ML20206Q239
| ML20206Q239 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Yankee Rowe |
| Issue date: | 05/14/1999 |
| From: | Ross R AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED, NEW ENGLAND COALITION ON NUCLEAR POLLUTION |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20206Q192 | List: |
| References | |
| 99-754-01-LA-R, 99-754-1-LA-R, LA, NUDOCS 9905190086 | |
| Download: ML20206Q239 (8) | |
Text
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l UNITED STATES OF AMERICA l NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Before the ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD Administrative Judges:
1 Charles Bechhoefer, Chariman Dr. Thomas S. Elleman Thomas D. Murphy In the Matter of Docket No. 50-029-LA YANKEE ATOMIC ELECTRIC COMPANY ASLBP No. 99-754-01-LA-R (Yankee Nuclear Power Station)
License Termination Plan DECLARATION OF ROBERT J. ROSS. CGWP. HYDROGEOLOGIST I, Robert J. Ross, declare under penalty of perjury to the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board in the above captioned matter that:
- 1. I am the principal hydrogeologist at Ross Environmental Associates, Inc., a private consulting firm based in Stowe, Vermont. A statement of my qualifications is attached hereto as Exhibit 'A'.
- 2. Having read and reviewed the documents in this case, I am now familiar with the NRC Staffs Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact [EA/FONSI) on the License Termination Plan [LTP],64 FR 17690 (April 12,1999), Yankee Atomic Electric Company's [YAEC's] LTP, Rev 0 (May 1997) and Rev.1 (December 1997), the other documents referenced in the EA/FONSI l (YAEC correspondence with the NRC dated December 18,1997 and January 23, 1998) and the letter from John P. DeVillars, EPA Regional Administrator, Region I, to Judge Charles Bechhoefer, Chairman, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, and the Office of the Secretary, United States Nuclear. Regulatory Commission (January 26,1999), concerning EPA's comments on environmental matters related to the approval of the LTP. I also reviewed and am familiar with YAEC's ER l .,
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1 Declaration ofRobertJ. Ross, CGWP Page 2 of 6 (December 1993) [ER] and the NRC Staff's EA based upon that ER (December 1994) [EA]; the FSAR incorporating the Decommissioning Plan (June 1995); F X.
Bellini and E.R. Cumming, YAEC-1924, " Summary Report of Site Characterization Activities". (September 1995) [YAEC-1924]; F X. Bellini and E.R. Cumming, YAEC-1934, " Summary Report of Site Characterization Activities" (May 1996) [YAEC-1934]; P. Hollenbeck memorandum to K. Heider, YAEC file no. RP-%-56, " Preliminary 1996 Characterization Results" (August 20,1996) [YAEC RP-%-56]; NRC regulations 10 C.F.R. 50.82(a)(9)-(11); the contentions thus far admitted to the proceeding, and the contentions which New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution is submitting concerning the EA/FONSI at issue.
- 3. In my professional judgement, the NRC Staff's EA/FONSI of the LTP is deficient in the following respects and for the following reasons:
(a) The NRC Staff's EA/FONSI is not based upon a supplemented ER, and the one from 1993 is outdated and incomplete. So far as I am aware, Yankee Atomic Electric Company has not issued any update to the supplemental Environmental Report on the decommissioning of the Yankee Nuclear Power Station, Rowe, Massachusetts [YR] since it submitted the one issued in December, 1993. The NRC Staff's EA/FONSI is not based on a supplemental ER which identifies and evaluates the environmental impacts due to YAEC's use of the YR site to date. There is no documentation of the cumulative changes to the site and environmental impacts due to operation of the Yankee Nuclear Power Station.
Importantly, there is no documentation of the environmental impacts and changes due to decommissioning and projected through final site remediation when there will no longer be any radioactive materials stored on the site. Lacking documents which would constitute a reasonable site assessment, which documents are not included in any of the documents I reviewed, including those referenced in the EA/FONSI, it is my professional opinion that the NRC Staff has no basis in fact for making any scientific judgment that the LTP and Final Site Survey will adequately assure that the health and safety of the public are protected from radioactive contamination at the YR site.
