ML23117A313
| ML23117A313 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Monticello  |
| Issue date: | 04/12/2023 |
| From: | Public Commenter Public Commenter |
| To: | NRC/NMSS/DREFS |
| NRC/NMSS/DREFS | |
| References | |
| 88FR15103 | |
| Download: ML23117A313 (12) | |
Text
From: Charlie Lippert <Charlie.Lippert@millelacsband.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2023 8:46 PM To: MonticelloEnvironmental Resource; Nancy Martinez Cc: Allan Barker; Susan Klapel; Perry Bunting
Subject:
[External_Sender] Docket ID No. NRC-2023-0031: Northern States Power Company - Minnesota; Xcel Energy; Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 1: Scoping Comments Attachments: Final.20230412 NRC Monticello Nuclear Generation Plant Scoping Comments.pdf Boozhoo (Hello) Ms. Martinez.
On behalf of Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Department of Natural Resources, please find attach our comments regarding the Docket ID No. NRC-2023-0031: Northern States Power Company -
Minnesota; Xcel Energy; Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 1.
If you have questions or would like to have continued dialogue, please feel free to contact Commissioner Kelly Applegate and ask for an official government to government consultation.
Miigwech (thank you).
Niin Charlie L.
==
Sent from my Microsoft Office Outlook Web Access
==
Charles J. Lippert, Air Quality Specialist Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, DNRE 43408 Oodena Drive Onamia, MN USA 56359-2236 T: 1-320-532-4704 F: 1-320-532-7514 M: 1-651-271-4391 E: Charlie.Lippert@millelacsband.com X: charliel.millelacsojibwe@gmail.com
Federal Register Notice: 88FR15103 Comment Number: 1 Mail Envelope Properties (82737f9aa28448168818fa2ed8b8b1f5)
Subject:
[External_Sender] Docket ID No. NRC-2023-0031: Northern States Power Company - Minnesota; Xcel Energy; Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 1: Scoping Comments Sent Date: 4/12/2023 8:45:52 PM Received Date: 4/12/2023 8:46:10 PM From: Charlie Lippert Created By: Charlie.Lippert@millelacsband.com Recipients:
"Allan Barker" <Allan.Barker@nrc.gov>
Tracking Status: None "Susan Klapel" <Susan.Klapel@millelacsband.com>
Tracking Status: None "Perry Bunting" <Perry.Bunting@millelacsband.com>
Tracking Status: None "MonticelloEnvironmental Resource" <MonticelloEnvironmental.Resource@nrc.gov>
Tracking Status: None "Nancy Martinez" <Nancy.Martinez@nrc.gov>
Tracking Status: None Post Office: millelacsband.com Files Size Date & Time MESSAGE 856 4/12/2023 8:46:10 PM Final.20230412 NRC Monticello Nuclear Generation Plant Scoping Comments.pdf 385941 Options Priority: Normal Return Notification: No Reply Requested: No Sensitivity: Normal Expiration Date:
Docket ID No. NRC-2023-0031: Northern States Power Company - Minnesota; Xcel Energy; Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 1: Scoping Comments Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe April 12, 2023 Filed: MonticelloEnvironmental@nrc.gov and Nancy.Martinez@nrc.gov Nancy Martinez, Environmental Scientist Environmental Review License Renewal Branch Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 Re: Docket ID No. NRC-2023-0031: Northern States Power Company - Minnesota; Xcel Energy; Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 1: Scoping Comments Hello Ms. Martinez, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe (Band) is a federally-recognized Tribal nation located in east-central Minnesota with more than 4,900 enrolled Band members. The Bands 61,000-acre Reservation was established under the Article II of 1855 Treaty of Washington (10 Stat. 1165; Royce Area 454). Our citizens hold and exercise treaty-protected reserved rights to hunt, fish, and gather in the adjudicated 1837 Treaty of St. Peters (7 Stat. 536; Royce Area 242 1) and 1842 Treaty of La Pointe (7 Stat. 591; Royce Area 261 2) treaty-ceded territories spanning from east central Minnesota, across northern Wisconsin, and into western portion of the upper peninsula of Michigan, including the portions of Lake Superior in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. A portion of our Reservation in Mille Lacs County is within the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area (Twin Cities) containing two of our nine statutory communities, while seven of our other statutory communities and other property holdings are located in Aitkin, Carlton, Crow Wing, Dakota, Hennepin, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Ramsey, and Sherburne countiesfour of these are part of the nine-county Central Minnesota Intrastate Air Quality Control Region (40 CFR 81.243)along with our Urban Service Area located in the heart of the Twin Cities.
