ML19214A045

NRC to NMFS, Revised Proposed Action for Oyster Creek Endangered Species Act Section 7 Consultation

ML19214A045
Person / Time
Site:	Oyster Creek
Issue date:	08/02/2019
From:	Briana Grange Division of Materials and License Renewal
To:	Crocker J US Dept of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service
Briana Grange 301-415-1042
References
Download: ML19214A045 (5)

Text

From: Grange, Briana To: "Julie Crocker - NOAA Federal"

Subject:

Revised Proposed Action for Oyster Creek ESA Section 7 Consultation Date: Friday, August 02, 2019 9:02:00 AM Attachments: 2019-08-02_Oyster Creek Section 7 Updated Proposed Action.pdf

Julie, With this email, I am forwarding you a revised proposed action for the Oyster Creek consultation based on the NRCs recent order approving the transfer of the Oyster Creek license to Holtec Decommissioning International (as decommissioning operator) and Oyster Creek Environmental Protection (as owner). I have coordinated this response with Holtec personnel to ensure that it accurately reflects the companys current decommissioning plans. Please let me know if you have any questions or need further information.

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

Endangered Species Act Section 7 Consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Shutdown and Decommissioning Docket No. 50-219; License No. DPR-16 Updated Proposed Action August 2, 2019

Background

On April 30, 2019, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (2019a) requested to reinitiate consultation with the NMFS under the provisions of Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA), related to the shutdown and decommissioning of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Ocean County, New Jersey.

On May 24, 2019, the NMFS (2019) requested additional information from the NRC to assist the NMFS perform its review of the proposed action. On June 11, 2019, the NRC (2019b) responded to the NMFSs requests.

On June 20, 2019, the NRC (2019c) approved the transfer of Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-16 for Oyster Creek and the general license for the Oyster Creek Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) to Oyster Creek Environmental Protection (as owner) and Holtec Decommissioning International (as decommissioning operator) (Holtec). Along with its license transfer application, Holtec (2018) submitted a revised Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR) to the NRC. Following the NRCs license transfer approval, the NRC staff began its review of the revised PSDAR; the staffs review of Holtecs PSDAR is ongoing at this time.

In the revised PSDAR, Holtec sets forth a schedule for the prompt decommissioning of Oyster Creek and unrestricted release of all portions of the site (excluding the ISFSI) within eight years after license transfer. Based on the revised PSDAR, the NRC staff has revised the proposed action for the reinitiated ESA Section 7 consultation related to shutdown and decommissioning of Oyster Creek, as initially described in the NRCs April 30, 2019, request (NRC 2019a). The revised proposed action is as follows.

Revised Proposed Action The proposed action for the current consultation is the shutdown and decommissioning of Oyster Creek. Under the proposed action, the NRC staff assumes that Oyster Creek will withdraw up to 12,000 gallons per minute (gpm) of water from the Forked River until mid-2023, when it will cease all water withdrawals, as described below.

Holtec will perform initial decommissioning activities through March 2020 consistent with Exelons May 21, 2018, PSDAR (Exelon 2018). Between September and December 2018, Exelon defueled the reactor and transferred all spent fuel to the spent fuel pool (SPF). In June 2019, the NRC approved the

transfer of Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-16 for Oyster Creek and the general license for the Oyster Creek ISFSI to Oyster Creek Environmental Protection (as owner) and Holtec (as decommissioning operator). During the ongoing initial decommissioning phase, Holtec will also drain fluids and de-energize reactor systems; reconfigure the electrical distribution, ventilation, heating, and fire protection systems; and perform other minor deconstruction activities. Holtec may also reconfigure systems required to operate the SFP. During the initial decommissioning period, Oyster Creek will continue to withdraw up to 12,000 gpm of water from the Forked River through the Circulating Water System (CWS) intake at an intake velocity of 0.02 feet per second (fps) or less for purposes of providing cooling water to the SFP.

Spent fuel will remain in the SFP through the second quarter of 2023, at which time Holtec will transfer all spent fuel from the SFP to onsite dry storage. Following this transfer, Holtec will drain and de-energize the SFP and its supporting systems, and all cooling water withdrawals from the Forked River will cease. The spent fuel will remain in dry storage until it is transferred to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for final disposal.