(b)The NRC Staff's EA/FONSI does not consider the comments of its sister organization, the Environmental Protection Agency [ EPA] for Region I. In my professional opinion, failure to take account of and discuss the opinions of the EPA in this matter is not consistent with standard practice. The NRC Staff should discuss and explain the opinions and facts offered by a sister agency, particularly where there is enntroversy over approval of the plan.
Declaration ofRobertJ. Ross, CGWP Page 3 of 6 (c)The NRC Staff's conclusion in the EA/FONSI that "[i]ssuance of the amendment approving the LTP will not have any significant effect on accident risk and probability of any other environmental impact is extremely remote" is not based upon an examination of significant hydrogeological issues at the Yankee Rowe site. It is my professional opinion that, in reaching this conclusion in the EA/FONSI, the NRC Staffhad:
(i) No data apparent in any of the EA/FONSI referenced material or EA/FONSI itself regarding the identification of the extent of downgradient '
contamination based upon my study of the available ground-water analytical l results.
(ii) No data apparent in any of the EA/FONSI referenced material or EA/FONSI itself regarding vertical contaminant distribution in ground water; l YAEC has apparently failed to evaluate this matter. Ground-water contaminant i data from monitoring well B-1, which is screened between 39-49' below ground j surface, shows some of the highest concentrations of tritium at the site. Other 1 monitoring wells in this vicinity of the site with similar contaminant concentrations, CB-1 and CB-9, have well screens installed within 25 feet below j ground surface. There does not appear to be any ground-water quality data for the deeper portions of the underlying ground-water formation; except for the data from B-1, which indicates the presence of contamination.2 (iii) No data in the EA/FONSI referenced material or EA/FONSI itself regarding vettical hydraulic gradients at the site. This is important to determine whether contamination identified in the shallow ground water formation is potentially migrating to deeper portions of the formation. If there is downward flow and contaminant migration it is important to determine where it is going.'
' See generahy, documents referenced above in 12. None of the referenced documents appear to provide this necessary information.
2 EA (1994) Q3.4.2,13 at 15; YAEC-1924 at Appendices 1 and 4; YAEC-1934 2.3 at 2, and Appendix 3 [YAEC 1934]; YAEC RP-96-56.
' EA (1994) 3.4.2,13 at 15, 2.1.4 at 8; YAEC-1924 at 3 and Appendix 3; YAEC-1934 at Appendix 2; YAEC RP-%-56.
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I Declaration ofRobertJ. Ross, CGWP Page 4 of 6 (iv) No information in the EA/FONSI referenced material or EA/FONSI itself regarding the possible hydraulic connection / relationship between the Deerfield River and the underlying ground-water formation.d (v) No information in the EA/FONSI referenced material or EA/FONSI itself assessing the extent of the fill deposits and their relationship to ground-water flow and recharge at the site; also the current assessment does not appear to take the site geologic setting into consideration. Soil boring logs for the soil borings / monitoring wells installed at the site indicate the presence of fill material overlying dense till deposits. Also, the till deposit appears to be a heterogeneous mixture of material ranging from clay te boulders. Ground water flow in this type of geologic setting can be quite complex.'
