ML20197J471

Forwards 1998 Environmental Monitoring,Thermal Discharge Fish Surveillance & Dissolved N Saturation Reduction Programs & Plans, IAW NPDES Permit MA0003557 & Number 359

ML20197J471
Person / Time
Site:	Pilgrim
Issue date:	12/22/1997
From:	Desmond N BOSTON EDISON CO.
To:	ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
References
BECO-5.97-128, NUDOCS 9801050003
Download: ML20197J471 (6)

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, , Pdgnm Nuclear Power huon i Rocky Hdi Road i Plymouth. Massachusetts 07360 5599

,wy g gg December 22. 1997 Rogulatory Relabons Group Manage' BECo Ltr. 5.97 128 1

l NPDES Programs (SPA)  !

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency P.O. Box 8127  :

Boston, MA 02114 8127 1998 ENVIRO @ ENTAL MDNITORING PROGRAMS AND PLANS Gentlemen:

In accordance with NPDES Permit No MA0003557 (Federal) and No. 359 (State) for Pilgrim Station, the attached 1998 Environmental Monitoring, Thermal Discharge Fish Surveillance, and Dissolved Nitrogen Saturation Reduction Programs and Plans are submitted by Boston Edison Company for your approval.

This submittal is made in accordance with Part 1, Paragraph 8d of the above referenced permit. These programs and plans have been recommended by the Pi' grim Administrative-Technical Committee to replace the 1997 environmental program.

I; there are any questions concerning the attached programs and plans, please do not hesitate 3 to call Mr. Robert Anderson (508 830 7935). -

,h(\. Ilk Nancy L. bsmond RDAllb/radmisc/97Montt

Attachment:

Marine Ecology Monitoring Related to Operation of Pilgrim Station ,

Unit 1, NPDES Permit Programs i

cc: U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ATTN: Document Control Desk Mass. Dept. of Environmental Prot.

Office of Watershed Management [

Washington, DC 20555 627 Main St. .

. Worcester, MA 01608 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regico I

/

475 Allendale Road -

King of Prussia, PA 19400 M.o j Senior Resident inspector Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station rma wm w m .

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Pugrim Nuclear Power Station RcSy Hdi Road Plymouth, Massachusetts 02360-5599 Nancy L Desmond Regulatory Relations Group Manager cme ,

Mass. Department of Environmental Protection Division of Water Pollution Control Regulatory Branch - 7th Floor One Winter Street Boston, MA 02108 1998 ENVIRONMENTAL M_ONITORING PROGRAMS AND PLANS Gentlemen:

In accordance with NPDES Permit No. MA0003557 (Federal) and No. 359 (State) for Pilgrim Station, the attached 1998 Environmental Monitoring, Thermal Discharge Fish Surveillance, an.1 Dissolved Nitrogen Saturation Reduction Programs and Plans are submitted by Boston Edison Company for your approval.

This submittal is inde in accordance with Part 1, Paragraph 8d of the above-referenced permit. These programs and plans have been recommended by the Pilgrim Administrative-Technical Committee to replace the 1997 environmental program, if there are any _ questions concoming the attached programs and plans, please do not hesitate to call Mr. Robert Anderson (508-830-7935).

Nancy LUDesmond RDA/rJradmisc/97Montt

Attachment:

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

, Attachment to BECo Letter No. 97* 128 MARINE ECOLOGY MONITORING RELATED TO OPERATION OF Pil. GRIM STATION NPDES PERMIT PROGRAMS in accordance with NPDES Permit requirements for Pilgrim Station Permit No. MA0003SS7 (Federal) and No. 350 (State), the following modified programs are presented for 1998. The 1978 through 1997 programs were submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Mass. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) previously.

l. ERyflONMENTAL MONITORING The Environmental Monitoring Program represents a continuation of previous  !

monitoring with changes made based on latest results and analyses. Pre-operational l studies for Pilgrim Station commenced in 1909, almost four years before initial '

operation in December 1972. In accordance with environmental monitoring and reporting requirements of the Pilgrim Station 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 Ror.ky Point area, to determine whether the operation of Pilgrim Station resulted in measurable effects on the marine ecology and to evaluate the significance of any such effects. The Marine Ecolocy Program for Pilgrim Station continued for five years from initial full power operation (that is, through December 1977) and was replaced by the NPDES Permit Program (with NRC concurrence). Amendment #67 (1983) to the PNPS Technical Specifications deleted Appendix B non-radiological water quality requirements since they were incorporated in the NPDES Permit. The post operational monitoring for Pilgrim Station and the collected da'.s are incorporated and analyzed in the Marine Ecology Semi Annual Reports (#150),

Marine Ecology Final Report (1978), and the Section 316 Demonstration Documt,t (1975) and Supplement (1977) pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972.

The NPDES Program includes the following elements:

A. Pilarim Administrative-TechnicalCommitte&

The Pilgrim Administrative Technical Committee (PATC) is an advisory committee that was established to ensure the Pilgrim marine studies have the benefit of qualified, outside, scientific and technical advice and are responsive to regulatory agency concems. The PATC recommends improvement to ongoing monitoring based on the latest results with the approval of the U.S.

EPA and Mass. Department of Environmental Protection. It has held 88 regular meetings since July 16,1969 and will continue to be involved in future Pilgrim marine monitoring.

