ML12290A144
| ML12290A144 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Salem, Hope Creek, 05200043 |
| Issue date: | 10/04/2012 |
| From: | - No Known Affiliation |
| To: | Office of New Reactors, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| ND-2012-0061 EN-AA-602-0006, Rev 0 | |
| Download: ML12290A144 (6) | |
Text
EN-AA-602-0006 Revision 0 Page 1 of 6 CULTURAL AND HISTORIC RESOURCES
- 1. PURPOSE 1.1. As a federally licensed facility, PSEG Nuclear, including Salem and Hope Creek Generating Stations, is obligated under the National Historic Preservation Act to protect archaeological and historically significant cultural resources, either existing or potentially existing, within PSEG Nuclears Owner Controlled Area.
- 2. TERMS AND DEFINITIONS.
2.1. Disturbed Land Areas - Surface and/or subsurface land areas that were significantly disturbed during the construction phase of the site (i.e., Plant's Protected Area) or are ongoing (i.e., farming activities, transmission, and distribution line maintenance activities).
2.2. Cultural Resources - Resources that include but are not limited to:
2.2.1. Cemeteries, burial sites, funeral monuments, or other sites with human remains.
2.2.2. Historic buildings, structures, or building remains.
2.2.3. Ancient sites containing cultural artifacts such as pottery, tools, weaponry, and other implements.
2.2.4. Ritual artifacts.
2.2.5. Sites of historical significance to the community, state, or nation such as battlegrounds, encampments, villages, etc.
2.2.6. Traditional cultural properties.
2.2.7. Discarded material (i.e., Indian mounds with shells and animal bones).
2.2.8. Land-Disturbing Activities - Activities that involve grading, construction of buildings, excavations, reforestation, landscaping, placement of any fill or spoil, or other terrestrial impact.
EN-AA-602-0006 Revision 0 Page 2 of 6 2.3. Undisturbed Land Areas - Surface and/or subsurface land areas that have not been disturbed either during the construction phase of the site or during current operations or if there is uncertainty at the site about the degree of disturbance (i.e., Plant's Owner Controlled Area).
2.4. New Jersey State Historical Preservation Office (NJSHPO) - Responsible state authority to administrate policy on areas of historical or archeological significance.
2.5. Historic property - Means any district, site, building, structure or object significant in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering and culture.
- 3. RESPONSIBILITIES 3.1. Vice Presidents Nuclear Operation 3.1.1. Responsible for the enforcement of the Program at PSEG Nuclear facilities.
3.1.2. Provide adequate resources to implement this procedure.
3.2. Director - Regulatory Affairs 3.2.1. Responsible for implementing the Cultural and Historic Resource Program at PSEG Nuclear.
3.2.2. Delegates responsible person(s), as appropriate, to sign and/or certify reports, documents, submittals, correspondence, etc. which require submittals pursuant to applicable regulatory agencies.
3.3. CFAM - Environmental 3.3.1. Implements this procedure.
3.3.2. Designated person to interface with regulatory agencies or designates an authorized consulting company to assume this role.
EN-AA-602-0006 Revision 0 Page 3 of 6 3.3.3. Designate the Cultural and Historic Subject Matter Expert (SME).This SME may be a consultant retained under contract.
3.3.4. Ensures all required reports, documents, submittals, correspondence, etc. are prepared, completed and submitted to the regulatory agencies in a timely manner.
3.4. Chemistry, Radwaste and Environmental Personnel 3.4.1 Support requests by personnel/contractors performing potentially impacted activities with contact information for the Cultural and Historic Subject Matter Expert (SME).
3.4.2 Including any identified and confirmed Cultural and Historic resources information into the Annual Environmental Operating Report 3.5. Security 3.5.1 Responsible for making any required notifications to local law enforcement 3.6. All Personnel 3.6.1. Responsible for immediate termination of work and notification to the Chemistry / Environmental Supervisor if any items in Section 4.4 is identified during excavation or site work. Corporate Environmental Manager or Regulatory Affairs Director will be notified in accordance with the notification procedures.
- 4. MAIN BODY 4.1. Background 4.1.1. Artificial Island was constructed of dredge spoils, generated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to establish and maintain navigation in the Delaware River channel and bay for boat and deep water vessel traffic.
Dredging was primarily restricted to harbors until the use of deep water vessels required a deeper channel. Deep water vessels required a depth of 20 to 24 feet to operate safely in the Delaware River channel in the late 1870s. Channel dredging began in earnest during the late 1870s and continues to the present day. While channel dredging facilitated commercial traffic, disposal of dredge material was required. Dredge material was typically deposited in the river bed or at government owned naval yards. The amount of dredge material (an estimated 10.7 million cubic yards in six years) soon overwhelmed traditional dumping locations and the government stopped receiving dredge material in 1895. This
EN-AA-602-0006 Revision 0 Page 4 of 6 issue was exacerbated by the construction of a channel from Philadelphia to the Delaware Bay, which produced approximately 34,953,000 cubic yards of material including 24,000 cubic yards of excavated rock. Six locations along the bay were chosen for the disposal of dredge spoils including the creation of a disposal area at the Baker and Stony Point Shoal areas. This location would eventually be called Artificial Island. Artificial Island was created with bulkheads that enclosed Baker Shoal and Stony Point Shoal with construction of the bulkhead beginning about 1900. The dumping of fill and dredge material resulted in an elongated island that paralleled the shoreline, but was later connected to the shore with periodic disposal of hydraulic fill in shallow water between the island and shore. Placement of hydraulic fill on Artificial Island has continued intermittently from about 1900 through the present.