(vi) No information in the EA/FONSI referenced material or EA/FONSI itself correlating ground-water contaminant concentrations with water-table fluctuations. Often times contaminant concentrations will decrease or increase in direct relationship with the fluctuation of ground-water levels.6 Furthermore, the available hydrogeologic data is deficient in the following respects:
(vii) Ground-water flow / contour diagram in Appendix 3 appears to inappropriately use water level data from B-1, which is screened in a deeper portion of the ground water formation. Technically, a ground water contour map should use only points that intercept the same zone / depth of the formation.7 (viii) Tritium concentrations in several of the wells are generally consistent over time, which suggests the source has not been identified or that residual contamination remains on-site. Tritium concentrations in CB-2, show a general decrease to non-detect then increases to concentrations similar to the original concentrations. There does not appear to be an attempt to explain this d
EA (1994) {2.1.4,13 at 7-8; ER (1993) Q3.4 at 3-19 and 3-20; YAEC-1924 Q2.1.3 at 3; YAEC-1934 at Appendix 2.
5 EA (1994) 2.1.5,13 at 8 and 9; ER (1993) 3.5.5 at 3-24; YAEC-1924 2.1.1 at 2 and Appendix 1.
6 EA (1994) 2.4 at 15; ER (1993) 3.4.2 at 3-20; YAEC-1924 2.1.3 at 3, 2.1.4 at 4, and Appendix 3; YAEC-1934 Q 2.2 at 2, Q 2.3 at 3; 4; see generally, Appendices 2 and 3.
7 YAEC-1924 at Appendix 1; YAEC-1934 at Appendix 3.
. 1 Declaration ofRobertJ. Ross, CGWP Page 5 of 6 anomaly; this may be due to poor sampling technique, another release, or changes to the site that may have affected contaminant distribution.8 1
(ix) VC elevator shaft sampling in 1994 detected tritium, but a footnote l to the table containing this information indicates that the area was day during ,
subsequent sampling events. There does not appear to be an attempt to explain l this, nor any documentation of attempts to drill deeper to intercept ground water. l (x) There does not appear to be any data, which correlates contaminant concentrations to seepage flow rate at Sherman Spring. Contaminant concentrations in the spring may be directly related to seepage flow rate.
(xi) Sediment sampling should include more than just shallow grab samples. All referenced samples appear to be collected with a ponar grab sampler, which suggests only shallow top layer sediment samples were collected. There is no mention of deep cores samples in any of the documents reviewed. A proper sediment characterization should include deeper samples."'
(xii) No deeper sampling appears to have been completed to evaluate the vertical extent of subfoundation soil contamination. Subfoundation soils samples appear to be collected within the upper 40" or less. Many of the deepest samples listed on the Summary tables detected contamination.12 (xiii) No deeper sampling appears to have been completed to evaluate the vertical extent of subsurface soil contamination. Subsurface soil samples appear to be collected within the upper 16" or less. Several of the deepest samples collected still had detectable concentrations of contamination (TS-155, TS-171).33 (d) Based upon the above observations, it is also my professional opinion that the NRC Staff's conclusion in the EA/FONSI that "the proposed action does not increase the probability or consequences of any accidents" is not based upon 8
YAEC-1924 at Appendix 4; YAEC-1934 2.3 at 2, and Appendix 3; YAEC RP-96-56.
' YAEC-1934 at Appendix 3.
3 EA (1994) {3.4.2,12 at 15; ER (1993) Q6.1.1 at 6-3; YAEC-1924 Q2.3 at 2 and Appendix 3.
83 YAEC-1934 2.4 at 3 and Appendix 4.
YAEC-1934 Q2.5 at 4 and Appendix 5; YAEC RP-96-56.
YAEC-1924 Q2.2.3 at 8 and Appendix 10.
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Declaration ofRobertJ. Ross, CGWP Page 6 of 6 an adequate or complete assessment of the hydrogeology of the Yankee Rowe site.
The NRC Staff, therefore, has no basis for making such a statement without accounting for risks based upon the hydrogeological issues I have identified herein above. The NRC Staff also would need to have the kind of hydrogeological data I have found to be absent from the NRC Staff's EA/FONSI and referenced documents.
