ML20081F924

Affidavit of CR Nefe Re Postulated Gordonville Road Tree Plantings

ML20081F924
Person / Time
Site:	Midland
Issue date:	10/20/1983
From:	Nefe C CONSUMERS ENERGY CO. (FORMERLY CONSUMERS POWER CO.)
To:
Shared Package
ML20081F873	List: ML20081F871 ML20081F884 ML20081F900 ML20081F924
References
ISSUANCES-OL, ISSUANCES-OM, NUDOCS 8311040038
Download: ML20081F924 (7)

Text

I October 28, 1983 i

4 STATE OF MICHICAN )

) SS.

COUNTY OF JACKSON )

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of )

) Docket Nos. 50-329 OM CONSUMERS POWER COMPANY ) 50-330 OM

) 50-329 OL (Midland Plant, Units 1 and 2) ) 50-330 OL AFFIDAVIT OF CLEMENS R NEFE Clemens R Nefe, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is the author of the " Affidavit of Clemens R Nefe on Postulated Gordonville Road Tree Plantings", and that such affidavit is true and correct to the best of his knowledge and belief.

we k k Clemens R Nefe /

SwornandSubscribedBefore'HeThis[ ay of A/$h . 1983.

?M1h .

NQ NOTARY-@LIC //

My Commission Expires Sectember 8, 198h h!

Q 38 831028 K 05000329

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PDR AF1083-0083A-MP04

Octob3r-28, 1983

• ' AFFIDAVIT OF'CLEMENS R. NEFE ON POSTULATED.GORDONVILLE-ROAD TREE PLANTINGS '

I. INTRODUCTION

. My name'is Clemens R.' Nefe. I am;the Landscape

, Architect for' Consumers Power Company, and I work in the ,

Forestry'Dihision'of the Electric Distribution Department.

' I' hold a-B.S. degree in Landscape Architecture from

. Michigan State University and I am a registered Lan'dscape  ;

Architect.in the state of-Michigan. . I joined Consumers

Power Company in 1953'following two years of landscape

, design and engineering work for J Lambert Landscape Company in Dallas, Texas. Otr job with' Consumers Power Company is to design and' implement landscaping for the Company's new L  ; facilities and'for the prevention of' erosion of utility right-of-ways, riverbanks, sand dunes or other areas where required.

The Forestry Division is responsible for the  !

! - above-mentioned landscaping a'ctivities, and for the clearing of,new electric right-of-ways,-the' maintaining of existing

' line clearances from' tree' growth.and the planting'and maintenance of-evergreen-trees on Consumers Power Company plantations. These evergreens are sold for pulp or are-

- used for utility-poles.

r II. PURPOSE ~OF' AFFIDAVIT During'the hearings: held on March 9 and 10,.1983, l l  : the' Atomic Safety and Licensing Board inquired of witnesses e

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J.- for'both the Applicant and the NRC'Stafffwhether it would

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be useful and cost effective for Applicant to plant _a stand-

~of'treesiinithe near future along'Gordonville Road to.miti-gate the effects of fog.from the Midland plant cooling pond on the: road.o Tr. 12620,.12792.. This affidavit makes recom-

, j fmendations'about the species of trees _that could;be planted,

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s and addresses the manner:of planting, need for thinning, fertilization, growth' rate and costs associated with such a postulated planting.

III. RECOMMENDED SPECIES AND PLANTING INFORMATION I recommend'the use of'four species of evergreen

. trees in' the postulated planting. These are: White Spruce

.(Picea glauca), Norway Spruce (Picea abies), Austrian' Pine

.(Pinus nigra) and- Red Pine 1(Pinus resinosa) . These four species were. selected due to the superior. vigor of their wood'

'and the varyingLaoil conditions at the-site. .Moreover, these recommended species are more.rea'dily available from~ commercial

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' sources.and provide as' fast.or a faster growth rate than other evergreen. species.

-The quality.of the soil'in'the proposed planting

. area changes drastically in short distances: The western end of.the property:to-the south of the cooling pond consists of.

a good,'well' drained sandy loam. This' changes to a loamy sand, and then to a poorly drained loamy sand as you progress

east along Gordonville Road. Near the east end of the pond, J

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.. 1the. soil changes to sand.. From the east end of the pond to the edge ofitheJTittabawassee River,.the soil changes

.back_to a good sandy loam.-

,The White Spruce would be-planted in the.well drained sandy loam. The wcod of this' tree is resilient,

_ :which reduces breakage. -This. tree is most likely the hardiest of!the four species recommended, with an annual growth rate of-from 8 to 12 inches. The crown diameter-would be'approximately 3-1/2 to 4 feet on an 8 foot tree; th'is would increase to approximately 20 to 25 feet 40 years from the'planiAn'g date. The trees would be approximately'40-

'toL45 feet in height at that-time.

