ML20011D459

Forwards 1990 Environ Monitoring Programs & Plans,Including Thermal Discharge Fish Surveillance & Dissolved Nitrogen Saturation Reduction Programs & Plans,For Approval

ML20011D459
Person / Time
Site:	Pilgrim
Issue date:	12/20/1989
From:	Wagner E BOSTON EDISON CO.
To:	ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, MASSACHUSETTS, COMMONWEALTH OF
References
BECO-89-116, NUDOCS 8912270274
Download: ML20011D459 (12)

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25 Braintree Hill Office Park Braintree, Massachusetts 02184 r

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hh M , 1W Vee Prescient -

p' ' Nuclear Engineering Director.

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l1990 ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PROGRAMS AND PLANS Gentlemen: .

< In accordance with NPDES Permit No. MA0003557-(Federal) and No. 359 .

state ,

for Pilgrim Station, the attached 1990 Environmental Monitoring, Thermal

. Discharge: Fish Surveillance, and Dissolved Nitrogen Saturation Reduction

, Programs'and Plans;are submitted by Boston Edison Company for your approval.

• This submittalfis specifically'in rerponse to Part 1 Paragraph 7d of the above-

. referenced.p mait,-which provides a deadline of December 31st of each year of.

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.the permit's duration to submit annual programs and plans. These programs and S

. plans replace the:1989 environmental program, and have been recommended by the -l Pilgrim Administrative-Technical Committee.

.If-there are any questions concerning-the attached programs and p_lans, please.

. do-not hesitate to call-Mr. Robert Anderson (617)(849-8935) of Boston Edison LCompany.

G E. J) Hagner 2RDA/ pac /290 s ,

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Attachment:

Marine Ecology Monitoring Related to Operation of Pilgrim Station Unit 1,.NPOES Permit Programs .

cc: U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission l

-ATTN: Document Control Desk l Hashington,-DC 20555 0 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region.I 475 Allendale Road  !

King of Prussia, PA 19406 l t

-Senior NRC Resident Inspector yl l Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station lA 891220

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' BOSTONEDISON 25 Braintree Hill Office Park Braintreei Massachusetts o2184

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BECo 89-1.16-December 2 0- . 1989 hT.E UE@feIfTEdT%sEnvironmentalProtectionAgency.

Region I . .

Permits. Processing: Unit - Room 2109 John:F.; Kennedy Federal Building-  ;

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, 1930_ ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PROGRAMS AND PLANS Gentlemen:-  !

In accordance with NPDES Permit No MA0003557 (Federal) and No. 359 (State),

for Pilgriin Station, the attached 1990 Environmental Honitorir.g Thermal

, Discharge Fish-Surveillance, and Dissolved Nitrogen Saturation Reduction 1

' Programs.and Plans are submitted by Boston Edison Company for-your. approval.

This submittal-is specifically in response to Part 1 Paragraph 7d of the above :i

. referenced permit,.which provides.a-deadline of December 31st of each year of  !

the. permit's. duration to submit. annual programs'and+ plans. .Thes; programs and .

plans" replace the 1989 environmental program, and have been recommended h' the i, Pilgrim' Admin'.strative-Technical-Committee.

If-there:are any questions concerning the attached programs and plans, please do'not-hesitate to' call Mr. Robert Anderson (617)(849-8935) of Boston Edison ,

s Company.

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.H er' RDA/ pac /290

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Attachment:

Marine Ecology Monitoring Related to Operation of Pilgrim Station i

-C , . Unit 1, NPDES Perolt Programs

.i cc: -U. .S. Nuclear-Regulatory Commission ATTN: . Document Control Desk g Hashington, DDC 20555 lU. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission l

Region I 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia', PA 19406 g Senior'NRC Resident Inspector

. Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station P  ;

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Attachment to BECo Letter No. 89- 116 1

1 MARINE ECOLOGY MONITORING RELATED TO OPERATION OF PILGRIM STATION UNIT 1 NPDES PERMIT PROGRAMS In accordance with NPDES Permit requirements for Pilgrim Station Permit No.

MA0003557 (Federal) and No. 359 (State), the following modified programs are presented for 1990. The 1978 through 1989 programs were submitted to the Regional Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and '

Director, Mass. Division of Hater Pollution Control (MDHPC), in December 1977 through December 1988, respectively.

I. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING The Environmental Monitoring Program represents a continuation of previous monitoring. Pre-operational studies for Pilgrim Unit I commenced in 1969, almost'four years before initial operation in Dwember 1972. In accordance with environmental monitoring and report'nj requirements of the Unit 1 Operating License, DPR-35, issued by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (now the Nuclear Regulatory Commission) Boston Edison carried out a post-operational Marine Ecology Program. This program was designed to investigate the Cape Cod Bay; ecosystem, with emphasis on the Rocky Point area, in order to determine whether the creration of Pilgrim Station resulted in measurable effects on the marine ecology and evaluate the significance of any such effects. The Mariae Ecology Program For Unit 1 continued for five years. from initial full power operation (that is, through December 1977) and was replaced by this NPDES Permit Program (with NRC concurrence). Amandment #67 (1983) to the PNPS Technical Specifications deleted Appendix B non-radiological water quality requirements since the NRC believed they were incorporated in the NPDES Permit. The post-operational monitoring for Pilgrim Unit I and-the collected data are incorporated and analyzed in the Marine Ecology Semi-Annual Reports (#1-34), Marine Ecology Final Report (1978), and the Section 316 Demonstration Document (1975) and Supplement (1977) pursuant to the Federal Hater Pollution Control ~ Act Amendments of 1972.

The NPDES Program ~ includes the-following elements:

A. Pilarim Administrative - Technical Committee The Pilgrim Administrative - Technical Committee (FATC) is an advisory committee that was established to ensure the Pilgrim marine studies have the benefit of qualified, outside scientific aad technical Advice, and are responsive to regulatory agency concerns. The PATC recc.nmends improvement to ongoing monitoring based on the latest results with the approval of the U.S. EPA and Mass. Div. of Water Pollution Control. It has held 72 meetings since July 16, 1969, and will continue to be involved in the future Pilgrim marine monitoring. The PATC is composed of representatives (technical and administrative) from each interested federal and state regulatory agency, Boston Edison Company and the University of % ssachusetts.

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The present membership is as follows:

4 MtMy National Marine Fisheries Services - (2 members)

Hast- oivision of Hater Pollution Control - (3 members)

U. S. Environmental Protection Agency - (2 members)

Mass. Division of Marine Fisheries - (2 members)

Mass. Office of Coastal Zone Management - (1 member)

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University of Massachusetts (2 members)

Boston Edison Company (1 member)

Each meeting was chaired by a representative of the Mass. Div. of Hater Pollution Control in 1989. Minutes of PATC naetings appear in the-semi-annual Pilgrim Station marine ecology reports.

B. Marine Fisheries Monitorina (Mass. Division of Marine Fisheries)

The Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), en agency of the

' Commonwealth of Massachusetts, conducts field monitoring (modified

~in 1981) pertinent to Pilgrim Station. The monitoring efforts '

listed below will be continued in 1990.

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The DNF monitors the occurrence and distribution of fish around Rocky Point and at sites:in the area of discharge temperature

' increase. Groundfish will be collected using a 32-foot Shrimp trawl (1/2 inch mesh liner) bi-weekly from April-December and monthly from January-Narch.. Four stations will be sampled .,

(including replicates), at 2 reference and 2 surveillance ,

locations which include the PNPS intake embayment and discharge thermal . ef fluent. Figure 1 shows sampling station locations.

A finfish observational dive survey (Figure 1) v.lli continue in 1990 for the Pilgrim Station thermal plume area. This monitoring will involve bi-weekly diving from May through November to document fish behavior and condition at six stations. During mid-August to mid-September, weekly diving will be done to document potential thermal plume-related mortalities.

In June-November 1990, a 150- foot snd 20 'oot beach seine (3/16 inch mesh bag) survey (Figurt 2) will be' performed bi-weekly at four stations, including one in the Pilgrim Station intake embayment. This monitoring will record fishes which are most susceptible to large impingement mortalities that have occurred in previous years. An initial cunner tagging effort will be 1

-commenced to determine the feasibility of documenting this resident species relation to the thermal plume.

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Lobster'

1 An' experiment'ai lobster pot study, initiated in 1986, will be continued during June-September in reference and surveillance ,

areas to better define Pilgrim Station's thermal influence on l lobster catch rate (Figure 3). '

The DMF has collected lobster catch statistics bi-weckly through each fishing season (May-November) by sampling commercial J 'lobstermen's pot hauls. This effort will continue with one lobsterman as a measure of the Pilgrim Station effect on the local L* lobster population (Figure 4 shows the sampling grid). ,

Gas Saturation

'In 1990, saturated gas analyses will be conductad only during periods of potential discharge-related mortalities (as occurred in 1 August-1985)'. A Heiss saturometer will be used in situ to measure total partial pressure of dissolved gases, and percent saturation

- of total gas, nitrogen, and oxygen.

C. Imoinaement Monitorina (Marine Research, Inc./BECo)

The ri.ain objective of the impingement' study is to calculate

.impfngement rates.of marine organisms by gathering anu analyzing data on numbers and species carried onto the four travelling water screens at Pilgrim Station. In 1990-the weekly collection time will be twenty-four hours (three 8-hour periods). Supplemental fish' survival data will also be recorded. BECo will _ analyza the-data and prepare the reports.