(e) Based upon the above observations, it is also my professional opinion that the NRC StafT's EA/FONSI conclusion that "no changes are being made in the types of any effluents that may be released offsite" is not based upon an adequate hydrogeological characterization of the Yankee Rowe site. Further, as the NRC Staff EA/FONSI provides no references to studies of the history of changes to the YR site, in my professional opinion there is no scientific basis for concluding that there will be no changes in the types of effluents released offsite due to actions stemming from approval of the LTP.
In my professional opinion, for the reasons stated above, the NRC Staff's EA/FONSI on the LTP should be rejected by the Board, or, in the alternative, contentions questioning the basis of the EA/FONSI should be admitted to the proceeding. I have also reviewed NECNP's contentions based upon this declaration, and find them to be correct and accurate in technical detail to the best of my knowledge and belief insofar as they relate to matters in my area of expertise and the substance of my declaration. I am prepared to testify at hearing in support of the professional opinions I have herein expressed.
DATED AT: Stowe, Vermont, this IV day of May,1999.
/ )
Robert J. Ross, CG(WjP Ross EnvironmentaVAssociates, Inc.
% Tabor Hill Road P.O. Box 1533 Stowe, VT 05672 Tel. (802) 253-4280
F. )
l ROBERT J. ROSS EXHIBIT 'A'
, Certified Ground-Water Professional Mr. Ross is a certified ground water professional (CGWP # 455) with over 14 years of experience in hydrogeologic and environmental consulting. His project experience includes: ground-water contaminant fate sixt tansport studies; expert witness testimony; hydrogeologic investigations at petrolum release sites, industnal facilities, and landfills; design and implementation of contaminant remediation projects; air quality monitoring; CERCLA RI/FA investigations; DNAPL site characterization; ground water development studies; water resource evaluation; water-supply studies; and environmental assessments for real estate transactions.
Education University of New Hampshire, B.S., Hydrology,1983.
University of Waterloo, Diagnosis & Remediation of DNAPL Sites, Short Course,1993. l University of Wisconsin, Water Well Hydraulics, Short Course,1985.
OSHA 29 CFR 1910.12040-Hour Hazardous Sites Safety Course,1984, with current 8-hour refresher l
i training. j Representative Accomplishments Hydrogeologic invesdgadons Project manager for numerous hydrogeologic investigations in various geologic settings. Responsible for l overall project planning, negotiations with State agencies, implementation of field investigations, and report j preparation. Field programs involved: installation of multi-level monitor wells in overburden and bedrock ,
formations, discrete interval ground water sampling, vertical profiling of soil vapors, seismic refraction, l Ground Penetratmg Radar (GPR), and borehole geophysical surveys, in situ permeability testing, !
geochemical water quality characterization, and hydrologic budget analyses. Pnmary author and co-author for numerous technical reports detailing the findings of hydrogeologic site characterizations.
LandfdlStudies Project manager for water quality and hydrogeologic studies at over 30 landfills located throughout Vermont.
Many of the studies involved developing extensive water quality monitoring programs designed to meet State and Federal solid waste management regulations. Responsibilities included: project planning, negotiations with State agencies, implementation of field investigations, development of chemical Quality Control / Quality Assurance Plans, and report preparation. Developed comprehensive databases for historical water quality data with statistical analyses to meet provisions of RCRA Subtitle D.
Underground Storage Tank (UST) Closures and Assessments Directed numerous UST closure and hydrogeologic assessments to evaluate potential impacts to the subsurface environment. UST closures have involved removal and replacement of tanks as well as in-place closure beneath or adjacent to buildings. Hydrogeologic assessments at petroleum release sites have included soit vapor surveys, shallow and deep monitor well installation, collection of soil, surface water, indoor air and ground water samples, geologic characterization, and human health and environmental receptor evaluation.
