WBL-20-015, Annual Non-Radiological Environmental Operating Report - 2019
| ML20119A510 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Watts Bar  |
| Issue date: | 04/28/2020 |
| From: | Anthony Williams Tennessee Valley Authority |
| To: | Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| WBL-20-015 | |
| Download: ML20119A510 (12) | |
Text
Tennessee Valley Authority, Post Office Box 2000, Spring City, Tennessee 37381 -2000 WBL-20-015 April 28, 2020 ATTN: Document Control Desk U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2 Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-90 and NPF-96 NRC Docket Nos. 50-390 and 50-391 10 CFR 50.4
Subject:
Watts Bar Nuclear Plant - Annual Non-Radiological Environmental Operating Report - 2019 In accordance with Section 5.4.1, "Routine Reports," of Appendix B, "Environmental Protection Plan (Non-Radiological)," to the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (WBN) Units 1 and 2 Operating Licenses, enclosed is the 2019 Annual Non-Radiological Environmental Operating Report for WBN. This report is required to be submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) within 90 days following the anniversary of the issuance of the WBN Unit 1 operating license (i.e., February 7, 1996). This report addresses the period from February 7, 2019 through February 6, 2020.
There are no new regulatory commitments in this letter. If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact Michael Brown, WBN Licensing Manager, at (423) 365-7720.
Anth y L. Williams IV Site Vice President Watts Bar Nuclear Plant
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission WBL-20-015 Page 2 April 28, 2020
Enclosure:
Tennessee Valley Authority Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Annual Non-Radiological Environmental Operating Report February 7, 2019 through February 6, 2020 cc (Enclosure):
NRC Regional Administrator - Region II NRC Project Manager - Watts Bar Nuclear Plant NRC Senior Resident Inspector - Watts Bar Nuclear Plant U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
E-1 of 10 TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT ANNUAL NON-RADIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENTAL OPERATING REPORT FEBRUARY 7, 2019 THROUGH FEBRUARY 6, 2020
E-2 of 10 TABLE OF CONTENTS I.
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................... E-3 II.
REPORTS PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED AS SPECIFIED IN THE WBN NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES) PERMIT..................... E-3 III.
SPECIAL BIOLOGICAL MONITORING REPORTS...................................................... E-4 IV.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION PLAN NONCOMPLIANCES................................. E-7 V.
CHANGES MADE TO APPLICABLE STATE AND FEDERAL PERMITS AND CERTIFICATIONS............................................................................... E-8 VI.
CHANGES IN FACILITY DESIGN OR OPERATION.................................................... E-8 VII.
NON-ROUTINE REPORTS........................................................................................ E-10 VIII.
CHANGES IN APPROVED ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION PLAN SPECIFICATIONS............................................................................................ E-10
E-3 of 10 I.
INTRODUCTION The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (WBN) Annual Non-Radiological Environmental Operating Report is provided for the period of February 7, 2019 through February 6, 2020. This report was prepared in accordance with Appendix B to facility operating licenses NPF-90 and NPF-96, Environmental Protection Plan (EPP), Section 5.4.1, Routine Reports. This report includes a summary of:
A.
Reports previously submitted as specified in the WBN National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit Number TN0020168.
B.
All special reports submitted per EPP Section 4.1, Environmental Monitoring.
C.
All EPP noncompliances and the corrective actions taken to remedy them.
D.
Changes made to applicable state and federal permits and certifications.
E.
Changes in station design or operation that could involve a significant environmental impact or changes to the findings of the Final Environmental Statement (FES).
F.
Non-routine reports submitted per EPP Section 4.2, Unusual or Important Environmental Events.
G.
Changes in the approved EPP.
II.
REPORTS PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED AS SPECIFIED IN THE WBN NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES) PERMIT The following reports were submitted as specified in the WBN NPDES Permit Number TN0020168 and the Tennessee Storm Water Multi-Sector General Permit (TMSP)
Numbers TNR051343 and TNR050000:
A.
