ML070860283

Email: (PA-LR) Vermont Yankee: Draft GEIS: Comments3

ML070860283
Person / Time
Site:	Vermont Yankee File:NorthStar Vermont Yankee icon.png
Issue date:	03/02/2007
From:	Marx D - No Known Affiliation
To:	Emch R NRC/NRR/ADRO/DLR/REBB
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TAC MD2297
Download: ML070860283 (4)

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I Richard Emch - Re: Vermont Yankee: Draft GEIS: comments Page 11 From: "Daniel J. Marx, Ph.D." <djmarx@sover.net>

To: "Richard Emch" <RLE@nrc.gov>

Date: 03/02/2007 9:47:30 PM

Subject:

Re: Vermont Yankee: Draft GELS: comments Rich, The attachment is a document made with AppleWorks 6.2.9 on my Mac G5 desktop running Mac OS 10.4.3.

It is the document I gave to several of you as a hardcopy at the public meeting on January 31 in Brattleboro.

I was the Vermont Yankee in-house 'senior scientist' (biologist) between 1972 and 1996, the year I retired.

The substance of my comment on the Draft GElS is in the body of the e-mail message itself.

Dan Marx Daniel J. Marx, Ph.D.

DJM-PHD Sound Recording, Daniel Marx Photography, Marx Environmental 721 Park Laughton Rd.

E. Dummerston, VT 05346-9580 USA (802)257-1121 CCO: "Masnik, Michael T., Ph.D." <mtm2@nrc.gov>

Ic:\temp\GW}00004.TMP Page 1I Mail Envelope Properties (45E8EIAB.07A:13 :122)

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Re: Vermont Yankee: Draft GEIS: comments Creation Date 03/02/2007 9:46:35 PM Fron: "Daniel J. Marx, Ph.D." <dimarx(,sover.net>

Created By: dimarx(@sover.net Recipients nrc.gov TWGWPOO1.HQGWDO01 MTM2 CC (Michael Masnik) nrc.gov OWGWPO02.HQGWDO01 RLE (Richard Emch)

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Dr. Daniel Marx, verbal presentation before the US NRC, 1/31/07, Brattleboro, VT:

Aquatic 0 Environmental Impact of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station.

My name is (Dr.) Dan Marx. I live in Dummerston, the next town north up the road. I am a member of the Vermont Energy Partnership.

For 24 years, from 1972 to 1996, 1 was the chief biologist at Vermont Yankee. I retired from Vermont Yankee in 1996. I came to Vermont Yankee from the University of Minnesota with a Ph.D. in Zoology. In Minnesota, I had some prior experience with aquatic environmental monitoring at the Monticello and Prairie Island nuclear plants, both on the Mississippi River. I also worked with large coal-fired generating plants.

With Vermont Yankee, my pr [] Dimary function, from Day-One, was the day-to-day management and implementation of the aquatic environmental monitoring program on the Connecticut River. My responsibilities included the sampling, monitoring, and surveillance of a large number of parameters. Near the very top of the list was temperature of the river at many fixed locations in the river and of plant discharge cooling water. I was also responsible for the management and maintenance of the environmental discharge permit, issued by the State of Vermont, the so-called NPDES Permit: ONational Pollutant Discharge Elimination Systemb-- a permitting system driven by the Federal Clean Water Act and the EPA.

I spearheaded the renewal of the Discharge Permit every 5-years. I also guided two, EPA combined 316(a) and 316(b) 6 D$Demonstrations0, which resulted in alternate thermal discharge criteria being permitted under very specific conditions of river flow and temperature to adequately protect river biota.

During my 24-year tenure, all of the data collected from the river, with associated analysis and interpretation,was conducted for Vermont Yankee by the environmental consulting firm AQUATEC, Inc. out of South Burlington, Vermont. Vermont Yankee and Aquatec actually began the studies pre-operationally in 1967, before I was on the scene. From ODay-OneO, the early environmental program was crafted with consultation and input from the state environmental agencies from VT, NH, and MA. In the very early days, up to about 1972 or 073, the Atomic Energy Commission, now the NRC, was also on board in crafting the studies EC

. The programs always remained flexible with an eye to modification as might be required in the future. Incidentally, it was also in 1967, that the New England States which Ohost6 the Connecticut River announced a long-term program to attempt to restore the Atlantic Salmon to the River, with the collaboration of the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

The area of the river included in the Vermont Yankee study zone extends from up-river in Brattleboro where the West River enters ...... to the south, down-river at the old, a 1l'bandoned Shell Bridge at Northfield,Massachusetts.

This 26 mile stretch of river is, without question, the most intensively and extensively studied section of the entire river.

In conclusion, during my 24-year tenure (72 to 96) in charge of the Vermont Yankee river studies, it is my professional judgement that it has been adequately demonstrated that Vermont Yankeebs impact on the ecosystem of the River has been ONEGLIGIBLEO----Not Zero, but negligible, very low.

Vermont Yankee has been a very low environmental impact, base-load, (24/7), producer of a major portion of Vermont's electrical energy. It deserves to be a part of Vermont(s energy future, along with green, re-newables: hydroelectric, wind, solar, bio-mass, and conservation. Let()s get off all fossil fuels to generate electricity!!