ML20009D150
| ML20009D150 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Surry  |
| Issue date: | 01/27/2020 |
| From: | Briana Grange Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards |
| To: | Chiarella L US Dept of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service |
| Briana Grange 301-415-1042 | |
| References | |
| Download: ML20009D150 (4) | |
Text
From:
Grange, Briana To:
lou.chiarella@noaa.gov Cc:
Elliott, Robert; Martinez, Nancy; Folk, Kevin; Tran, Tam; Gamin, Kayla; Oesterle, Eric; O"Brien, David; jennifer.anderson@noaa.gov; Karen Greene; Crocker, Julie; Rachael.Peabody@mrc.virginia.gov; Amy.Ewing@dgif.virginia.gov; lyle@vims.edu; Bettina.Rayfield@deq.virginia.gov; Janine.Howard@deq.virginia.gov; Hannah Zegler; NRC Endangered Species (endangeredspecies@nrc.gov)
Subject:
Response to the National Marine Fisheries Services December 19, 2019, Essential Fish Habitat Conservation Recommendations for Proposed Subsequent License Renewal of Surry Power Station in Virginia Date:
Monday, January 27, 2020 9:46:00 AM
Dear Mr. Chiarella:
This correspondence responds to your Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) conservation recommendation for the proposed subsequent license renewal of Surry Power Station, Units 1 and 2 (Surry) in Surry County, Virginia. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) transmitted its recommendation to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by letter dated December 19, 2019,(1) which the NRC received on January 6, 2020. In that letter, the NMFS recommends that the NRC postpone its license renewal decision until the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) issues a new Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) permit for Surry. The NRC respectfully declines to adopt your recommendation, as explained in detail below.
Background
On October 17, 2019, the NRC staff requested to initiate abbreviated EFH consultation with the NMFS in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), for the proposed 20-year license renewal of Surry.(2) With this request, the NRC staff transmitted its EFH Assessment contained within the NRC staffs draft supplemental environmental impact statement prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The NRC staff concluded that the proposed action would result in no more than minimal adverse effects on EFH for relevant life stages of the summer flounder, Atlantic butterfish, bluefish, and windowpane flounder or on the prey base of little and winter skate. The NRC staff also concluded that the proposed action would result in no adverse effects on EFH of the black sea bass, Atlantic herring, clearnose skate, and red hake.
On November 15, 2019, NMFS and NRC staff held a teleconference to discuss the proposed action and potential effects on EFH.
On December 19, 2019, the NMFS responded in writing to the NRCs request for consultation.(1) The NMFS stated that it is unable to concur with the NRCs EFH conclusions. The NMFSs position is that the mortality of federally managed species, their prey species, and diadromous species resulting from impingement and entrainment at Surry cannot be adequately quantified at this time due to dated information and inadequate sampling methods in more recent impingement and entrainment studies conducted by HDR Engineering on behalf of Dominion. Nonetheless, the NMFS provided the NRC with one EFH conservation recommendation pertaining to the proposed license renewal.
In its response, the NMFS also made four additional recommendations that relate to VPDES permitting for Surry. The additional recommendations concern impingement, entrainment, thermal effects, and dredging. The recommendations are not EFH conservation recommendations because they fall beyond the statutory scope of the NRCs relicensing process. Rather, the NMFS made these recommendations to inform the VDEQ next VPDES permit renewal application review.
NMFSs EFH Conservation Recommendation The NMFSs EFH conservation recommendation for the proposed Surry license renewal is as follows.
Hold a decision on license renewal in abeyance until the Commonwealth of Virginia completes its renewal of the VPDES permit.
Federal Agency Responsibilities Regarding EFH Conservation Recommendations Section 305(b)(4)(B) of the MSA and 50 CFR 600.920(k) require that Federal agencies provide a detailed response in writing within 30 days of receiving EFH conservation recommendations. The response must include a description of measures proposed by the agency for avoiding, mitigating, or offsetting the impact of the activity on the EFH. In the case of a response that is inconsistent with the recommendations, the Federal agency must explain its reasons for not following the recommendations.
NRCs EFH Conservation Recommendation Response With respect to your EFH conservation recommendation for the proposed Surry license renewal, I would first like to thank you for your sensitivity to the NRCs limited authority to regulate water quality. As you correctly acknowledge in your letter, the NRC cannot require changes to a nuclear power plants cooling system that do not directly relate to safe operation of the plant. Thus, while NEPA and the MSA, among other Federal statutes, require the NRC to consider the environmental impacts of license renewal, including the impacts of continued operation of a plants cooling water intake and discharge structures during the license renewal term, the NRC does not have the authority to require modifications to these structures for the protection of the aquatic environment. This authority lies with the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Clean Water Act (CWA), which established the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System program. Within Virginia, the EPA has delegated this authority to the VDEQ. The VDEQ fulfills these responsibilities through implementation of its VPDES permit program.
The NMFS recommends that the NRC wait to make a license renewal decision until the VDEQ issues a new VPDES permit. As previously stated, the NRC cannot regulate water quality. The CWA establishes a clear vehicle for the VDEQ to address adverse impacts on the aquatic environment from cooling water withdrawals and discharges through the VPDES permit program. The NRC does not play a role in VPDES permitting, and the NRCs postponement of its license renewal decision would not function to avoid, mitigate, or otherwise offset any impacts on EFH. For these reasons, the NRC respectfully declines to adopt your recommendation, as further explained below.