Decommissioning, including large component removal and decontamination, will begin in 2020 and continue through mid-2025. As indicated in its June 11, 2019, responses to the NMFSs requests for additional information, the NRC (2019b) staff assumes that barge vessel traffic associated with the proposed action would occur during the large component removal phase of the decommissioning period. Holtec anticipates that it will ship dismantled large plant components by barge from an existing barge landing at the north bank of Oyster Creek immediately east of U.S. Highway 9. The licensee has periodically used this barge landing during both the construction and operation periods to transport large components to and from the site. The barge landing contains no permanently installed equipment or infrastructure, and Holtec anticipates that none would be needed to support barge traffic and loading associated with decommissioning. Holtec has indicated that it may require up to eight barge loads to remove dismantled large components from the site. Additionally, the company may use barge vessels to transport other shipments during decommissioning as well. In total, Holtec estimates at least eight and up to 100 barge vessels may travel to and from the Oyster Creek site in association with decommissioning activities beginning in 2021 and continuing through 2025.

Based on the current conditions in Oyster Creek and Barnegat Bay, Holtec does not anticipate that dredging would be necessary to support barge vessel traffic. However, Holtec will further evaluate river conditions prior to 2021 and may determine in the future that dredging is necessary. Accordingly, the NRC staff conservatively assumes that dredging would be required to allow for vessel traffic. The NRC staff assumes that dredging would take place in 2020 and that dredging would only occur once because all barge shipments would take place within five years following dredging. Based on information on past dredging within the area, five years is not enough time for sediment to build up to a degree that would necessitate further dredging. If undertaken, dredging would occur in Oyster Creek between the barge landing and Barnegat Bay to an unknown depth, and dredging may be required in Barnegat Bay itself to allow passage of loaded barges between the mouth of Oyster Creek and Barnegat Inlet. The NRC staff assumes that cutterhead (i.e., suction) dredging would be performed because this is the method of dredging that has been undertaken in the past. Any dredging would require Holtec to obtain U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and appropriate New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Land Use Regulation, permits. Holtec would dispose of dredge spoils in an existing State of New Jersey dredge spoils basin on the Oyster Creek property east of the barge landing.

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Site restoration will begin in 2025. Although Holtec anticipates completing most site restoration activities by mid-2025, Holtec will not complete final site restoration until after spent fuel is transferred to the DOE and the ISFSI is decommissioned and demolished. Holtec anticipates that these activities would occur by the end of 2035, at which time the Oyster Creek site would be fully restored.

The proposed action is further described in Holtecs Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (Holtec 2018).

Listed Species in the Action Area The listed species in the action area have not changed. These species are the Kemps ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), Northwest Atlantic distinct population segment of loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), and the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas).

Effects of the Proposed Action The NRC staff evaluated the effects of the proposed action in its April 30, 2019, request to reinitiate ESA Section 7 consultation (NRC 2019a), as supplemented on June 11, 2019 (NRC 2019b). Apart from Holtecs revised decommissioning schedule and activities explained above, the NRC staffs previous analysis continues to accurately evaluate the potential effects of the proposed action on listed species.

Conclusion The NRC staffs conclusion remains unchanged from its April 30, 2019 request (NRC 2019a) and is as follows.

The NRC staff finds that all potential impacts of Oyster Creek shutdown and decommissioning would be discountable or insignificant. Therefore, the NRC staff concludes that the proposed action may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the Kemps ridley sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, and green sea turtle.

References

[Exelon] Exelon Generation. 2018. Letter from M. Gallagher, License Renewal & Decommissioning Vice President, Exelon, to NRC. Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station - Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report. May 21, 2018. ADAMS Accession No. ML18141A775.

[Holtec] Holtec Decommissioning International. 2018. Letter from P. B. Cowan, Senior Vice President &

Chief Operating Officer, Holtec, to NRC. Notification of Revised Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report and Revised Site-Specific Decommissioning Cost Estimate for Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station. 111 p. ADAMS Accession No. ML18275A116.

[NMFS] National Marine Fisheries Service. 2019. Email from J. Crocker, NMFS, to B. Grange, NRC, regarding additional information requests related to NRCs request to reinitiate ESA Section 7 consultation for Oyster Creek. ADAMS Accession No. ML19148A439.

[NRC] U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 2019a. E-mail from B. Grange, NRC, to NMFS. Request to Reinitiate ESA Section 7 Consultation for Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station. April 30, 2019.

ADAMS Accession No. ML19113A252.

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[NRC] U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 2019b. E-mail from B. Grange, NRC, to J. Crocker, NMFS. NRC Responses to NMFS Requests for Additional Information for Oyster Creek ESA Section 7 Consultation. June 11, 2019. ADAMS Accession No. ML19162A224.

[NRC] U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 2019c. Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC and Oyster Creek Environmental Protection, LLC; Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station; EA-19-070; Order Approving the Transfer of License and Conforming Amendment. June 20, 2019. ADAMS Accession No. ML19095A458.

Analysis Performed By:

Briana A. Grange Conservation Biologist Division of Materials and License Renewal Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (301) 415-1042 briana.grange@nrc.gov 8/02/19