Text

Efh for the Waterford Steam Electric Station, Unit 3, Proposed License Renewal
	ML16152A177
Person / Time
Site:	Waterford
Issue date:	05/24/2016
From:	Briana Grange; Division of License Renewal
To:	Dale D; US Dept of Commerce, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
References
	Download: ML16152A177 (9)
	v • d • e

NRR-PMDAPEm Resource From: Grange, Briana Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2016 2:40 PM To: 'David.Dale@noaa.gov'

Subject:

EFH for the Waterford Steam Electric Station, Unit 3, proposed license renewal Attachments: 2015-05-28_Entergy to NMFS.pdf; 2015-06-24_NMFS to Entergy.pdf Good morning David, I am reaching out to you today regarding the Waterford Steam Electric Station, Unit 3 (WF 3) proposed license renewal. In March, my agency, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), received an application from Entergy Louisiana, LLC and Entergy Operations, Inc. (Entergy) for renewal of WF3 in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. I am the staff person responsible for conducting the Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) consultation, if one is required. In its application, Entergy included letters to and from the NMFS Protected Resources Division but it doesnt appear that they contacted NMFS Habitat Conservation Division. I have attached those letters for your reference. I found your name within the NMFSs Essential Fish Habitat - Gulf of Mexico guidance and thought you might be a good person to reach out to first.

Id like to touch base with you about 3 things today: (1) the potential for the proposed license renewal to affect EFH, (2) the opportunity for NMFS to participate in the NRCs National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) scoping process, and (3) the NRC staffs environmental site visit in July.

EFH I have used NMFSs EFH Mapper and determined that no EFH exists within the immediate project area.

However, in the guidance document referenced above, p. 10 states that St. Charles Parish, LA, where WF3 is located, includes inland EFH. I am also aware that even if EFH is not present in the project area, NRC may need to assess the effects to EFH prey species or other indirect effects. Would you be able to help me determine if I should prepare an EFH Assessment, and if so, which species I should consider in such an assessment? Alternately, would you be able to refer me to someone in your office that could help me with this?

The details of the proposed action and a description of the location and operation of WF3 can be found in the Federal Register Notice (FRN) described below as well as in Entergys Environmental Report, which you can access through the NRCs Waterford License Renewal webpage.

NEPA Scoping Participation NRC is conducting its NEPA scoping period for the proposed WF3 license renewal beginning in June. NRC will also be holding a scoping meeting June 8, 2016 from 7:00 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the St. Charles Parish Emergency Operation Center, 15026 River Road, Hahnville, Louisiana, 10057. You or a representative from your office is welcome to attend that meeting. You can also submit written comments through Regulations.gov. I included the draft FRN, which provides details on how to view Entergys application and how to submit NEPA comments. If you think you would like to attend the meeting, let me know, and I can put you in touch with the license renewal project manager, who can give you more details.

NRC Environmental Site Visit Finally, NRC staff will be visiting the WF3 site during the week of July 18, 2016. If you or a representative from your office would like to attend all or a portion of that site visit, please let me know. The site visit can be a good time for us to speak face-to-face with Entergy about any concerns NMFS has with the proposed license renewal, and it is also a good opportunity to tour the intake and discharge structures and generally gain 1

a better understanding of plant operations, which can facilitate a smoother EFH consultation process down the road.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this long email! Please dont hesitate to reach out with any questions. My contact information is in my email signature. Thank you, Briana

Briana A. Grange Biologist Division of License Renewal Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 301-415-1042 briana.grange@nrc.gov 2

Hearing Identifier: NRR_PMDA Email Number: 2865 Mail Envelope Properties (f9aa81cac83742d5bb1e7ac59eae10df)

Subject:

EFH for the Waterford Steam Electric Station, Unit 3, proposed license renewal Sent Date: 5/24/2016 2:40:10 PM Received Date: 5/24/2016 2:40:00 PM From: Grange, Briana Created By: Briana.Grange@nrc.gov Recipients:

"'David.Dale@noaa.gov'" <David.Dale@noaa.gov>

Tracking Status: None Post Office: HQPWMSMRS03.nrc.gov Files Size Date & Time MESSAGE 3989 5/24/2016 2:40:00 PM 2015-05-28_Entergy to NMFS.pdf 726874 2015-06-24_NMFS to Entergy.pdf 469091 Options Priority: Standard Return Notification: No Reply Requested: No Sensitivity: Normal Expiration Date:

Recipients Received:

B-2 B-3 B-4 B-5 BUCKLEY, RICKY N From: Kelly Shotts - NOAA Federal <kelly.shotts@noaa.gov>

Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 2:32 PM To: BUCKLEY, RICKY N

Subject:

Re: Waterford 3 Steam Electric Station Unit 3 - Gulf sturgeon EXTERNAL SENDER. DO NOT click links if sender is unknown. DO NOT provide your user ID or password.

Hi Rick, Thank you for speaking with me earlier today. As we discussed, under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, EFH is designated for federally managed fishery species (e.g., shrimp, reef fish, and red drum). There is no Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) designated for Gulf sturgeon. More information on EFH can be found at the following website:

http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat_conservation/efh/index.html Gulf sturgeon is not a fishery species, rather it is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Critical habitat for Gulf sturgeon has been designated in the Gulf of Mexico, including in Lake Pontchartrain (Unit 8). Gulf sturgeon information and maps of Gulf sturgeon critical habitat can be found at the following websites:

Species Information http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/fish/gulfsturgeon.htm Critical Habitat Maps and GIS files http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/maps_gis_data/protected_resources/critical_habitat/index.html Based on the shortest distance between the project location you provided in your letter and the closest area designated as Gulf sturgeon critical habitat, your project appears to be at least 19 miles away from critical habitat. However, please confirm this yourself using the information provided above.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me.

Kelly On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 9:37 AM, Kelly Shotts - NOAA Federal <kelly.shotts@noaa.gov> wrote:

Hi Rick, 1

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I just left you a voicemail pertaining to your May 28, 2015, letter regarding the subject project. Please give me a call at your earliest convenience to discuss issues related to Gulf sturgeon and their habitat. My direct line is 727-551-5603.

Thanks for coordinating with us!

Kelly

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Kelly Shotts Section 7 Coordinator Protected Resources Division NOAA Southeast Regional Office National Marine Fisheries Service 263 13th Ave S St. Petersburg, FL 33701 Ph: 727-824-5312 Fax: 727-824-5309 kelly.shotts@noaa.gov

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Kelly Shotts Section 7 Coordinator Protected Resources Division NOAA Southeast Regional Office National Marine Fisheries Service 263 13th Ave S St. Petersburg, FL 33701 Ph: 727-824-5312 Fax: 727-824-5309 kelly.shotts@noaa.gov 2

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