ML19347D072

NMFS to NRC, Additional Info on Sturgeon in James River for Surry ESA Section 7 Consultation

ML19347D072
Person / Time
Site:	Surry
Issue date:	12/11/2019
From:	Crocker J US Dept of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service
To:	Briana Grange Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
Briana Grange 301-415-1042
References
Download: ML19347D072 (1)

Text

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

Subject:

[External_Sender] Re: Request for Concurrence with Endangered Species Act Determinations for Proposed Subsequent License Renewal of Surry Power Station in Virginia Date: Wednesday, December 11, 2019 6:15:36 AM Hi Briana, Lynn and I went over the relevant sections of the draft SEIS and your consultation request last week and have the following comments to pass along:

-In February 2018, there was a shortnose sturgeon captured in the James River (different than the 2016 capture described in the SEIS). This fish was tagged and we understand that some tracking information is available, but do not believe that the information has been published yet. Matt Balazik, from VCU and the Army Corps' Research and Development Center (contact info at the bottom of this email), caught and tagged the fish. I have reached out to him and he is available to talk to you about available info on this capture that would supplement the info that is currently in the SEIS as well as the Atlantic sturgeon info raised in the next bullet.

-In 2018, a number of juvenile Atlantic sturgeon were captured in the James River. Matt is also the point of contact for the best information on the captures including numbers, habitat conditions, and their locations. He may also be able to provide some insight into how these captures may or may not support the determination made in the draft SEIS that Atlantic sturgeon small enough to pass through the trash bars would not likely be present near the Surry intakes. A number of news reports are available, but I don't believe there is any published scientific literature yet available (although Matt may have research reports): https://www.fws.gov/news/blog/index.cfm/2019/7/31/Atlantic-Sturgeon-Reproducing-in-the-James-River-Virginia https://news.vcu.edu/article/Discovery_of_baby_sturgeon_in_the_James_River_marks_potential

-In considering Atlantic sturgeon critical habitat, it appears that NRC relied on the descriptions of suspected spawning locations of Atlantic sturgeon (which are upstream of the action area) to determine that PBF 1 is not present in the action area. PBF 1 is defined by salinity and substrate. Based on the information in the SEIS it appears that the appropriate salinity (less than 0.5 ppt) is present at least sometimes in the action area. We did not find a description of substrate type in the SEIS. The analysis should describe whether the appropriate salinity is present at the time of year that sturgeon spawning and rearing take place and whether appropriate substrate is present in the action area. VIMS has some maps available: http://ccrm.vims.edu/research/mapping_surveying/sturgeon/index.html and there are likely other references as well.

Matt's contact info is: balazikmt@vcu.edu Hope this helps. I am also still available for our check in call on Thursday. Our recommendation is for you to review this email and any additional information that Matt can provide (and the substrate info for the PBF 1 issus) and make a determination as to whether this additional information changes the conclusions reached in the draft and request for consultation - either way, we recommend documenting that this additional information was considered by NRC as part of your consultation request.

Thanks, Julie On Thu, Oct 17, 2019 at 11:27 AM Grange, Briana <Briana.Grange@nrc.gov> wrote: