ML20204J304

NPDES Noncompliance Notification:During 990220-0316, Entrapment of twenty-nine Sea Ducks Entrapped in Plant Circulating Water Cooling Sys.Cleaning of Intake Structures Scheduled to Eliminate Potential Food Source for Scoters

ML20204J304
Person / Time
Site:	Seabrook
Issue date:	03/22/1999
From:	Hart J NORTH ATLANTIC ENERGY SERVICE CORP. (NAESCO)
To:	Nelson J NEW HAMPSHIRE, STATE OF
References
AR#99004034, NYD-99011, NUDOCS 9903300055
Download: ML20204J304 (7)

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'"*% North Atlantie Energy Service Corporation

' 2'o na 3a North. Seabrook, NH 03874 Atlantic (6o3>474932i The Northeast Utilities System March 22,1999 NYD-99011 AR #99004034 Mr. John I. Nelson, Jr.

NH Fish and Game Department 225 Main Street Durham,NH 03824 Seabrook Station Sea Duck Entraoment Report North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation (North Atlantic) provides the attached ' report describing the entrapment of twenty nine sea ducks-specifically, white-winged scoters-in Seabrook Station's Circulating Water Cooling System during the period February 20,1999 to l March 16,1999. >

l Should you require additional information regarding this matter, please contact me at l 1

(603) 773-7762.

Very trtuy yours, NORTH ATLANTIC ENERGY SERVICE CORP.

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I >hn B. Hart

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Environmental Compliance Manager

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9903300055 990322 PDR ADOCK 05000443 S PDR _._

.s US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICES K'evin O'13rien US Fish & Wildlife Services Division of Law Enforcement PO Box 1101 Portsmouth,NH 03802 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION -

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Document Control Desk Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 Mr. J. T. Harrison

~ Senior Project Manager Division of Reactor Projects U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001

' Mr. H. J. Miller Regional Administrator, Region i U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 475 Allendale Road Kine;f Prussia, PA 19406 NRC Senior Resident Inspector

'NAESCO PO Box 300 Seabrook,NH 03874 1

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l l- , NYD-99011.

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SEA DUCK ENTRAPMENT REPORT

-.Colmer, S. NU Berlin /e-mail Cuoco, L.~ M. e-mail Garfield, G. G. e-mail Quinlan, W. J. e-mail Keser, M. e-mail Stroup, P. J. e-mail Letter Distribution e-mail *-

File 0003 01 RMD 02-06

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(with attachment)

TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE: SEABROOK ECOLOGICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE:

Mr. Harry Stewart, PE

. Dr. John Tietjen, Chairman NH Dept. of Environmental Services 134 Palisade Avenue Water Supply & Pollution Control D. . .ivision I,eonia,NJ 07605 6 Haze Drive Concord,NH 03302 Dr. W. Huntting Howell 12 James Farm Mr. Jeffrey Andrews Lee,NH 03824 NH Dept. of Environmental Services Water Supply & Pollution Control Division Dr. Saul Saila 6 Hazen Drive Concord,NH 03302 317 Switch Road Hope Valley, RI 02832 Mr. Robert Estabrook Dr. Bernard J. McAl. ice NH Dept. of Environmental Services 270 Foster Road Water S"7 ply & Pollution Control Division Round Pond, ME 04564 6 Hazen Drive Concord,NH 03302 Dr. Robert Wilce ePanment of Biology

' Ms. Clare McBane ,

Unite s f assachusetts 5 nS Amherst,MA 01003 Durham,NH 03824 Mr. Frederick Gay New Hampshire NPDES Permit Coordinator NORMANDEAU ASSOCIATES Environmental Protection Agency Ms. Marcia Bowen John F. Kennedy Buildmg Normandeau Associates,Inc.

Boston, MA 07203 82 Main Street Yarmouth,ME 04096 Mr. Dam.ien Hoolihan Eavironmental Protection Agency Mr. Paul Geoghegan John F. Kennedy Buildmg Normandeau Associates,Inc.