1 In Minnesota and in Wisconsin.
2 In Michigan and in Wisconsin.
1
Docket ID No. NRC-2023-0031: Northern States Power Company - Minnesota; Xcel Energy; Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 1: Scoping Comments Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe The Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 1 (Monticello Plant) is within 50-miles of the Mille Lacs Reservation, and is within 50-miles of our Urban Service Area where nearly 20%
of our citizens reside. Monticello Plants site boundaries are 10.5-miles from our 1837 Treaty-ceded Territory (Royce Area 242). Monticello Plant site straddles the 1851 Treaties of Traverse des Sioux (10 Stat. 949) and of Mendota (10 Stat. 954) ceded territory (Royce Area 289 3) on the south bank, and the 1837 Treaty of Washington (7 Stat. 538) ceded territory (Royce Area 243 4) on the north bank, which are Dakota treaty-ceded territories per the 1825 Treaty of Prairie du Chien (7 Stat. 272), but we still hold the area as part of our Usual and Accustomed Places where we exercise the protection of our historical landscapes and cultural properties, as we call the land between the Cities of Monticello-Big Lake to Otsego-Elk River as our Miigaadiwining (At the battling). Additionally, during the Summer months, the Mille Lacs Reservation is predominantly downwind from the Monticello Plant. We are pleased with this opportunity to share our comments with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on the Monticello Plant Scoping (Docket ID NRC-2023-0031). Our comments will go beyond the Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (NHPA; 54 USC § 306101 et seq.),
through the Section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA; 42 USC § 4332(2)) process, as we would like to address additional comments afforded to us through the Section 505(2)(a) of the Clean Air Act of 1970, as amended (42 USC § 7661d(a)(2)), and other pertinent regulations.
We understand that the Monticello Plants license renewal is not covered by the current Generic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for License Renewal, and a new (currently in draft) Revised Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants (rGEIS-LR; Docket ID No. NRC-2018-0296) will not be implemented in time for the Monticello Plant, so this scoping is needed to support the EIS the Monticello Plant will need until such time when the Monticello Plant is incorporated into the rGEIS-LR.
In the document Appendix E: Environmental Report (ADAMS Accession No. ML23009A356), we have no comments in regards to Chapter 1.0 Introduction, Chapter 5.0 New and Significant Information, Chapter 6.0 Summary of License Renewal Impacts and Mitigating Actions, Chapter 8.0 Comparison of the Environmental Impact of Subsequent License Renewal with the Alternatives, and Chapter 10.0 References, or with any of its five Attachments.
However, we would like to offer our comments for these other chapters.
Comments on Chapter 2.0 Proposed Action and Description of Alternatives Section 2.2.3.2 Plant Service Water System states, The Mississippi River serves as the ultimate heat sink for the plant. The river has sufficient capacity to meet the flow requirements of the safety-related service water systems at a temperature of 90°F or less.
Due to climate change Minnesota weather patterns are changing with Minnesota having less precipitation events but more precipitation per event. This causes wild fluctuations in the Mississippi River water levels and flow rates. In the coming years unless the plant service water system is redesigned at its interface with the Mississippi River, the section of the river servicing at the ultimate heat sink for the plant may not be sufficient, and 3
In Iowa, in Minnesota, and in South Dakota.
4 In Minnesota and in Wisconsin.
2
Docket ID No. NRC-2023-0031: Northern States Power Company - Minnesota; Xcel Energy; Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 1: Scoping Comments Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe contribute to overheating of the river water at the system interface point. This possible impact must somehow be addressed, where Section 2.2.3.3 Thermal Effluent Dispersion does begin to address this concern. It would be helpful if this section refers the reader to Section 3.6.1.2.6 Water Temperature Reporting, and Section 3.6.3 Water Use for additional details.
Section 2.2.4 Meteorological Monitoring Program twice references the 12.5-kV electrical network, but in Section 2.2.5 Power Transmission System, this low-voltage network is not mentioned, while there is a discussion on the 13.8-kV network supplying reliable power to various plant equipment. Omission of the 12.5-kV network appears to be an oversight and there needs to be a brief description somewhere within Section 2.2.5.