D. - Benthic monitoring The benthic . flora and fauna will be monitored at three sampling '

stations at depths of approximately 10 feet (MLW) (Figure 1). The dominant flora and fauna in each plot are recorded, and quantitative samples are collected from rock surfaces. Sampling "

will continue two times a year (March and September) to determine power plant-related effects.

In addition, transect monitoring to map the extent of stunted and denuded areas immediately off the discharge canal will be l

continued 4 times a year (March, June, September and December) in 1990.

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_E. Entrainment Monitorina (Marine Research, Inc.)

[ Entrainment monitoring in 1989 emphasized consideration of ,

ichthyoplankton, as it will in 1990.

The 1990 entrainment studies will consist of routine monitoring of the Pilgrim discharge. This monitoring will be on a weekly basis during the period Parch-September and bi-weekly during the periods y January-February and October-December. Samples will be collected I in triplicate. If exceptionally high egg or larvae concentrations L are found in the discharge when compared with previous years, steps L

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will be taken to. implement contingency ichthyoplankton sampling K plans to assess the reason-for the high concentrations. The first plan will- consist of additional tows and sample analysis from the

-discherge canal. If ichthyoplankton numbers remain exceptionally high, the second plan consisting of single tows at each of 13 Bay staticu off the plant will be initiated, and the samples analyzed immediately to determine the cause for the high densities (Figure 5). MRI-will analyze the Cata and prepare the reports.

F. Reoortina of Environmental Monitorina Semi-annual and annual reports with results of the above (Items A-E) will be submitted to the EPA and MDNPC on October 31, 1990 and April 30, 1991 covering the periods January-June and January-December 1990, respectively, II. THEr. MAL DISCHARGE FISH SURVEILLANCE The Thermal Discharge Fish Surveillance Program for Pilgrim station has the following primary parts:

A. 0verfliahts Periodic aerial overflights of western Doe Cod Bay and the Pilgrim vicinity will be conducted to alert Soston Edison to the presence of large schools of fish in the area. These overflights will be conducted weekly from March-November 1990 and results summarized by BECo in each annual monitoring report.

B. Observation of the Discharge Canal Boston-Edison personnel will make frequent visual observations of the Pilgrim discharge canal during periods of fish migration.

C. Dive Surveys Dive inspections of the discharge canal and fish barrier net will determine fish'presense and condition, and barrier net performance. BECo will report dive survey findings in each annual monitoring report. Also, fish sampling and diver observation in the: plume area will be. conducted bi-weekly from May through November by Massachusetts Dieision of Marine Fisheries personnel as part of the Environmental Monitoring Program.

The dive and observation elements of the Surveillance Program monitor compliance with the NPDES Permit barrier net condition, by providing a check on the adequacy of the net in preventing fish passage into the discharge canal. If these elements indicate that the barrier net is not fenctioning adequately and the Permit's 115% surface nitrogen limitation is triggered by the EPA, the overflights, as well as the canal observations and dive surveys, will indicate when fish susceptible to gas bubble disease mortality are sufficiently near Pilgrim Station to warrant action 1

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to reduce surface nitrogen saturation level to less than 115%.

Boston Edison will notify thc EPA Regional Administrator and:

Massachusetts DWPC Director of the presence of large schools of

. fish within 1/2 mile of the discharge canal concurrent with water ,

quality conditions potentially rarmful to the fish.

III. QLSSOLVED NITROGEN SATURATION REDUCTION The plan for reducing dissolved nitrogen surface saturation levels to less than 115% in the discharge canal will involve a power reduction >

or outage should a school of fish susceptible to gas bubble disease  :

mortality be in the immediate vicinity of Pilgrim Station. The procedure for determining the need,' feasibility and request for a '

power reduction or outage is as follows: .

1. Responsible regulatory / agency personnel familiar with fishery statistics (e.g. Mass. Division of Marine Fisheries) will estimate the magnitude of the fish school and, based on measured water quality and other pertinent environmental data, make a determination as to the likelihood and effect of a gas bubble disease mortality. They will also determine the potential necessity for a nitrogen saturation reduction, and notify Boston Edison of this initial judgment.

2. Boston Edison will notify the Rhode Island, Eastern Massachusetts, and Vermont Energy Control (REMVEC) of the possibility of a power reduction and obtain projections through at least the upcoming weekend. Boston Edison will transmit load information to the agencies / persons taking the actions identified in No. I above.

3 ', On the ' basis of this information, agency personnel will formulate specific recommendations to the EPA Regional Administrator and/or the MDWPC Director on the timing and duration of a power reduction that.is, in their judgment, appropriate and in the overall public interest.

4. Responsible regulatory personnel will request a power reduction through a telephone call to the Boston Edison, Pilgrim Nuclear +

Power Station Director.

5. Boston Edison personnel will record results of periodic surveillance of the condition and location of the fish prior to and subsequent to any plant changes.

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