ML22206A117
| ML22206A117 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | San Onofre  |
| Issue date: | 08/18/2022 |
| From: | Arlene B Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards |
| To: | Southern California Edison Co, US Dept of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service |
| Briana Arlene 201-415-1042 | |
| References | |
| Download: ML22206A117 (3) | |
Text
August 18, 2022 LICENSEE:
Southern California Edison FACILITY:
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Units 2 and 3
SUBJECT:
SUMMARY
OF JULY 21, 2022, MEETING WITH THE NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE ON ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT CONSULTATION FOR THE SAN ONOFRE NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION, UNITS 2 AND 3, DECOMMISSIONING (DOCKET NUMBERS: 50-206, 50-361, AND 50-362)
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) are in consultation under the provisions of section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA), concerning the decommissioning of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Units 2 and 3 (SONGS), in San Clemente, California. Under section 7 of the ESA, Federal agencies must consult with the NMFS on activities that may affect ESA-listed species or designated critical habitat. ESA consultation is designed to help Federal agencies fulfill their duty to ensure that their actions do not jeopardize the continued existence of listed species or destroy or adversely modify designated critical habitat. The NMFS implements the ESA for most marine and anadromous species.
The ESA section 7 regulation at title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations section 402.16 requires Federal agencies to reinitiate consultation where discretionary Federal involvement or control over the action has been retained or is authorized by law and if, among other things, the identified action is subsequently modified in a manner that causes an effect to the listed species or critical habitat that was not considered in the biological opinion or written concurrence.
Consistent with this regulation, the NRC requested to reinitiate consultation with the NMFS on September 30, 2021 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS)
ML21242A057), as supplemented on December 6, 2021 (ML21280A104), because the activities associated with the shutdown and decommissioning of SONGS were not considered in the NMFSs September 18, 2006, biological opinion for the continued operation of SONGS (ML063000348). Additionally, in its section III, Description of the Proposed Action, that biological opinion provides that it is only valid through 2022.
The NRC, the NMFS, and Southern California Edison (SCE), the SONGS licensee, held a teleconference on July 21, 2022, pursuant to the reinitiated consultation.
2 The purposes of the teleconference were as follows:
- 1) to attain an update on SCEs intake structure dewatering and demucking; and
- 2) to determine next steps in the consultation.
Meeting Attendees:
NRC NMFS Briana Arlene Chiharu Mori Ted Smith Dan Lawson Jack Parrot SCE and its Contractors Al Bates, SCE Heather Neely, SCE Ronald Pontes, SCE Angela Clark, AECOM Brian Metz, SCE Corrine Lytle-Bonine, Chambers Group, Inc.
The teleconference was led by Briana Arlene of the NRCs Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, Environmental Review License Renewal Branch. The NRC facilitated meeting attendee introductions and reviewed the purposes of the teleconference.
SCE shared that the intake structure dewatering and demucking remains ongoing and that it estimates that this project will be completed within approximately 45 days. SCE has discovered no sea turtle remains in the intake structure to date.
NMFS and NRC agreed that further action on the consultation should remain on hold.1 The parties agreed to meet again once the intake dewatering and demucking has been completed to discuss resuming the consultation.
Please direct any inquiries to me at (301) 415-1042 or via email at Briana.Arlene@nrc.gov.
Sincerely, Signed by Arlene, Briana on 08/18/22 Docket Nos. 50-206; 50-361; 50-362 Briana Arlene, Conservation Biologist and ESA Section 7 Coordinator Environmental Review License Renewal Branch Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards 1 This decision is documented and explained in the NRCs summary of a January 6, 2022, meeting with NMFS (ML22061A215).
ML22206A117 OFFICE NMSS/REFS/ERMB NMSS/DUWP/RDB NMSS/DUWP/RDB NMSS/REFS
/ERLRB NAME AWalker-Smith AW SAnderson SA ASnyder AS BArlene BA DATE Aug 17, 2022 Aug 18, 2022 Aug 18, 2022 Aug 18, 2022