As required by the NPDES permit, Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs) were completed and submitted monthly to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) no later than 15 days after the completion of the reporting period.
B.
WBN submitted to the TDEC the Compliance Survey for Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Outfall 113 Passive Mixing Zone for Winter 2018, Summer 2019 and Winter 2019. As summarized in the reports, the compliance surveys confirm the adequacy of the passive mixing zone and the adequacy of the thermal model to evaluate the operation of Outfall 113.
C.
The annual Biocide/Corrosion Treatment Report was completed and submitted to TDEC prior to the February 15, 2020 deadline.
D.
The annual sampling and analysis required by the 2018 TMSP for storm water was performed and the annual reports were submitted to the TDEC within 30 days after the sample results were obtained.
E-4 of 10 II.
REPORTS PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED AS SPECIFIED IN THE WBN NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES) PERMIT (continued)
E.
DMR Quality Assurance (QA) Laboratory Performance Evaluation Study 39 was completed by and submitted to Environmental Resource Associates, the TDEC, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prior to the September 13, 2019 deadline. The analysis performed and reported by our contract analytical laboratories were Acceptable.
III.
SPECIAL BIOLOGICAL MONITORING REPORTS A.
EPP Section 4.1.1, Aquatic Monitoring
- 1.
Routine semi-annual Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET), a.k.a. chronic biotoxicity tests, were conducted on plant effluents and the appropriate reports were submitted as part of the DMR for Outfall Serial Numbers (OSNs) 101 and 113 as required by the NPDES permit. OSN 101 was sampled in May and October, and OSN 113 was tested July and November 2019. Separate testing dates were required as WBN was unable to sample OSN 113 during the Spring sampling event as the SCCW remained isolated due to debris above the Watts Bar dam. All TVA test results were valid for all sampling outfalls, dates, and for both IC25 tests (P. promelas and C. dubia).
- 2.
A report on the Biological Monitoring of the Tennessee River near the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant 2012 is not required in accordance with Part III,Section I of the WBN NPDES Permit, but was a recommendation in the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Supplemental Condenser Cooling Water System Fish Monitoring Program, 2001 report to be consistent with other required annual reporting programs at Tennessee and Alabama nuclear plants. TVA determined in January 2013 that these reports, or an equivalent, would be submitted with the permit renewals versus the historical annual basis (last submitted December 29, 2015 as a component of the NPDES permit renewal application).
- 3.
In accordance with the provisions of Tennessee Code Annotated Section 69-7-301 et seq., the Water Resources Information Act, WBN submitted the Water Withdrawal Registration Form for Calendar Year (CY) 2019 to the TDEC prior to the February 15, 2020 deadline. Although federal agencies are not subject to laws and regulations promulgated by state governments unless Congress has clearly waived the federal governments sovereign immunity, in 2003 TVA voluntarily agreed as a matter of policy to provide the registration information in order to assist both TVA and TDEC in carrying out their water management responsibilities.
E-5 of 10 III.
SPECIAL BIOLOGICAL MONITORING REPORTS (continued)
- 4.
On July 27, 2017, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) performed a Compliance Evaluation Inspection (CEI). The purpose of the inspection was to evaluate the sites compliance with the terms and conditions of the sites National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, NPDES Permit TN0020168 and its Tennessee Multi-sector Permit (TMSP), NPDES Permit Tracking Number TNR051343. No violations were noted; the Division requested prior notification of the next calibration of the flowmeter at OSN 113 for the opportunity to observe. The flow calibration was observed on June 11, 2019, but was unsuccessful due to suspected water chemistry issues in the natural background of reservoir water. The calibration was successfully completed on June 20, 2019 using the Stream Pro ADCP device. The TDEC was provided the calibration results on July 09, 2019.
- 5.
On April 26, 2019, the TDEC responded to TVAs requested waiver of the retirement of for information requirements for Section (§)
122.21(R)(9) through (13) information requirements of the § 316(b) rule for WBN. Both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the TDEC reviewed the technical data and did not oppose TVAs request. The TDEC granted TVAs waiver request and will retain the entrainment data submitted July 2017, as well as the request supporting data for evaluating entrainment requirements for WBN in the subsequent permit.