The PATC is composed of representatives (technical and/or administrative) from each interested federal and state regulatory agency, Boston Edison Company, and the University of Massachusetts.

The present membership is as follows: ,

Aaency National Marine Fisheries Services -(1 member)

Mass. Department of Environmental Protection-(2 members)

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

Mass. Division of Mar;ne Fisheries-(2 members)

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

University of Massacnusetts -(1 member)  !

l Boston Edison Company -(1 mamber)

Each meeting in 1997 was chaired by a representative of the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection. Minutes of PATC meetings appear in the semi-annual Pilgrim Station marine ecology reports.

B. Marine Fisheries Monitorino (Mass. Div. of Marine Fisheries) ze Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, conducts field monitosing pertinent to Pilgrim Station. The efforts listed below will be conducted in 1998.

Ehh As in 1997, Marine Fisheries studies in 1998 will focus on winter flounder population parameters to develop an understanding of PNPS impact on this indicator species. Population estimates and adult equivaiency analyses will be conducted on this key species to help assess the impact of PNPS entrainment.

Winter flounder will be studied by techniques including trawling and tagging.

Cunner population impact and rainbow smelt spawning enhancement efforts will be terminated in 1998.

Finfish observational dive surveys will continue in 1998 for the Pilgrim Station thermal plume area. This monitoring will involve periodic diving from May through October to document fish behavior and condition at various stationt in close proximity to the discharge canal, and two discharge area dives in late December to record any heated water overwintering fishes.

Gas Saturation in 1998, saturated gas analyses will be conducted during any periods of potential discharge-related mortalities. A Weiss saturometer will be used in situ to measure total partial pressure of dissolved gases and percent saturation of total gas, nitrogen, and oxygen.

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C. Imoinoement Monitoring (Marine Research, inc/BECo)

The main objective of the impingement study is to calculate impingement rates of matine organisms by gathering and analyzing data on numbers and species carried onto the four intake traveling screens at Pilgrim Station. In 1998, the weekly collection time will be twenty four hours (three 8 hour9.259259e-5 days <br />0.00222 hours <br />1.322751e-5 weeks <br />3.044e-6 months <br /> periods).

Supplemental initial fish survival data and reimphgement data, if possible, will also be recorded. BECo will analyze the data and prepare the reports.

D. Benthic Monitorina (ENSR Consulting & Engineering)

Transect monitoring to record benthic species and map the extent of Irish rnoss stunted and denuded areas immediately off the discharge nnal will be conducted 3 times a year (March, June and September) in 1998. This is a reduction from the four surveys conducted in 1997.

E. Entrainment Monitorina (Marine Research, Inc.)

As in 1997, entrainment monitoring in 1998 will emphasize consideration of ichthyoplankton, particularly winter flounder and cunner.

The 1998 entrainment studies will consist of routine monitoring of the Pilgrim discharge. This monitoring will be on a three times per week basis from March through September, and three times biweekly from October until February, if exceptionally high egg or larvae concentrations are found in the discharge when compared with previcus years, steps may be taken to implement contingency ichthyoplankton sampling. plans to assess the magnitude of the high

- concentrations. The plans will consist of additional tows and sample analysis from the discharge canal. MRI will analyze the data and prepare the reports including adult equivalency impact analyses for some of the more abundant species entrained.

F. Reportina of Environmental Monitorina Semi annual and annual reports with results of the above (items A E) will be submitted to the EPA and DEP by October 31, 1998, and April 30, 1999, covering the periods January-June and January December 1998, respectively.

Mass. DMF will prepare a final project report for the commercial lobster pot study, which was completed in 1993.

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11. THERMAL DISCHARGE FISH SURVEILLANCE

. . For 1998, as in 1997, the Pilgrim Administrative - Technical Committee has 1 recommended removing the PNPS discharge canal, barrier net on an experimental )

basis (to be reviewed animally). A net will be available for installation should any ,

related fish incident warrant it. )

The Thermal Discharge Fish Surveillance Program for Pilgrim Station will involve I frequent visualinspections of the discharge canal during periods of fish migration to determine fish presence and condition. Also, diver observation in the plume area will l be conducted from May through October and ir Jecember by Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries personnel as part oi the Environmental Monitoring Program.

The observation and inspection elements of the Surveillance Program monitor  !

compliance with the NPDES Permit by providing a check on fish in the discharge canal. These elements indicate when fish susceptible to gas bubble disease mortality are within or sufficiently near the Pilgrim Station discharge to warrant action to reduce surface nitrogen saturation level to less than 115% (as indicated by gas saturation analyses) and/or install the fish barrier net.

Ill, DISSOINED 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.

A. 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 I disease mortality. They will also determine the potential necessity for a nitrogen saturation reduction and notify Boston Edison of this initialjudgment.

B. Boston Edison will notify the appropriate regional power authorities 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 item A above.

C. On the basis of this information, agency personnel will form'itate specific recommendations to the EPA Regional Administrator and/or the Mass. DEP, Office of Watershed Management (OWM) or their designees, on the timing and duration of a power reduction that is, in their judgment, appropriate and in the 1 overall public interest. '

D. Responsible regulatory personnel will request a power reduction through a I telephone call to the Boston Edison, Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station Vice President Nuclear.

E. Boston Edison personnel will record results of periodic surveillance of the condition and location of the fish prior to and subsequent to any station i operational changes.  ;

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