Site Remediation andRestoration Experience includes remediating soil and ground water contaminated with petroleum products and chlorinated industrial solvents. Responsibilities include defining vertical and lateral extent of contammant plumes, identifying sensitive receptors, evaluating remedial alternatives, and supervising pilot tests and evaluating pilot test data. Also, responsible for periodic remediation system operation and maintenance Remediation activities have involved free product recovery, soil-vapor extraction, air sparging, vacuum-enhaa~d recovery, ground-water pump and treat, soil removal, landfarmmg, and replacement of impacted dnnkmg water supplies.
Ross ENIVORNMENTAL AssOCI ATEs, INC.
- P.O. BOX 15ss a sTOWE, VT 05672 HYDROGEOLOGY, WATER QU ALITY, CONT AMIN ANT P ATE & TR ANSPORT, REMEDIA rION, & REGUL ATORY COMPLI ANCE AND PERMITTING
-, 1 ROBERT J. ROSS, CGWP page 2 Representative Accomplishments (coat.)
& pert TesdmonyAidgation Support Empert witness for cases involving contaminated water supplies, insurance claims, and contanunation at industrial sites. Responsible for review and critique of third-party reports, ind-'viarit assessment of project ,
data, and litigation support for depositions and civil trials.
Environmental Site Assessments and Due Diligence Responsible for conductmg and managing environmental site assessments following ASTM guidelines for Transaction Screens, Phase I, and Phase II assessments. Representative projects have included: large residential subdivisions, State development projects, agricultural land, industrial facilities, and commercial .
properties. l Superfund Remedial Investigadons/Feasibioty Studes i Responsibilities included management of comprehensive field programs, supervision of subcontractors, and l+
preparation of project reports for CERCLA sites in Massachusetts, Mame, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Field investigation programs included overburden and bedrock monitor well installation, aquifer characterization, terrain conductivity, VLF, borehole, seismic refraction, and magnetometer geophysical l surveys, test pit excavation, and extensive chemical characterization of ground water quality.
l Surface WaterStudes Conducted various surface water related studies involving hydrologic budgets, seepage meter installation and flux determinations, surface water and sediment sampling, bathymetry surveys, and oversight of ecological assessments related to contaminant investigations. Field supervisor and primary diver for SCUBA diving reconnaissance and underwater characterization of submerged coal tar deposits in a short-nosed sturgeon spawning arca of the Connecticut River.
Water Supply Development and Water Resource Protection Ground water resource development experience includes evaluation of hydrologic budgets, fracture trace :
analyses, geophyrical exploration, and pump testing and aquifer analysis. Developed Source Protection j Plans (SPPs) and delineated Well Head Protection Areas (WHPA) for various clints to insure protection c,f i valuable ground water resources and to meet regulatory compiiance. Projects have involved review and interpretation of water quality data, identification of potential sources of contamination, and evaluation site-specific hydrogeologic conditions. Various projects have also involved specific recommendations to safe l Suard future uses and protect ground water resources, j
]
Air QuaSty inpact Assessment and Reme&ation ,
Evaluated potential threats to building interiors caused by migrating vapors from subsurface releases of volatile organic compounds. Designed and installed protective measures, including soil vapor extraction j systems, to prevent vapor entry into the buildings and to clean up the contammant source. l Certifications !
Certified Ground Water Professional (CGWP), No. 455,1993. l NAUI SCUBA Diving Instructor, No. 14189,1992. !
Class 3 Provisional Water Operator (Vermont), No. 2326 >
Affiliations !
I Association of Ground Water Scientists and Engineers (AGWSE)
Green Mountain Water Environment Association (GMWEA) !'
American Society of Testmg and Materials (ASTM)- Member Committee D-18 on Soil and Rock National Association of UnderwaterInstructors (NAUI)
ROSS ENiv0RNMnNTAL ASSOCIATES, INC.
- P.O. BOX 1533
- STOWE, VT 05672 l HYDROGEOLOGY, W ATER QU ALITY, CONT AMIN ANT F ATE & TRANSPORT, l REMEDI ATION, & REGULATORY cOMPLI ANCE AND PERMITTING I
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