The'-Norway: Spruce would be planted in the low and moist areas. This tree is a heavy feeder and prefers moist-

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soils.. The wood is very resilient and is most likely the strongest' of the four trees recommended. The tree is very

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, hardy in this climate. The growth rate is about the same as .the White -Spruce except'.that the crown ' diameter is

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slightly larger on a 40 foot. tree - .approximately 25 to 30

' feet.

The' Austrian Pine would be planted.in the well drained : loamy sands. The wood-of this tree is stronger =than

most pines in'the Midland area..- The growth rate is from 6 s 'to 8~ inches per. year. The crown diameter on an 8 foot tree o.

is~around 4.to 5 feet. This tree _would be approximately 30 o

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. to'35 feet in height-with'a crown of approximately 20 to 25 feet in diameter 40 years following the planting date. The Austrian Pine is well established in this zone and it is a very hardy tree.

The Red Pine would be planted in the sandy locations.

This tree does well in this type of soil and it is very hardy in this climate. The wood is close grained and stronger than most pines in this area. The growth rate is-about the same as for the Austrian Pine.

A planting height of 7 to 8. feet is recommended for all four species. This height is readily commercially avail-able and is reasonably easy to handle. Based on my experience, larger trees would be more expensive to purchase, more ex-pensive to water and fertilize, more difficult to handle in transplanting, and more difficult to obtain from commercial sources. Even if we were able to locate large quantities of taller trees, my experience has been that such taller trees would not be of good quality. In addition, the survival rate of the recommended size should be considerably higher than it would be with taller trees. If the recommended trees are watered and fertilized for at least two years, the survival rate should be around 90 percent. By comparison, the survival rate of transplanted 12 foot trees would be less than 50 percent. The average cost for the four trees recom-mended above would be around $140.00 per tree, or $17,640 per 1000 foot ~ row.

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• I recommend'that the: trees be planted in a 1/

Lehecker-board. fashion 8 feet = apart, space permitting.-

.The' planting should take place in'the fall, as the' ground

'is relatively dry. A spring planting could also be used, because it would result in a marginally higher survival rate.. (the . trees' would have longer to become established

-before L winter) . However, the Spring transplanting season is shorter,-and the: ground is often too wet.

The growth rate would.be at.a standstill for the first. year.because the roots of:the transplanted trees.

- would not have sufficiently developed to' provide the trees with food ~for growth.~ The growth rate would then increase to approximately 2 to 4 inches in the second year. From then~on, the trees should grow'from 6 to 12 inches'per year

_ untilithey reach a height where.they compete with each other for food.. This occurs when~the crowns begin to grow into each:other,:approximately 8 to 10 years following the planting date.- The stand of-trees should then be thinned by removing.

every.other tree in each row, leaving alternate. trees in the' adjacent rows. This thinning would change-the checker-board

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- pattern to one of isosceles-triangles, with trees spaced-

- every 16 feet.- -The growth rate should then continue to be 6fto'12 inches per. year. If this thinning is not accomplished,

-1/" LThis' planting pattern has been chosen to provide for the fog sweeping characteristics of the 0.18 tree /m2 " sparse"

. forest discussed in the affidavit of John P. Bradley,

- filed concurrently with this affidavit. However, I do not take;into acccunt the planting space limitations 31scussed in the affidavit of David A. Sommers, filed fconcurrently with.this affidavit. I have-assumed that i .the. planting of. multiple rows-is possible.

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-o the growth rate of the trees will decrease. According to the affidavit of John P. Bradley, the height of the trees is very important to their ability to act as an effective fog sweep, and a diminished growth rate would not be desirable.

Fertilization should be performed once a year in early. spring, and all trees should also be thoroughly watered at this time. Watering should be continued throughout late spring, summer and early fall. The trees should be watered once every two weeks in their first growing-year and once every month in their second growing year. Some of the-watering may be eliminated if a good soaking rain occurs between the watering schedules.

The estimated cost for fertilizing a 1000 foot row would be around_S100.00. Each watering for each 1000 foot row would cost around S350.00. I estimate that nine waterings

- and five waterings would be required during the first and second years, respectively.

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