4.1.2. PSEG Nuclear, LLC (PSEG) currently owns about 734 acres (ac.) of land in the extreme western portion (locally referred to as Artificial Island) of Lower Alloways Creek Township on the eastern shore of the Delaware River. The property was acquired beginning in 1968 from the USACE and the NJDEP. Currently, about 373 ac. of this property is used by the Hope Creek and Salem Generating Stations (153 and 220 ac.,
respectively), which are also owned by PSEG. The remaining 361 ac.
of the property are undeveloped, and are comprised of upland areas, a variety of wetland types, A Confined Disposal Area for dredge materials, and maintained stormwater management facilities such as swales and detention basins. Much of this undeveloped land has previously been disturbed for various power plant uses.
4.2. The New Jersey Historic Preservation Office (NJHPO) has determined during preparation of the Early Site Permit for PSEG Power that there was minimal potential for archaeological resources on Artificial Island. Near surface historical sites are not a concern since Artificial Island was constructed after 1900 using hydraulic fill from river dredging activities. Within the hydraulic fill strata, there is no potential for intact archaeological deposits, as it was once sediment in the Delaware River, dredged and redeposited in its current location (PSEG, 1988). Likewise, the artificial fill directly above the hydraulic fill does not contain any intact archaeological deposits, as it was brought in during previous construction (beginning in 1968). In the event cultural materials exist in these deposits, they were likely removed from their original archaeological context during dredging and/or construction and would be of little or no archaeological significance.
4.3. The alluvium below the artificial and hydraulic fill has a low potential to contain intact prehistoric archaeological deposits. Boring results show that the alluvial deposits below the PSEG site comprised the former bed of the Delaware River (below elevation -21.5 ft NAVD88). As there are no former
EN-AA-602-0006 Revision 0 Page 5 of 6 living surfaces present, the likelihood of the existence of intact, archaeologically significant deposits are negligible. Borings performed by MACTEC during preparation of the PSEG Power Early Site Permit Application were analyzed to determine if intact paleosols (a layer of fossilized soil, usually buried beneath more recent soil horizons) may have been buried and preserved underneath the hydraulic fill material. No evidence of buried paleosols, shipwrecks, or other sunken cultural resources was detected in the borings, and no references to such resources were noted in the available historic or site construction records.
4.4. Artificial Island, including all the PSEG Nuclear property, has been thoroughly evaluated and investigated and it has been determined there are no cultural or historic resources present, even below the artificial and hydraulic fill. However, the following guidance is provided if any site work identifies materials that could be considered cultural or historic and require preservation.
4.4.1. In the case of discovery of human remains, work must be stopped immediately, the area secured, and contact made to the Chemistry /
Environmental Supervisor and Security. Corporate Environmental Manager or Regulatory Affairs Director, and Security will be notified in accordance with the notification procedures By law, local law enforcement must then be notified.
4.4.2. Land disturbing activities must be stopped immediately in the event that any cultural resources (i.e., human remains, bones, artifacts, prehistoric relics, or items or land features of potential historical significance) are uncovered. Work activity should be stopped and contact made to the Chemistry / Environmental Supervisor and Security.
Corporate Environmental Manager or Regulatory Affairs Director, and Security will be notified in accordance with the notification procedures.
The NJSHPO and, as appropriate, Native American Groups, must be notified for guidance prior to recommencing land disturbing activities.
4.4.3. Cultural resource surveys must be completed by a certified archaeologist or a person recommended by the NJSHPO as being competent to complete such surveys.
- 5. DOCUMENTATION If cultural or historic resources are officially identified at the PSEG Nuclear site as confirmed by regulatory agencies, the information shall be included in the Annual Environmental Operating Report. Copies of all reports, records, and correspondence resulting from this procedure shall be submitted to Nuclear Records and retained for the life of the plant.
EN-AA-602-0006 Revision 0 Page 6 of 6
- 6. REFERENCES 6.1. Evaluation Of Potential Paleosols Under Artificial Island, Pseg Early Site Permit Application, Salem County, New Jersey. MACTEC Engineering and Consulting, Inc. November 16, 2009.
6.2. 36CFR Part 800 (Advisory Council on Historic Preservation - Protection of Historic Properties, Final Rule).
6.3. 40CFR122.26.
6.4. 36 CFR Part 800.
6.5. New Jersey Register of Historic Places Act of 1970.
6.6. N.J.A.C 7:4, The New Jersey Register Of Historic Places Rules.
6.7. Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (1990).
- 7. ATTACHMENTS 7.1.1.1. NONE