Section 2.2.7 Nonradioactive Waste Management System speaks of removed sediment as dredged material under the scope of the dredging permit. Based on the draft rGEIS-LR, we understand that NRC receives its dredging permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers (ACE). Currently the State of Minnesota is exploring the delegation of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Because the Federal government has fiduciary Trust responsibilities to Tribes while the State of Minnesota does not, in the event the State has been delegated that authority, we strongly urge NRC to be permitted by ACE for the section of the Mississippi River that is within the Monticello Plants operational boundaries and ensure the Federal government maintains its fiduciary Trust responsibilities to Tribes. Additionally, for clarification, the Section should also direct the reader to Section 3.6.1.2.4 Dredging, which does provide further details.
Comments on Chapter 3.0 Affected Environment Section 3.1.3 Federal, Native American, State, and Local Lands states, There are 11 federally recognized American Indian tribes with reservations located throughout Minnesota. Within the MNGP 50-mile region, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux tribe has lands located southwest of Minneapolis in Scott County. Outside the 50-mile region, the Mille Lacs Reservation is located approximately 53 miles north of MNGP in Mille Lacs County. We disagree with this characterization. In our calculations, the Mille Lacs Reservation is 49.83-miles north in Aitkin, Mille Lacs, and Pine Counties, Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota Community is 41.78-miles south in Scott County, and Prairie Island Indian Community is 69.35-miles southeast in Dakota and Goodhue Counties, in addition to St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin located 69.01-miles east in Barron, Burnett, and Polk Counties in Wisconsin. All other Indian Reservations are considerably farther away from the Monticello Plant site. However, please note that in addition to the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin, there are six other Tribes who are located within 50-miles of Minnesota, with the Ho-chunk Nation with their seat of government in Wisconsin holding lands in Wisconsin and in Minnesota. In addition to the 11 federally recognized American Indian Tribes in Minnesota, there also is a federally recognized American Indian Tribal consortium, and two Tribally-governed Treaty Administration Organizations to manage resources in adjudicated treaty ceded territories. There also are the Phillips Communities of City of Minneapolis located 37.00-miles to the southeast, which according to the 2020 US Census houses 1,874 Native American individuals, with 3
Docket ID No. NRC-2023-0031: Northern States Power Company - Minnesota; Xcel Energy; Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 1: Scoping Comments Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe an additional 742 in surrounding neighborhoods, creating the regions largest urban concentration of American Indian individuals, representing Tribes from all across the Upper Midwest and beyond.
Figure 3.1-6 Federal, State, and Local Lands within a 50-Mile Radius of MNGP shows a 50-mile radius from the Monticello Plant itself, but for the purposes of the Scoping, this map should instead show a 50-mile radius buffer from the Monticello Plant site boundary. When calculated that way, you will see that the Mille Lacs Reservation is 49.83-miles from the Monticello Plant site boundary. Additionally, this map needs to depict the adjudicated 1837 Treaty of St. Peters (7 Stat. 536) ceded territory (Royce Area 242) to which 11 Tribes across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan exercise their reserved usufructuary rights to hunt, fish, and gather.
Section 3.5.1 Regional Geography references Figure 3.5-1 Physiographic Provinces Associated with the MNGP Site, but it would be more helpful to the reader if in addition to the Physiographic Provinces the Figure also showed the Province Sections as those subdivisions are more relatable to peoples everyday experience to the land.
Alternatively, a map of Physiographic Areas of Minnesota would be even more helpful to the reader.
Section 3.5.4 Seismic History states, The nearest known or inferred faultthe Douglas Faultis 23 miles southeast of the site. According to S-21 Geologic Map of Minnesota-Bedrock Geology, we calculate the nearest fault line to be approximately 3.3 miles to the northwest of the site. This discrepancy is concerning to us. Additionally, this section needs a discussion regarding how the Monticello Plant site is located at the very edge of the Midcontinental rift zone, which today may be stable but in geologic time was extremely active.
In Section 3.7.2.5 Terrestrial Animal Communities, in the portion addressing avian species, there should be brief discussion regarding the near-by Federal Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge and State Uncus Dunes Scientific and Natural Area. These two sites host migratory birds in great numbers.
