L-2010-023, Environmental Protection Plan Report, Unusual or Important Environmental Event - Manatee

Environmental Protection Plan Report, Unusual or Important Environmental Event - Manatee

ML100490060
Person / Time
Site:	Saint Lucie
Issue date:	02/05/2010
From:	Katzman E Florida Power & Light Co
To:	Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
EPP 5.4.2, L-2010-023
Download: ML100490060 (3)

Text

Florida Power & Light Company, 6501 S. Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach, FL 34957 February 5, 2010 FPL L-2010-023 10 CFR 50.36b EPP 5.4.2 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Attn: Document Control Desk Washington, D.C. 20555 Re: St. Lucie Units 1 and 2 Docket Nos. 50-335 and 50-389 Environmental Protection Plan Report Date of Event: January 11, 2010 Unusual or Important Environmental Event - Manatee The attached report is being submitted pursuant to the requirements of Section 5.4.2 of the St.

Lucie Units 1 and 2 Environmental Protection Plans to provide a description of a reportable capture of a manatee in the intake canal at the St. Lucie Plant.

Sincerely, Eric S. Katzman Licensing Manager St. Lucie Plant ESK/CAA Attachment an FPL Group company L1(U~-

St. Lucie Units 1 and 2 Docket Nos. 50-335 and 50-389 L-2010-023Attachment Page 1 of 2 EVENT DESCRIPTION At approximately 0800 hours0.00926 days <br />0.222 hours <br />0.00132 weeks <br />3.044e-4 months <br /> on January 11, 2010 a manatee (Trichechus Manatus) was discovered in the St. Lucie Plant Intake cooling water canal. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) was notified of the manatee's entrainment at approximately 0830 hours0.00961 days <br />0.231 hours <br />0.00137 weeks <br />3.15815e-4 months <br />. FWCC personnel arrived on site and removed the manatee from plant property at approximately 1200 hours0.0139 days <br />0.333 hours <br />0.00198 weeks <br />4.566e-4 months <br /> that same day.

During rescue activities the manatee appeared to be lethargic and injured. The FWCC transported the manatee to a rehabilitation center located at the Miami Seaquarium upon removal from the plant's intake canal. The manatee died later that evening.

Upon notification of the mortality the plant intended to make a notification to the NRC that the manatee's mortality was probably causal to plant operations. However, the FWCC recommended that FPL wait on the results of the necropsy to determine the actual cause of death.

During this entrainment event, the St. Lucie County area, as well as most regions of the state experienced extreme cold temperatures which endured for approximately two weeks. The prolonged severe weather was responsible for an unprecedented amount of wild life die off in the area. Large quantities of marine life mortalities were observed on the near-by ocean beaches, and the adjacent Indian River Lagoon. The FWCC subsequently issued a preliminary report that as of January 26, 2010, a total of 77 manatee deaths attributed to cold stress have been documented.

The FWCC has provided FPL with a draft necropsy report. The FWCC informed FPL that the final report may take as long as two months due to the inordinate amount of necropsies the agency is performing due to the cold weather impact. The draft report was inconclusive and states that the FWCC was unable to determine the cause of death; however, the included report states that several cold water disease indicators were identified.

If the final necropsy report re-evaluates the data, and determines that the cause of death was causal to plant operations, FPL will notify the NRC of a causal mortality at that time.

CAUSE OF THE EVENT The entrainment of the manatee occurred when the manatee entered the plant's offshore intake cooling water piping and was swept into the plant cooling water canal by the flow of seawater through the plants intake water system.

CORRECTIVE ACTIONS The manatee was removed from the St. Lucie Plant Intake canal and delivered to the Miami Sequarium rehabilitation facility by the FWCC on January 11, 2010.

St. Lucie Units 1 and 2 Docket Nos. 50-335 and 50-389 L-2010-023Attachment Page 2 of 2 CORRECTIVE ACTIONS TO PRECLUDE REPITITION OF THE EVENT The design of the plant intake structures, including the associated velocity caps are permanent structures, therefore these structures are not subject to casual modification. Currently FPL is waiting on the final draft of a Section 7, Biological Opinion that's crafted between NRC, and the National Marine Fisheries Service. The preliminary Biological Opinion report calls for a marine life excluder to be installed on the intake systems velocity caps.

Upon receipt of the final Biological Opinion Report installation activities will be scheduled. The duration of the project is weather dependent, and scheduled to take approximately three years.

AGENCIES NOTIFIED The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were contacted by FPL on January 11, 2010.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission was notified on January 11, 2010.