E-6 of 10 B.
EPP Section 4.1.2, Maintenance of Transmission Line Corridors Listed below are the 500 kV transmission lines associated with WBN and information regarding the maintenance that was performed on each line:
500 kV Line Identifier Maintenance Performed Bull Run - Watts Bar (Note Below)
The following methods were used to treat the 46.1 acres:
No chemical or herbicide was utilized on these lines within the period.
Watts Bar - Roane A product of 500 gallons of Low Volume Solution and 0.5 gallons of Hack and Squirt Solution was used to treat 77 acres (6.5 gallons of solution per acre).
Low Volume Solution Accord xrt II - 4%
Arsenal -.75%
Milestone -.5%
Surfactant -.5%
Water - 94.25 %
Hack and Squirt Solution Accord xrt II - 50%
Arsenal - 25%
Milestone - 4%
Water - 21%
Watts Bar - Volunteer No chemical or herbicide was utilized on these lines within the period.
Watts Bar - Sequoyah 1 (Note Below)
No chemical or herbicide utilized on these lines within the period.
Watts Bar - Sequoyah 2 (Note Below)
No chemical or herbicide utilized on these lines within the period.
Note:
The transmission line designated as Bull Run - Sequoyah in previous versions of this report has been split into the following transmission lines: 1) Watts Bar - Sequoyah 1, and 2) Bull Run - Watts Bar.
E-7 of 10 IV.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION PLAN NONCOMPLIANCES WBN received zero Notice of Violations (NOVs) from February 2019 to February 2020.
In accordance with the NPDES permit, the following noncompliances were reported to the TDEC.
A. On February 7, 2019, a leak from the Make-Up Deionized Water system discharge hose to the Low Volume Waste Treatment Plant (LVWTP) was observed at 09:00 and isolated at approximately 11:30. The leak of approximately 22 gpm discharged to the Yard Holding Pond and was sampled/analyzed for OSN 103 parameters. All results were within permit limits and are reported on the OSN 103 DMR sheet.
B. Due to heavy rainfall which resulted in high river flows, and large debris floating down the river, WBNs floating water temperature stations 33 and 34 were dislodged from their anchor chain on February 23rd (around 19:30 and around 22:00, respectively). TVA calculated the station temperatures via in-service OSN 113 discharge temperature.
There was no discharge from OSN 113 (SCCW out of service) February1-10 and 25-28, 2019. Actions to recover the stations and re-install them on their anchor chains were tracked in CR #1493497.
C. On May 16, 2019, WBN identified a fire water leak that was not discharging through an NPDES-permitted outfall. The intake was being treated with chlorine at the time the leak was first observed; however, samples were collected at stormwater monitoring point SW-1 and demonstrated that Total Residual Chlorine (TRC) was below the detectable amount. It is not known when the leak began. The TMSP identifies fire hydrant flushes and potable water (i.e., chlorinated water) as an allowable non-stormwater discharge.
WBN has isolated the pipe until it is repaired. Corrective actions were tracked in CR
- 1517187.
D. The SCCW was placed in winter mode due to debris on December 18, 2019 and it remained in winter mode for the rest of the month. Temperature sensor at OSN 113 was determined to be out of service from December 16 through 31, 2019 due to inaccurate readings, possibly due to debris, & these outliers were removed from the data set.
E-8 of 10 V.
CHANGES MADE TO APPLICABLE STATE AND FEDERAL PERMITS AND CERTIFICATIONS A.
NPDES Permit Number TN 0020168
- 1. In accordance with the WBN Tennessee Stormwater Multi-Sector General Permit (TMSP) tracking number TNR051343, TVA submitted a Notice of Intent (NOI) and topographical map to the TDEC on May 2, 2019.
The NOI provided updates for stormwater outfall SW-12 to be representative of stormwater outfall SW-9 discharge effluents on annual monitoring reports.