Section 3.7.4 Places and Entities of Special Ecological Interest needs an additional section to discuss the territory ceded under the 1837 Treaty of St. Peters (7 Stat. 536; Royce Area 242), and how 11 Ojibwe Tribes in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan exercise their Treaty-protected reserved rights to hunt, fish, and gather within the 1837 Treaty ceded territory. The 11 Ojibwe Tribes are also members of the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) who under the direction of the Tribes assist in the management of the 1837 Treaty ceded territory. Any fish swimming upstream through the Monticello Plant site area have the potential to swim upstream into the Mississippi River above its confluence with the Watab River, or upstream into any of the Mississippi River tributaries that originate or pass through 1837 Treaty ceded territory. Similarly, any animals and birds with a wide territorial spread may transit between the Monticello Plant site area and 1837 Treaty ceded territory, including passing through the area for seasonal migration.
4
Docket ID No. NRC-2023-0031: Northern States Power Company - Minnesota; Xcel Energy; Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 1: Scoping Comments Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Section 3.7.5.2 Aquatic Animals needs to discuss the potential threat of bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), also known locally as Asian carp. Currently, the Asian carp spread up the Mississippi River is halted by the lock and dam systems in Minneapolis, but there is an imminent danger that these barriers can be breached by the carp, quickly spread farther up the Mississippi River, and can overwhelm the Monticello Plants surface water resources.
In Section 3.8 Historic and Cultural Resources, the focus appears to be with the dominant Euro-American historic and cultural resources, and other than that Native American groups recognized as potential stakeholders were also consulted by Xcel Energy with the opportunity for comment there is a noticeable absence of Native American presence in this discussion. Historical discussions in Section 3.8.2.4 The Contact Period (1650 to 1837) and in Section 3.8.2.5 The Post-Contact Period (1837 to Present) miss several key events that ought to be mentioned, though the two sections titles hint at key historical events.
Brief history from mid-1600s to present from our perspective To start, along with our Ojibwe migration into this region in the mid-1600s came the French fur traders who took advantage of our trade and commerce networks. Our migration brought on resource competition with the Dakota peoples in the area, resulting in frequent disputes, often hyper-inflated by the Euro-American communities as wars. One such disputed area was the land between the current Cities of Monticello-Big Lake to Otsego-Elk River, bounded by the Misi-ziibi (Great River, i.e. Mississippi River) on the south and the Gaa-biitootigweyaa-ziibi (That Which the Stream Parallels [the Mississippi] River, i.e.
Elk River) on the north. In our Ojibwe language we call this area as our Miigaadiwining (At the Battling) 5 due to the disputes that occurred in 1772 and 1773 6, and various historical documents in English call this region Battle Point.
As a result, Artz et al. recorded 334 burial mounds in 26 groups in Sherburne County, and 383 burial mounds in 57 groups in Wright County. 7 Additionally, Battle Rapids which is located downstream of the Minnesota Highway 25 (MN-
- 25) bridge in the City of Monticello is called in Ojibwe Miigaadiwini-zaasijiwan (Battling Rapids), with City of Monticellos Battle Rapids Park along its shores.
Otter Creek, located between the Monticello Plant and City of Monticellos downtown, in Ojibwe goes by two names: as Nigigo-ziibiwishenh (Otter Brook),
but also as Miigaadiwin-ziibiwishenh (Battling Brook).
5 Warren, William Whipple. 1885 (reprint 1984, 2009). History of the Ojibway People, 240. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-87351-162-9]
6 Winchell, Newton Horace. 1911. Aborigines of Minnesota, 539. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-598-40612-5 7
Artz, Joe Alan, Emilia L. D. Bristow, and William E. Whittaker. 1976. Mapping Precontact Burial Mounds in Sixteen Minnesota Counties using Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) 5
Docket ID No. NRC-2023-0031: Northern States Power Company - Minnesota; Xcel Energy; Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 1: Scoping Comments Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Next, approximately 6-miles upstream from there, located in the Mississippi River within the Monticello Plants site boundaries is our Basaigaan (Place of Hewing), to which Cedar Island known in Ojibwe as Basaigaani-minis (Hewing Island) and Basa'igaani-zaasijiwan (Hewing Rapids) are located due to the rich red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) forest that once stood along the banks of the Mississippi River, to which red cedar wood were hewn for our dugout canoes. This red cedar forest extended to Cedar Lake located 5-miles south of the Monticello Plant, which in Ojibwe is called Meskwaawaako-minisiwang zaagaigan (Red Cedar Islanding Lake).
Farther upstream along the Misi-ziibi from the Monticello Plant site are Zhooniyaa-ziibiwishenh (Silver Brook) known in English as Silver Creek and Gaa-biskaabiitigweyaag-ziibiwishenh (Brook of the Oxbowing Place), recorded by Joseph Nicollet as Bend Creek but is known today in English as Fish Creek.
