ML20134Q053
| ML20134Q053 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Seabrook  |
| Issue date: | 11/20/1996 |
| From: | Drawbridge B NORTH ATLANTIC ENERGY SERVICE CORP. (NAESCO) |
| To: | Deloi C MASSACHUSETTS, COMMONWEALTH OF |
| References | |
| NYE-96032, NUDOCS 9612020093 | |
| Download: ML20134Q053 (5) | |
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\\ North North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation j Atlaritic P.O. Box 300 Seahroet, Nu o3874 (603) 474-9521 The Northeast Utilities System November 20,1996 NPDES Permit No. NH0020338 N YE-96032 Mr. Carl DeLoi i
New Hampshire State Program Unit EnvironmentalProtection Agency John F. Kennedy Building Boston,MA 02203 Notification of an Unusual Number of Smelt Imninged at Seabrook Station North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation (Nonh Atlantic) the operator of Seabrook Station herein provides notification that an unusual number of herring were impinged at Seabrook Station during the period November Il-12,1996. The attached fish mortality incident report is provided pursuant to Part I.A.11.g of Seabrook Station's NPDES Permit which states that the impingement of an unusual number of fish shall be reported to the Environmental Protection Agency and the New Hampshire Department of j
Environmental Services.
i Approximately 1,600 rainbow smelt (5-10 cm. in length) were identified during the normal weekly screen wash assessment performed on November 13, 1996. The EPA' and NHDES were notified by 2
telephone on November 14,1996. Courtesy notifications were also made to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Depanment' and the National Marine Fisheries Service, the two other Seabrook Station Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) Agencies.
Notification of an Unusual Number of Herring Impinged at Seabrook Station, Telephone Notification Between R. Sher (North Atlantic), F. Gay (EPA) and J. Palmer (EPA), November 14,1996 Notification of an Unusual Number of Herring Impinged at Seabrook Station, Telephone Notification Between R. Sher (North Atlantic) and J. Andrews (NHDES), November 14,1996 Notification of an Unusual Number of Herring Impinged at Seabrook Station, Notification From R.
Sher (Nonh Atlantic) to B. Smith (NH Fish and Game) and Eric Hutchins (NMFS) November 14 and 15,1996
. g7 9612O20093 961120 d,. # J l
PDR ADOCK 05000443 S
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, Environmental Protection Agency t
NYE46032/Page 2 i
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i North Atlantic provides the following supplemental clarification in response to NH Fish and Game 5
j questions
- regarding North Atlantic's recent submittal of an unusual impingement of herring.
The alewife and blueback herring (10-16 cm.) impinged during the period November 1-3,1996 were f
l reported as primarily young-of-the-year fish. More specifically, these fish were a combination of large i
young-of-the-year fish and small age-one fish. North Atlantic also described Atlantic herring as often found in nearshore areas and estuaries in the fall and that recent heavy rains may have caused these fish to leave the estuaries and enter the nearshore area where they were subject to impingement by Seabrook Station. More specifically, some of the Atlantic herring impinged by Seabrook Station may have been from estuaries. In addition, the unusual impingement may have also been due to the fact that Atlantic herriag populations are now at historically high levels.
l Should you require additional information, please contact Mr. Ronald A. Sher, Senior Scientist at (603) 474-9521, extension 2729.
l Very truly yours, NORTH ATLA TI ERVICE CORP.
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/Ad4 DiIce'L. Dgbridge Executive Director-
'ces and Senior Site Officer l
l Discussion regarding North Atlantic Letter NYE-96029," Notification of an Unusual Number of Herring Impinged at Seabrook Station," Telephone Conversation Between B. Smith (NH Fish and Game) and R. Sher (North Atlantic), November 15,1996 North Atlantic Letter NYE-96029, dated November 12,1996,"Notificstion of an Unusual Number of Herring Impinged at Seabrook Station," B. Drawbridge (North Atlantic) to C. DeLoi (EPA)
-., Environmentcl Protection Agency.
IfYE 96032/Pege 3 cc:
Dr. Edward Schmidt NH Dept. Of Environmental Services Water Supply & Pollution Control Div.