TVA also updated the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan in accordance with Section 5.1.4 of the TMSP.
B.
Air Permit Number 463822 No changes were made to the Air Permit during this time period.
VI.
CHANGES IN FACILITY DESIGN OR OPERATION In accordance with EPP Section 3.1, Plant Design and Operation, facility design and operational changes were reviewed for potential effect on the environment as described below. A review of facility design and operational changes proposed from February 7, 2018, through February 6, 2019, was performed. Projects considered as having potential impact on the environment included those that:
Could have caused waste stream generation/alteration.
Required the acquisition/modification of permits.
Involved the use of hazardous material.
Required physical construction.
The review, performed in accordance with the guidelines of TVAs National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Program, documented that design and operational changes did not involve an unreviewed environmental question. The following criteria were used to identify those projects with a potential for environmental effects:
A.
Waste stream generation/alteration:
Air, Hazardous Waste, Solid Waste, Polychlorinated Biphenyls, Asbestos, or Wastewater.
B.
Permit Acquisition/Modification:
NPDES, Air, Inert Landfill, or Other.
C.
Hazardous Materials:
Hazardous Materials that are environmentally unfriendly and are likely to generate a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous or Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) waste.
D.
Physical Construction Involved:
Erosion/Sedimentation Effects, Transportation Effects, Noise Effects, Groundwater Effects, Surface Water Effects, Floodplain Effects, Wetland Effects,
E-9 of 10 VI.
CHANGES IN FACILITY DESIGN OR OPERATION (continued)
Prime Farmland Effects, Unique Natural Features Effects, Aquatic Ecology Effects, Terrestrial Ecology Effects, Protected Species Effects, Sensitive Habitat Effects, Visual Effects, Historical, Cultural and Archeological Effects, Changes in Site Land Use, or Controversy.
E.
Temporary Alterations:
There were no temporary alterations conducted during this period that met the environmental impact criteria.
Design and Operational Changes Most of the design and operational changes conducted during this period did not meet the environmental impact criteria. There were 15 facility design and operational changes made during this reporting period with a potential impact on the environment. The appropriate environmental reviews were completed and all changes were found to be within the scope of existing environmental permits and in compliance with NEPA regulations.
The following Environmental Assessments (EAs) written to document the review of site changes are as follows:
No EAs were issued during this reporting period.
Those Categorical Exclusion Checklists (CECs) written to document the review of site changes are as follows:
(1) 40659 WBN Potable Water Line Replacement and Relocation (2) 40737 WBN Yard Holding and Low Volume Waste Treatment Pond Vegetation Removal (3) 40914 WBN Buried Piping Excavation and Inspection (4) 40947 WBN Intake Channel Tree Removal for Security Camera Visibility (5) 41248 WBN Additional Equipment Building (AEB) - Unit 2 Air Conditioning Unit (ACU) 2A Replacement (6) 41288 Training Battery Bank (7) 41339 WBN Site Beautification (8) 41456 Removal or demolition of triple wide trailer at WBN (9) 41572 WBN Radiochemical Laboratory (RCL) HVAC Unit Replacement (10) 41578 WBN Farmhouse (11) 41906 WBN Miscellaneous Tree Removal (12) 42221 WBN Soil Borings for New Fire Hall (13) 42246 WBN Osprey Mitigation Strategies (14) 42435 WBN North Portal Vehicle Barrier Replacement All other facility design and operational changes made during this reporting period with a potential impact on the environment were found to be within the scope of existing environmental permits and in compliance with regulations.
E-10 of 10 VI.
CHANGES IN FACILITY DESIGN OR OPERATION (continued)
In summary, there were no facility designs or operational changes from February 7, 2019 to February 6, 2020, which resulted in an unreviewed environmental question.
VII.
NON-ROUTINE REPORTS No non-routine reports for EPP Section 4.2 were issued during this reporting period.
VIII.
CHANGES IN APPROVED ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION PLAN SPECIFICATIONS No changes were made to the WBN operating license, Appendix B, EPP during the reporting period.