ML12101A020

Response to National Park Service Regarding Comments Received on the Draft Environmental Assessment and Draft Finding No Significant Impact Associated with the Extended Power Uprate

ML12101A020
Person / Time
Site:	Turkey Point
Issue date:	06/06/2012
From:	Jason Paige Plant Licensing Branch II
To:	Wissinger G US Dept of Interior, National Park Service
Paige J
References
TAC ME4907, TAC ME4908
Download: ML12101A020 (4)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555*0001 June 6,2012 Gordon Wissinger, Acting Regional Director United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Southeast Regional Office Atlanta Federal Center 1924 Building 100 Alabama Street, SW Atlanta, Georgia 30303

SUBJECT:

TURKEY POINT, UNITS 3 AND 4 - RESPONSE TO NATIONAL PARK SERVICE REGARDING COMMENTS RECEIVED ON THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND DRAFT FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ASSOCIATED WITH THE EXTENDED POWER UPRATE (TAC NOS. ME4907 AND ME4908)

Dear Mr. Wissinger:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published a notice in the Federal Register requesting public review and comment on the Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) and Draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) of the proposed extended power uprate (EPU) at the Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant (PTN), Units 3 and 4 on November 17, 2011 (76 FR 71379),

and established December 19, 2011, as the deadline for submitting public comments. By letters dated December 9, 2011 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS)

Accession No. ML11347A194), and December 12,2011 (ML12027A023), comments were received from Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) and Mr. Steve Torcise, Jr., of the Atlantic Civil, Inc., respectively. A summary of the FPL and Atlantic Civil, Inc., comments and the NRC's disposition of these comments are included in the final EA and FONSI published in the Federal Register on April 3, 2012 (77 FR 20059). By letter dated January 12, 2012 (ML12019A348),

you provided comments on the draft EA and draft FONS!. Since your comments were received after the comment period deadline of December 19, 2011, the NRC staff did not include your comments in the final EA. However, we did consider your comments and the purpose of this letter is to respond to your comments.

I appreciate your interest with the PTN site regarding its impact on Biscayne National Park resources and your concern that the EPU will further exacerbate the impacts. However, as discussed in the draft EA, the NRC staff considered information submitted by FPL as well as the comprehensive review performed by the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) under the Florida Electrical Power Plant Siting Act. FDEP, in accordance with the FDEP site certification process, approved the proposed EPU subject to conditions and requirements contained in the Conditions of Certification (CoC).

G. Wissinger -2 The CoC was developed based on interactions by FPL with the FDEP and other stakeholders during the FDEP site certification process. The inclusion of stakeholders' recommendations into the CoC formed the basis for FDEP recommending approval of the site certification application for the proposed EPU. The CoC requires FPL to have a program to monitor and assess the potential direct and indirect impacts to ground and surface water from the proposed EPU. The monitoring includes measuring water temperature and salinity in the closed-cycle cooling canal system (CCS) and monitoring the American crocodile populations at the PTN site. The monitoring plan expands FPL's monitoring of the CCS's ground and surface water to include the land and water bodies surrounding the PTN site such as Biscayne Bay. The implementation of the CoC monitoring plan is an ongoing program coordinated by FDEP. If the proposed EPU is approved by the NRC, the CoC monitoring plan would continue to assess the environmental impacts. The CoC allows FDEP to impose additional measures if the monitoring data is insufficient to adequately evaluate environmental changes, or if the data indicates a significant degradation to aquatic resources by exceeding State or County water quality standards, or the monitoring plan is inconsistent with the goals and objectives of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands Project. Additional measures could include, but are not limited to, enhanced monitoring, modeling, or mitigation. Abatement actions provided in the CoC include: mitigation measures to comply with State and local water quality standards, which may include methods to reduce and mitigate salinity levels in groundwater; operational changes to the PTN cooling canal system to reduce environmental impacts; and other measures required by FDEP in consultation with South Florida Water Management District and Miami-Dade County to reduce the environmental impacts to acceptable levels.

Based on the staff's review of the information from FPL and FDEP, the staff concluded that there would be no significant environmental impacts of the operation of the two units at the proposed EPU levels because nonradiological and radiological discharges would be within the State of Florida's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit limits and the NRC's radiation protection standards, respectively. Therefore, the conclusions in the draft EA and draft FONSI issued in the Federal Register on November 17, 2011, did not change, and the NRC issued the final EA in the Federal Register on April 3, 2012.

Non-radiological conditions in the PTN cooling canal system are the responsibility of the State of Florida and other stakeholders. The implementation of the CoC monitoring plan is an ongoing program coordinated by FDEP. FDEP is responsible for evaluating the monitoring data and has authority to impose mitigation measures, as appropriate, to ensure aquatic resources are adequately protected. The NRC will continue to monitor operations at PTN, Units 3 and 4 to ensure its compliance with Federal radiation safety requirements.

G. Wissinger -3 If you need any additional information, please contact me at (301) 415-5888.

Ja 0 . Paige, Project Manager PI Licensing Branch 11-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-250 and 50-251 cc: Distribution via Listserv

ML12101A020 *via email OFFICE LPL2-2/PM LPL2-21LA RERB/BC* OGC LPL2-2/BC LPL2-2/PM LSubin NAME JPaige BClayton Almboden wi comment DBroaddus JPaige DATE 04/10/12 04/10/12 03/05/12 04118112 06/06/12 06/06/12