ML17331A541
| ML17331A541 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Waterford  |
| Issue date: | 11/20/2017 |
| From: | Ranson J US Dept of Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service |
| To: | Benjamin Beasley Division of License Renewal |
| Briana Grange 301-415-1042 | |
| References | |
| Download: ML17331A541 (3) | |
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"'RcH 3 \\'o United States Department of the Interior FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 646 Cajundome Blvd.
Suite 400 Lafayette, Louisiana 70506 November 20, 2017 Mr. Benjamin Beasley Division of License Renewal Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001
Dear Mr. Beasley:
Please reference your July 5, 2017, letter, received by this office on July 13, 2017, with subsequent additional information requests and extensions, requesting our concurrence with your determination that the proposed license renewal for Entergy Louisiana, LLC and Entergy Operations, Inc. 's ( collectively referred to as Entergy) Waterford Steam Electric Station, Unit 3 (WF3) located in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, is "not likely to adversely affect" the endangered pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus). Your determination for the pallid sturgeon was based on the biological evaluation (BE) submitted to our office with your July 5, 2017, letter and additional information requested by this office. Because of the complexity of the project, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) requested addition information and extensions for the project and the NRC agreed the extensions. The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has reviewed the information you provided and offers the following comments in accordance with the provisions of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 (87 Stat. 884, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)
and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (48 Stat. 401, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 661 et seq.).
WF3 is currently licensed to operate through December 18, 2024 while the proposed license renewal would allow Entergy to operate WF3 for an additional 20 years, through December 18, 2044. WF3 uses a once-through (open-cycle) cooling water system to dissipate waste heat.
Cooling water for the system is withdrawn and discharged directly from and to the Mississippi River. The WF3 cooling water intake system consists of an intake canal, intake structure, eight trash racks, and eight traveling water screens. The intake structure is located approximately 162 feet off the western shore of the Mississippi River (MR). The WF3 withdraws a maximum of approximately 0.48 percent of the flow in the MR. Heated cooling water from the main condenser along with other comingled effluents from auxiliary systems is discharged back to the Mississippi River through the discharge structure, which lies on the river shoreline approximately 600 ft downstream ofWF3's intake structure.
In the BE, staff from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) evaluated impacts on the pallid sturgeon during the proposed WF3 License renewal term. Although pallid sturgeons are known
to occur within the main river channel, they are not currently known to spawn in the main channel of the Mississippi River. The spawning period is typically between March and July, with fish in lower latitudes spawning earlier than fish in higher latitudes. Although juvenile pallid sturgeons have slower swim speeds than adults, they also exhibit a variety of complex swim behaviors increasing their ability to resist strong flows making it unlikely that they would be subject entrainment at WF3 (Recovery Plan 2014). The plant withdraws less than 5 percent of the annual flow of the MR, a low proportion of water, suggesting that entrainment impacts will be insignificant. Impingement studies were not conducted at WF3; however, the NRC staff reviewed two impingement studies, conducted in 1976-1977 and 2006-2007, for Waterford 1 and 2, which lies just up river from WF3. Although the study conducted in 1976-1977 collected two juvenile pallid sturgeon, the 2006-2007 study did not collect any pallid sturgeons. The impingement studies conducted have found a relatively low number of fish are impinged supporting the conclusion that the location of the structure and the technology of the structure have a low probability affecting the pallid sturgeon. With the intake structure being located further offshore and in deeper waters it reduces the likelihood of impingement and entrainment.
Plant operations personnel that routinely check and clean the screens have not observed any federally listed species on the screens. The WF3 water cooling intake system has a Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (LPDES) permit from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), which U.S. Fish and Wildlife reviews, that complies with the Clean Water Act 316(b) Rule for Existing Facilities. This rule stipulates requirements cooling water intake facilities must comply with to minimize entrainment and impingement impacts to species. In accordance with this rule, the structure is the best technology available (BT A) which meets the requirements to reduce impingement due to the location and technology of the structure. The WF3 thermal plume varies with season and generally increasing as flow decreases such that the thermal plume is largest under low flow conditions. The thermal plume generally covers about 7.3 percent of the river's cross-section area. The subject BE indicates that pallid sturgeons are more tolerant of higher water temperatures than other sturgeon species and would be able to avoid the plume by swimming around it. In 2013, the NRC determined that exposure to radionuclides would be of small significance for aquatic resources during the license renewal for all nuclear power plants because exposure would be well below U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines developed to protect aquatic biota, due to best management practices and discharge limitations. Based on the information above and discussed in the BE, the Service concurs with your determination that WF3 license renewal is not likely to adversely affect the pallid sturgeon.
We appreciate the opportunity to consult on the proposed project. If you have any questions regarding this letter, please contact Amy Trahan (337/291-3126) of this office.
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cc: LDWF, Natural Heritage Program, Baton Rouge, LA Literature Cited Sincerely, ;t~
Joseph Ranson Field Supervisor Louisiana Ecological Services Office U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2014. Pallid sturgeon revised recovery plan. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Denver, Colorado. 9, 29-30pp.
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