Boston, MA 02203 25 Nashua Road Bedford,NH 03110

- Mn Jd Pm Environmental Protection Agency 60 Westview Street NH FISH AND GAME DEPARTMENT Lexmgton, MA 02173

s. u He nson Mr. Eric Hutchins NH Fish and Game Department National Marine Fisheries Service

"" '#"I Northeast Region One Blackbird Drive '

l Gloucester,MA 01930 l 4

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ENCLOSURE TO NYD-99011 i

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SEABROOK STATION SEA DUCK ENTRAPMENT REPORT Sea DucN Entrapment

Description:

During the period February 20,1999 to March 16,1999, twenty-nine sea ducks were recovered from Seabrook Station's Cooling Water System screen wash debris.

On March 2, '1999,~ twenty-one of the ' ducks were provided to the New Hampshire Fish and Game (NHF&G) Department which subsequently confirmed their identification as white-winged scoters.

Another seven ducks wee provided to NHF&G on March 17,1999.

White-winged scoters are diving birds and feed underwater on mollusks, including blue mussels. The stomach contents of the entrapped scoters were determined to be mussels.

-Apparently the scoters were attracted to the mussels which are present on Seabrook Station's offshore intake structures which are located about one mile off Hampton Beach, about forty feet below the surface. See a more detailed description of Seabrook Station's Cooling System below Once inside the intake structures, the scoters may have become disoriented and were drawn into the cooling system.

North Atlantic has scheduled a cleaning of the intake structures beginning the last week of March 1999,,

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to remove the fouling organisms, including mussels. This planned cleaning will eliminate a potential food source for the scoters and should also eliminate further entrapments.-

Nonh Atlantic notified the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department (NHF&G) of the eleven sea

' ducks initially entrapped 'on the first business' day following the entrapment'. Additional notifications were made to NHF&G regarding the sea ducks subsequently entrapped. Nonh Atlantic also provided courtesy notifications toi the Environmental Protection Agency, New Hampshire Department of .

Environmental Services and National Marine Fisheries Service. -)

1 Provided below is a list of the number of sea ducks entrapped by date.

Rate Ducks Entranoed 2/20/99 11 2/21/99 2 2/23/99 3 j 2/24/99 1 l 2/26/99 3 i 3/02/99 1 3/13/99 7 3/16/99. 1 Total 29 .

Background Information about Seabrook Station's Offshore Cooling System:

i Notification of sea duck entrapment, telecon between R. Sher (North Atlantic) and C. McBane (NHF&G) on February.22,1999

s Seabrook Station's three offshore Cooling Water System intake structures are located about one mile offshore from Hampton Beach. During full power operations, the cooling water system provides about 450,000 gallons per minute (gpm) of ocean cooling water to the Station. (The Station was operating at ftlli power during the sea duck entrapment incidents), i l

i The ocean cooling water is drawn into three offshore intake structures which are located approximately 7,000 feet offshore frorr Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. The intakes are 110 feet apart and are located in w-t r about 60 feet deep. The intake structures were designed with velocity caps that allow the i relatively large flow of ocean water to be drawn in at a relatively low speed of about 0.5 feet per second. l The low intake velocities, as well as the horizontal intake currents provided by the velocity caps, i minimize the entrapment of marine organisms.

The velocity intake caps are 30-feet in diameter with seven-foot tall horizontal openings. The top of the intake cap opeaing is about 40 feet L: low the ocean surface. The three velocity intake caps draw ocean cooling water inward in a horizontal direction and redirect the flow down via three riser shafts to a single '

cooling water intake tunnel. Vertical bars are installed every 16 inches'around the circumference of the caps to reduce the amount oflarge debris that can enter the intake. l 1

l The ocean cooling water is delivered from the intakes to Seabrook Station, which is located two miles inland from the coast, via a 17,000 foot long tunnel with a 19 foot inside diameter located in bedrock beneath the ocean and salt .narsh floor. Each of the three intake structures is connected to the horizontal intake tunnel by a 110 foot tall ri3er shaft which has a 9 foot inside diameter. The flow rate inside the )

vertical shaft is approximately six feet per second. )

Once .; ocean cooling water reaches the intake tunnel, the flow velocity is about 4 feet per second during normal plant power operations. This cooling water is delivered to the Station and provides the water which cools steam in the condensor as well as other Station cooling water needs. A 16,500 foot long discharge tunnel with a 19 foot inside diameter returns the water to the ocean at a point about 3,000 j feet south of the intaka f acation. l

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