ML18352A943

NRC to NMFS, Withdrawal of ESA Section 7 Consultation SER-2018-19124 for St. Lucie Plant

ML18352A943
Person / Time
Site:	Saint Lucie
Issue date:	12/18/2018
From:	Briana Grange Division of Materials and License Renewal
To:	Livergood A US Dept of Commerce, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
Briana Grange 301-415-1042
References
Download: ML18352A943 (1)

Text

From: Grange, Briana To: Audra Livergood - NOAA Federal Cc: Mark Lamb - NOAA Federal; Eldridge, Jodie; Snyder, Mike; Sciscente, Richard; Eaton, Kristin; Beasley, Benjamin; Wachutka, Jeremy; Buckberg, Perry; RidsNrrPMStLucie Resource; EndangeredSpecies Resource

Subject:

Withdrawal of ESA Section 7 Consultation SER-2018-19124 for St. Lucie Plant Date: Tuesday, December 18, 2018 12:42:00 PM

Audra, Thank you for your email dated November 27, 2018, regarding the ongoing reinitiated Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 7 Consultation related to operation of the St. Lucie Plant, Units 1 and 2 (National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Consultation Tracking No.

SER-2018-19124). The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requested to reinitiate this consultation by letter dated February 9, 2018.

In your email and through phone conversations, I understand that NMFS prefers to close out the current consultation on the basis of insufficient information. NMFS would then reopen a new consultation once complete information is available. The NRC does not object to this NMFS request.

This email serves as the NRC staffs withdrawal of its request to reinitiate the subject consultation. The NRC will request to reinitiate the consultation again once the licensee, Florida Power and Light Company (FPL), submits to NMFS and the NRC a final report describing and analyzing the results of turtle excluder device testing that FPL undertook in 2016 and 2017. At that time, the NRC anticipates having enough information to submit to NMFS a detailed description of the proposed action subject to ESA consultation, which NMFS will use to perform its effects analysis.

Thank you, also, for the information you provided regarding ESA Section 7(d). The NRC will take your recommendation under advisement.

I will be in touch regarding St. Lucie as developments occur so that we can together work out a timeline for the future consultation, once reinitiated, that balances our two agencies project priorities and the ESA consultation regulatory timeframes.

Thank you, Briana Briana A. Grange Biologist Division of Materials and License Renewal Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (301) 415-1042 briana.grange@nrc.gov