DMR's are routinely sent to USNRC's Document Control Desk and additional copies are available upon request.

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On December 31, 2002, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) issued a Final New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) Permit that authorizes the continued discharge of cooling tower blowdown and other effluents from the Hope Creek Generating Station to the Delaware River. The Permit was effective on March 1, 2003 and contains conditions and limitations for continued compliance with the federal and state Clean Water Act (CWA) and the NJDEP's regulations. The NJPDES Permit retains substantially similar effluent limitations and conditions, including chemical-specific requirements and system operational requirements.

While the NRC relies on the State of New Jersey for protection of the water quality, the National Marine Fisheries Service maintains regulatory authority with respect to certain migratory threatened and endangered aquatic species. On May 15, 1993 the NMFS issued a revised Section 7 Consultation, Biological Opinion. The revision removed all requirements for marine life monitoring at the Hope Creek Generating Station. This revision was incorporated into the Facility Operating License No. NPF-57 through Amendment No. 60.

2.2 TERRESTRIAL ISSUES PSEG NUCLEAR LLC has been voluntarily monitoring the osprey population that nest on our transmission towers through a joint effort with the NJDEP since 1989.

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3.0 EPP COMPLIANCE STATUS 3.1 EPP NONCOMPLIANCES Subsection 5.4.1 of the EPP requires a list of EPP noncompliances and the corrective actions taken to remedy them. As a result of an internal assessment it was discovered that neither the application for nor the approval of a modification to the station's NJPDES permit had been sent to the NRC as required by subsection 3.2 of the EPP. When discovered, copies of both the application and approval were immediately submitted to the NRC. Activities have been added to the permit tracking database to preclude this from happening in the future. Additionally, personnel involved with permit renewal and modification responsibilities have been reminded of the requirements contained in the EPP.

3.2 REVIEW Subsection 5.1 of the EPP for Hope Creek Generating Station requires that an independent review of compliance with the EPP be maintained and made available for inspection. Compliance with the EPP was reviewed as part of the QA Assessment Program in 2002.

4.0 CHANGES IN STATION DESIGN OR OPERATION Pursuant to the requirements of Section 3.1 of the EPP, station design/operational changes during the time period covered by this report were reviewed for potential environmental impact. None of the recommended changes posed a potential to significantly affect the environment, and therefore, none involved an unreviewed environmental question or a change in the EPP.

5.0 NONROUTINE REPORTS Subsection 5.4.1 of the EPP requires that a list of nonroutine reports submitted to the NRC during 2002 be included with this report. No environmentally related nonroutine reports were submitted to the USNRC in 2002.

Hope Creek Generating Station experienced no unusual or important events that indicated or could have resulted in a "significant environmental impact" during the 2002 reporting period.

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