ML13036A306

NRR E-mail Capture - NRC South Texas

ML13036A306
Person / Time
Site:	South Texas
Issue date:	01/29/2013
From:	Balsam B Division of License Renewal
To:	Belton M US Dept of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service
References
Download: ML13036A306 (6)

Text

NRR-PMDAPEm Resource From: Nicole Bailey - NOAA Affiliate [nicole.bailey@noaa.gov]

Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 3:40 PM To: Balsam, Briana

Subject:

Re: NRC South Texas This email is fine. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Nicole Bailey ESA Consultant National Marine Fisheries Service NOAA Southeast Regional Office Protected Resources Division 263 13th Avenue South St. Petersburg, FL 33701 PH: (727) 824-5336 On Tue, Jan 29, 2013 at 3:38 PM, Balsam, Briana <Briana.Balsam@nrc.gov> wrote:

Hi Nicole, Yes, you can withdraw the request. Is there anything that you need for me to do, such as submitting a letter, to do that? Or will this email suffice? Thanks, Briana Briana A. Balsam Biologist Division of License Renewal Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 301-415-1042 1

briana.balsam@nrc.gov From: Nicole Bailey - NOAA Affiliate [1]

Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 2:57 PM To: Balsam, Briana

Subject:

Re: NRC South Texas Hi Briana, I just wanted to follow up with you regarding this project. Unfortunately, NMFS does not concur with a "no effect" determination as we discussed earlier. By briefly looking at this project, I would point out that the only concern that NMFS had with the issuance of the construction permit to build two new reactors next to the existing reactors was the risk of injury to turtles from interactions with vessels during the barging of equipment and materials to the project site (NMFS concurrence letter dated January 18, 2011). The licence renewal of these reactors would not have that risk.

Since this is a "no effect" determination, would you like for me to withdraw this request for consultation? If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Thank you, Nicole Bailey ESA Consultant National Marine Fisheries Service NOAA Southeast Regional Office Protected Resources Division 263 13th Avenue South St. Petersburg, FL 33701 PH: (727) 824-5336 2

On Thu, Jan 17, 2013 at 12:31 PM, Balsam, Briana <Briana.Balsam@nrc.gov> wrote:

Hi Nicole, Thanks for getting in touch with me. I am sorry if the December 10 letter confused you.

I know that generally NMFS doesnt consult on no effect determinations. I guess this can be a confusing situation for some of the projects that I work on.

The ESA regulations seem to indicate that NRC should prepare a biological assessment for license renewal projects since license renewal is a major Federal action under NEPA (50 CFR 402.12) and that NRC should submit that biological assessment to NMFS for review (50 CFR 402.12(j)).

In the case of South Texas, NRC concluded no effect for all species and critical habitat under NMFS jurisdiction, which may have meant that NRC didnt need to submit a biological assessment to NMFS.

However, since I dont have any written documentation from NMFS that states that either (a) no listed species are in the action area or (b) that the license renewal is not likely to adversely affect any listed species or critical habitat, I thought that the conservative thing to do would be to forward you a copy of the biological assessment (i.e., the draft supplemental EIS) and ask for concurrence. My objective is to receive something from NMFS (either by letter or email) that states one of the two scenarios above(a) or (b). If this thinking is wrong, please let me know for the future! Or if I could have worded the letter to explain this better, please let me know that, too. I definitely dont want to put an unnecessary burden of work on you or other NMFS staff.

I am not sure about the 2010 correspondence from your office that you referencedis it possible that that letter was replying to a previous letter from the applicant (STP Nuclear Operating Company) rather than the NRC? The only correspondence between NRC and NMFS that I am aware of for the license renewal was between other NMFS staff and the NRC project management branch (a letter dated February 16, 2011, and an email dated March 3, 2011). Its also possible that the 2010 correspondence you referenced was for the proposed construction of two new units at South Texas, for which the NRC has yet to make a licensing decision. The relevant correspondence for that project is dated 1/25/2008, 3/19/2010, 11/17/2010, and 1/18/2011.

Let me know if this all makes sense. We can plan to speak on the phone, as well. Thanks, Briana Briana A. Balsam 3

Biologist Division of License Renewal Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 301-415-1042 briana.balsam@nrc.gov From: Nicole Bailey - NOAA Affiliate [2]

Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 9:44 AM To: Balsam, Briana

Subject:

NRC South Texas Hi Briana, I was assigned the request for consultation for the license renewal at the South Texas plant. The request that you sent made the assessment of "no effect" to species under NMFS jurisdiction. As you probably know, we do not consult on "no effect" determinations. I also noticed that a letter was sent from our office in 2010 regarding this same issue and at that time we agreed that we did not see a route of effect to sea turtles from the license renewal from this plant. Has something changes since that letter was sent in 2010? Is there a potential effect (i.e., may effect but not likely to adversely affect determination) that you are requesting consultation on or are you looking for a technical assistance with this project? I just need to know what your objective is and how I should proceed. If you would like to call and discuss this project, I would be happy to speak with you.

Thank you, Nicole Bailey ESA Consultant 4

National Marine Fisheries Service NOAA Southeast Regional Office Protected Resources Division 263 13th Avenue South St. Petersburg, FL 33701 PH: (727) 824-5336 5

Hearing Identifier: NRR_PMDA Email Number: 602 Mail Envelope Properties (CA+iP+Ey+B7F+CPLppy_YDakPYA7uMri4-TouOoFQLMKajNge0A)

Subject:

Re: NRC South Texas Sent Date: 1/29/2013 3:39:41 PM Received Date: 1/29/2013 3:40:07 PM From: Nicole Bailey - NOAA Affiliate Created By: nicole.bailey@noaa.gov Recipients:

"Balsam, Briana" <Briana.Balsam@nrc.gov>

Tracking Status: None Post Office: mail.gmail.com Files Size Date & Time MESSAGE 6829 1/29/2013 3:40:07 PM Options Priority: Standard Return Notification: No Reply Requested: No Sensitivity: Normal Expiration Date:

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