With respect to the impacts of cooling water withdrawals on the aquatic environment, the CWA Section 316(b) regulations for existing facilities(3) establish best technology available (BTA) requirements to reduce or minimize impingement mortality and entrainment. In addition to BTA, the CWA Section 316(b) allows the VDEQ to impose additional measures that it deems necessary to protect shellfish and fragile species. In the case of Surry, the
VDEQ has not yet evaluated or made conclusions on BTA for impingement mortality or entrainment at Surry. Under Surrys current VPDES permit,(4) Dominion must implement interim BTA measures (Condition E.1.). Dominion must also characterize and evaluate impingement mortality and entrainment at Surry (Condition E.3.). As the NMFS acknowledges in its letter, Dominion is currently preparing this information for submittal to the VDEQ. The VDEQ will review this submittal along with Dominions next VPDES permit renewal application to make BTA determinations for Surry. Based on its determinations, the VDEQ may impose additional requirements to minimize the adverse impacts of impingement mortality or entrainment in a future VPDES permit.
With respect to impacts of thermal discharges on the aquatic environment, the CWA Section316(a) regulations(5) allow the VDEQ to impose thermal effluent limitations to assure protection and propagation of a balanced, indigenous population of shellfish, fish, and wildlife in and on the body of water into which the discharge is being made. Under Surrys current VPDES permit, the VDEQ limits the discharge of heated effluent to a daily maximum of 12.6x109 British thermal units per hour (BTU/hr). Surry typically rejects 12.11x109 BTU/hr of heat to the river in non-summer months and up to 12.32x109 BTU/hr of heat in summer months when ambient river water temperatures are greater than or equal to 70 degrees Fahrenheit (°F). Dominion is currently performing thermal plume modeling to update previous CWA 316(a) thermal demonstrations. As part of this effort, Dominion will also prepare a biothermal assessment to evaluate the potential effects of Surrys thermal plume on critical biological functions of representative important species. Dominion will submit a final report on the updated demonstration to the VDEQ with its next VPDES permit renewal application. Based on the results of its review, the VDEQ may impose additional requirements related to Surrys thermal effluent to assure the protection of a balanced, indigenous aquatic community in a future VPDES permit.
With respect to the timing of the VPDES permitting process, Surrys current VPDES permit is effective through February 28, 2021. As explained above, the current permit requires Dominion to submit impingement and entrainment information. This information is due by June 3, 2020. Dominion must submit its VPDES permit renewal application to the VDEQ by September 1, 2020. The VDEQ will then review these submittals and formulate a new VPDES permit for the site. If the VDEQ does not complete its review and issue a new VPDES permit prior to the current permits expiration, the current permit would remain in effect until the VDEQ issues a new permit, contingent upon Dominions timely submittal of the renewal application.
As explained above, the NRC does not play a role in VPDES permitting, and the NRCs license renewal decision does not affect the process, outcome, or timeline of Surrys next VPDES permitting cycle. Thus, the NRCs implementation of the NMFSs recommendation to delay its license renewal decision would not avoid, mitigate, or offset any impacts on EFH, and the NRC respectfully declines to adopt your recommendation.
NMFSs Recommendations for VDEQ On January 8, 2020, the NRC forwarded the NMFSs December 19, 2019, letter to the VDEQ for its consideration of the NMFSs four recommendations relating to Surrys VPDES permit.(6)
Conclusion Should you need to discuss the information in this email or any other matters related to
(2) U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Email from B. Grange to D. OBrien, NMFS. Request to Initiate Abbreviated Essential Fish Habitat Consultation for Proposed Subsequent License Renewal of Surry Power Station in Virginia. October 17, 2019. ADAMS Accession No. ML19274B591.
(3) 40 CFR 125. Code of Federal Regulations. Title 40, Protection of Environment, Part 125, Criteria and Standards for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. Subpart JRequirements Applicable to Cooling Water Intake Structures for Existing Facilities Under Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act.
(4) Department of Environmental Quality. Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit No.
VA0004090 for Surry Power Station and Gravel Neck. Effective March 1, 2016, through February 28, 2021. ADAMS Accession No. ML18291A834.
(5) 40 CFR 125. Code of Federal Regulations. Title 40, Protection of Environment, Part 125, Criteria and Standards for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. Subpart HCriteria for Determining Alternative Effluent Limitations Under Section 316(a).
(6) U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Email from B. Grange to B. Rayfield and J. Howard, VDEQ.
Forwarding NMFSs EFH Conservation Recommendations for Surry License Renewal. January 8, 2020. ADAMS Accession No. ML20008E238.
Docket Nos.: 50-280 and 50-281 ADAMS Accession No.: ML20009D150 CONCURRENCE OFFICE ELRB:REFS BC:ELRB:REFS OGC(NLO)
ELRB:REFS NAME NMartinez RElliott KGamin BGrange DATE 1/09/2020 1/23/2020 1/23/2020 1/27/2020