ML110190429

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Request for List of Federally Protected Species and Important Habitats within the Area Under Evaluation for the South Texas Project, Units 1 and 2, License Renewal Application Review
ML110190429
Person / Time
Site: South Texas  STP Nuclear Operating Company icon.png
Issue date: 02/16/2011
From: Bo Pham
License Renewal Projects Branch 2
To: Orms M
US Dept of Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service
FELLS, CARMEN nrr/dlr/rpb2 301-415-6337
Shared Package
ML110200002 List:
References
Download: ML110190429 (11)
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Text

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0' Ms. Mary Orms U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) clo T AMU - Corpus Christi 6300 Ocean Drive Corpus Christi, TX 78412

SUBJECT:

REQUEST FOR LIST OF FEDERALLY PROTECTED SPECIES AND IMPORTANT HABITATS WITHIN THE AREA UNDER EVALUATION FOR THE SOUTH TEXAS PROJECT. UNITS 1 AND 2, LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION REVIEW

Dear Ms. Orms:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the staff) is reviewing an application submitted by South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company (STPNOC) for the renewal of the operating license for the South Texas Project (STP), Units 1 and 2. STP is located in Matagorda County in Texas, approximately 70 miles South-Southwest of Houston. The application for renewal was submitted by STPNOC in a letter dated October 25, 2010, pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 54 (10 CFR Part 54). The NRC has established that, as part of the staff's review of any nuclear power plant license renewal application, a site-specific Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to its Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, NUREG-1437, must be prepared under 10 CFR Part 51, the NRC's regulation that implements the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended. In the SEIS for STP, the NRC staff will consider the proposed action of whether or not to renew STP's operating license for an additional 20 years beyond the initial40-year licensing period. The SEIS will include an analysis of pertinent environmental issues, impacts to endangered or threatened species, impacts to marine resources and habitats and impacts to other fish and wildlife. This letter is being submitted under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1934, as amended.

The STP site is approximately 12,220 acres in size and consists of approximately 46 acres of site buildings, support facilities, transmission rights-of-way, and other developed land. The remaining land includes an Essential Cooling Pond (46 acres); a Main Cooling Reservoir (7,000 acres); natural lowland habitat (1, 700 acres); and other undeveloped land (3,474 acres), some of which is leased for cattle grazing. The STP site is bounded on the north, east, and south by estuarine marshland. In their license renewal application, STPNOC stated that, if renewed, STP would continue to use existing plant facilities and structures and existing power transmission facilities. No major construction or component replacement (referred to collectively in the GElS as "refurbishment") would occur as a result of the proposed license renewal.

STP uses a cooling pond-based heat dissipation system to cool its reactor units. Heated discharge water flows from the main condensers and into the Main Coolmg Reservoir, where waste heat is removed. The Colorado River supplies makeup water for the Main Cooling Reservoir. Four makeup pumps carry with a total capacity of 269;000 gallons per minute transport water from the Colorado River to a Reservoir Makeup Pumping Facility, which then

M.Orms

- 2 releases water to the Main Cooling Reservoir. The makeup pumps are operated intermittently as needed. The Main Cooling Reservoir also has a blowdown structure, which releases reservoir water to the Colorado River 1.1 miles downstream of STP along the west bank.

The transmission lines associated with STP include 9 345-kV lines and are depicted in the Transmission Line Map (enclosed). The associated transmission line rights-of-way extend a total distance of 336 miles and encompass approximately 4,775 acres of land. The transmission lines pass through primarily agricultural and rangeland as well as developed areas with low population densities and some forested areas. In its review, the NRC staff will consider Federally listed species and terrestrial and aquatic habitats that occur in or near the transmission line rights-of-way. Note that though the STP site is contained within Matagorda County, the transmission lines traverse an additional 14 counties, which are listed at the bottom of the Federally Listed Species Table (enclosed).

To support the SEIS preparation process and to ensure compliance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, the NRC requests concurrence on the enclosed Federally Listed Species Table, which includes threatened, endangered, proposed, and candidate species that may be on or in the vicinity of the STP or its associated transmission line rights-of-way. The NRC also requests any additional information on protected species and critical habitat that may be in the vicinity of the STP if such information is available. In addition, please provide any information you consider appropriate under the provisions of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act.

The NRC staff plans to hold two public scoping meetings on March 2, 2011. The first session will be held in the afternoon and an identical session will be held later that evening. The first meeting will convene at 1 :30 PM and will continue until 3:30 PM, as necessary. The second meeting will convene at 7:00 PM and will continue until 9:00 PM as necessary. Both sessions will be held at the Bay City Civic Center, Main Hall, Room 100, 201 Seventh Street, Bay City, TX 77414. In addition, during the week of July 11,2011, the NRC plans to conduct a site audit.

You and your staff are invited to attend both the public meetings and the site audit. Your office will receive a copy of the draft SEIS along with a request for comments. The anticipated publication date for the draft SEIS is in 2012.

M.Orms

-3 If you have any questions concerning the NRC staff's review of this license renewal application, please contact Tam Tran, License Renewal Project Manager, at 301-415-3617 or by e-mail at Tam.Tran@nrc.gov.

Sincerely, Bo M. Pham, Branch Chief Projects Branch 1 Division of License Renewal Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-498 and 50-499

Enclosures:

1. Area Map, 50-mile radius
4. Transmission Line Map
2. Area Map, 6-mile radius
5. Federal T&E Species Table
3. Site Area Map cc w/encls: Distribution via Listserv

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AREA MAP. 6-MILE RADIUS Ii Ii

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RANSMISSION LINE MAP Di.1o'

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WIlier l1li N~"I Pm SM'WI I" lnIJanmit STP Units 1 and 2 license Renewal Environmental Report Figure 3.1-2: Transmission Corridors ENCLOSURE 4

Federally Listed Species Potentially Occurring On and In The Vicinity of the South Texas Project Site and Its Associated Transmission Line Rights-of-Way Scientific Name Common Name Federal County(ies) of Status(a)

Occurrence(b)

Am~hibians Bufo houstonensis Houston toad E

Colorado, Lavaca Arachnids Cicurina baronia robber baron cave meshweaver E

Bexar Cicurina madla Madia's cave meshweaver E

Bexar Cicurina ven;;

bra ken bat cave meshweaver E

Bexar Cicurina vespera Government Canyon bat cave E

Bexar meshweaver Neoleptoneta microps Government Canyon bat cave E

Bexar spider Texella cokendolEheri CokendolEher cave harvestman E

Bexar Birds Charadrius melodus piping plover T

Brazoria, Matagorda Dendroica chrysoparia golden-cheeked warbler E

Bexar, Comal Falco femoralis septentrionalis northern aplomado falcon E

ALL Tympanuchus cupido attwateri Attwater's greater prairie E

Colorado chicken Vireo atricapjlla black-caE.E.ed vireo E

Bexar, Comal Cl'llstacearts.

Stygobromus pecki Peck's cave amEblE,od E

Comal Fish Etheostoma fontico/a fountain darter E

Comal Gambusia georgei San Marcos gambusia E

Bexar, Coma I Flowering Plants Batrisodes venyivi helotes mold beetle E

Bexar Hoffmannseggja ten ella slender rush-gea E

ALL Insects Heterelmis comalensis Comal Springs riffle beetle E

Comal Rhadine exilis unnamed ground beetle E

Bexar Rhadine infernalis unnamed ground beetle E

Bexar Spiranthes parksii Navasota ladies' tresses E

Fayette Stygoparnus comalensis Coma I Springs dryopid beetle E

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Mammals Herpailurus yagouaroundi Gulf Coast jaguarondi E

Karnes cacomitli Leopardus pardalis ocelot E

Karnes Trichechus manatus West Indian manatee E

Brazoria, Jackson, Matagorda Ursus americanus(3)

American black bear T

ALL Re~tiles.

Caretta caretta loggerhead sea turtle Chelonia mydas green sea turtle Dermochelys coriacea leatherback sea turtle Eretmochelys imbricate hawksbill sea turtle Lepidochelys kempii Kemp's ridley sea turtle T

Brazoria, Matagorda T

Brazoria, Matagorda E

Brazoria, Matagorda E

Brazoria. Matagorda E

Brazoria, Matagorda ENCLOSURE 5

- 2 (a) C = candidate, E = endangered, T = threatened (b) The South Texas Site is located in Matagorda County. The transmission lines associated with the South Texas Site traverse Matagorda County as well as the following counties: Bexar, Brazoria, Colorado. DeWitt, Fayette, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Jackson, Lavaca, Wharton, and Wilson Counties.

(3)The American black bear is designated threatened within the historic range of the Louisiana black bear (Ursus americanus luteolus) due to its similarity of appearance with this species.

Table Source:

FWS (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). "Find Endangered Species: Species By County Report" for Bexar, Brazoria, Colorado. Comal, DeWitt, Fayette, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Jackson,Karnes, Lavaca, Matagorda, Victoria, Wharton, and Wilson Counties. Available URL: http://www.fws.gov/endangered/

(accessed January 27, 2011 ).

M.Orms

- 3 If you have any questions concerning the NRC staff's review of this license renewal application, please contact Tam Tran, License Renewal Project Manager, at 301-415-3617 or by e-mail at Tam.Tran@nrc.gov.

Sincerely, IRA!

Bo M. Pham, Branch Chief Projects Branch 1 Division of License Renewal Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-498 and 50-499

Enclosures:

1. Area Map, 50-mile radius
4. Transmission Line Map
2. Area Map, 6-mile radius
5. Federal T&E Species Table
3. Site Area Map cc w/encls: Distribution via Listserv DISTRIBUTION:

See next page OFFICE ADAMS Accession LA:DLR Number: (Pkg.) M PM: DLR/RPB1 L110200002 (Ltr. ML110190429 BC: DLR/RERB BC: DLR/RPB2 iNAME SFigueroa TTran Almboden BPham DATE 02/08/2011 02/08/2011

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02/11/2011 02/16/2011 OFFICIAL RECORD COpy

Letter to Mary Orms from Bo Pham dated February 16, 2011

SUBJECT:

REQUEST FOR LIST OF FEDERALLY PROTECTED SPECIES AND IMPORTANT HABITATS WITHIN THE AREA UNDER EVALUATION FOR THE SOUTH TEXAS PROJECT, UNITS 1 AND 2, LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION REVIEW DISTRIBUTION:

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