T 6 Hazen Drive Concord,NH 03302 Environmental Protection Agency NPDES Program Operation Section P.O. Box 8127 Boston,MA 02203 i
Huben J. Miller Regional Administrator-Region 1 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406 Mr. Albert De Agazio, Sr. Project Manager Project Directorate I-4 Division of Reactor Projects U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555 Document Control Desk U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555 l
1 Mr. John B. Macdonald l
NRC Senior Resident Inspector i
c/o North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation l
PO Box 300 Seabrook,NH 03874 i
i t
i
- Environmental Protection Agency NVE-96032/Page 4 e
cc (with Enclosure) i TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE:
Mr. Eric Hutchins National Marine Fisheries Service Mr. Jeffrey Andrews Northeast Region NH Dept. Of Environmental Services One Blackbum Drive Water Supply & Pollution Control Division ucatu,M 0W30 6 Hazen Drive SEABROOK ECOLOGICAL ADVISORY Mr. Robert Estabrook COMMITTEE:
NH Dept. Of Environmental Services f3 P hn et. n, aiman Water Su ly & Pollution Control Division Concord, NH 03302 Leonia,NJ 07605 Mr. John Nelson Dr. W. Huntting Howell NH Fish and Game Department 12 James Farm 37 Concord Road Lee,NH 03824 Durham,NH 03824 Dr. Saul Saila Mr. Bruce Smith 317 Switch Road NH Fish and Game Department Hope Valley, RI 02832 37 Concord Road Durham,NH 03824 Dr. Bernard J. McAlice Darling Marine Center Mr. Nicholas Prodany Univasity of Maine
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Massachusetts State Program Unit Clarks Cove Road Wal ole, ME 04573 EnvironmentalProtection Agency P
John F. Kennedy Building Boston, MA 02203 Dr. Robert Wilce Department of Biology Mr. Frederick Gay 221 Marill Science Center New Hampshire NPDES Permit Coordinator University of Massachusetts New Hampshire State Program Unit Amhers@ 01003 Environmental Protection Agency John F. Kennedy Building NORMANDEAU ASSOCIATES Mr. Jack Paar Ms. Marcia Bowen Environmental Protection Agency
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60 Westview Street 82 Main Street Lexington, MA 02173 am uth,ME M6 Mr. John Shipman Normandeau Associates,Inc.
25 Nashua Road Bedford,NH 03110
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SEABROOK STATION SMELT MORTAI ITY INCIDENT REPORT - NOVEMBER 19%
l The following information is reported pursuant to Part I.A.11.g of Seabrook Station's NPDES Permit:
- 1. The kinds, sizes and approximate number of fish involved in the impingement incident.
Approximately 1,600 rainbow smelt (5-10 cm.) were impinged.
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- 2. The time, date and duration of the occurrence.
The rainbow smelt were impinged during a two-day period between the Monday, November 11, 1996 and Tuesday, November 12,1996 intake traveling screen washes and identified during t i
Wednesday, November 13,1996 weekly fish impingement assessment. This number of smelt is
" unusual" in that it is significantly larger than the total number of smelt impinged in 1995 (approximately 210).
On Wednesday evening, November 13,1996, the intake traveling screens were washed again. At this time the number of rainbow smelt observed was significantly less.
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- 3. The operating mode of the station at the time of the occurrence.
Seabrook Station was operating at 100 per cent power at the time of the smelt impingement.
- 4. The opinion of the permittee as to the cause of the incident.
i These fish were probably young-of-the-year and spawned in the late winter and early spring of I
1996. Smelt tend to school according to size and the impingement incident may have been due to I
i the passage of a large school of similar sized smelt moving past the offshore intakes. Smelt are common in Seabrook Station Environmental Studies Program otter trawl samples and are observed occasionally in gill net samples. According to the reference Fishes ofthe GulfofMaine (Bigelow and Schroeder,1953) smelt are a nearshore fish that are not observed more than a mile out from land or more than two to three fathoms in depth (12-18 feet). There is no definitive explanation for why the smelt were impinged by the offshore intakes, which are located one-mile offshore and in water forty to fifty feet deep. Seabrook Station Environmental Studies Data indicate that smelt are probably more common in deeper waters then the literature indicates.
- 5. The remedial action that the permittee will undertake to prevent a recurrence of the incident.
An additional screen wash was performed immediately following the observed impingement to determine whether the impingement was, in fact, an unusual occurrence. The number of smelt observed was significantly less. No specific remedial action is planned for this impingement occurrence, however, North Atlantic will continue to maintain an effective fish impingement t
monitoring program.
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