With the signing of the 1825 Treaty of Prairie du Chien (7 Stat. 272), the territorial dispute between the Ojibwe and the Dakota were settled, and the area where the Monticello Plant site sits became undisputed Dakota territory. But due to this history, we do consider the area as our historical landscapes and cultural properties, and claim the area as part of our Usual and Accustomed Places for the protection of our cultural resources, with the Dakota nations taking the lead.
When the 1837 Ojibwe ceded territory (Royce Area 242) and the 1837 Dakota ceded territory (Royce Area 243) became part of the United States, Tribal nations reserved certain usufructuary privileges which the Treaties protect. With this dynamic change, the whole area north of the Mississippi River was opened up to Euro-American settlement. Later, the United States entered into Treaty negotiations with various Dakota nations for the area south of the Mississippi River; the 1851 Treaties of Traverse des Sioux (10 Stat. 949) and of Mendota (10 Stat. 954) ceded territory (Royce Area 289) officially became part of the United States, further opening up the area for Euro-American settlement.
Settlement patterns by the Euro-Americans in the area created series of Red River Ox-cart Trails, appearing along both banks of the Mississippi River as east river road (known formally as the Red River Road) which was eventually improved and replaced by US Highway 10 (US-10), and as west river road which was improved with the section near the Monticello Plant becoming Broadway St and County Road 75 (CR-75), and replaced by Interstate Highway 94 (I-94).
These river roads are depicted in the General Land Office surveys of Township 33 North Range 28 West of the 4th Parallel Meridian in Royce Area 243 in 1851, and of Township 122 North Range 25 West of the 5th Parallel Meridian in Royce Area 289 in 1857. Understanding the importance of roads and riverways for the economy, our ancestors ensured the United States would build roads to serve our reservation. Under Articles III and VIII of the 1855 Treaty of Washington (11 Stat. 1165), roads were authorized to be built from our Mille Lacs Reservation to what today is the City of Anoka to ensure our access to the Red River Road and to the Mississippi River. In addition to roads, the US Army had conducted surveys 6
Docket ID No. NRC-2023-0031: Northern States Power Company - Minnesota; Xcel Energy; Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 1: Scoping Comments Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe of the upper Mississippi River in 1873 8 and conducted further assessments in 1874 9 to determine the feasibility of navigation.
Today, US-10, I-94, United States Highway 169 (US-169), Minnesota Trunk Highways, County Highways, and the local roads network all ensure that our Anishinaabe peoples are not cut off from the world and that our economies are tied together for the betterment of all peoples of this region. The function of the electrical grid today as a utility serves a similar role as roads and riverway to ensure we have a unified and strong economy for all peoples of this region.
Comments on Chapter 3.0 (continued)
We disagree with the assessments in Section 3.8.3 Onsite Cultural Resources and in Section 3.8.4 Offsite Cultural Resources based purely on MOSAP and the SHPO database. As described in the previous section from a Tribal perspective, having the land functionality built into the local toponymy with the presence of Basaigaani-minis and Basaigaani-zaasijiwan in our Misi-ziibi, along with the giizhikiki (cedar forest) that extended southward to Meskwaawaako-minisiwang zaagaigan, where we hewn the cedars to make our dugout canoes, are all testaments to the Monticello Plant site as our cultural resource. By the virtue of having the area be called Miigaadiwining which then lent to the naming of Miigaadiwini-zaasijiwan in our Misi-ziibi, along with the Miigaadiwin-ziibiwishenh that extended southward to Meskwaawaako-minisiwang zaagaigan, are all testaments to the area around the Monticello Plant as our cultural resource. These toponyms in our historical landscapes connect our stories and our histories to real events in real places, joining our intangible resources with our tangible historic and cultural resources. They are our traditional cultural properties.
Absent from discussions in Section 3.11.2 Minority and Low-Income Populations is President Bidens Justice40 Initiative, and how the NRC oversight of the Monticello Plant can serve to meet this ambitious Initiative.
Section 3.11.3 Subsistence Populations and Migrant Workers must include a discussion on Tribal usufructuary practices for subsistence hunting, fishing, and gathering, as it is not only just the local residents and the Hmong population that practice subsistence activities in the area.
Table 3.11-1 Cities Located Totally or Partially within a 50-Mile Radius of MNGP lists cities that meet the 50-mile radius criterion. Even though the city limits of Onamia are outside of this radius criterion at 50.45-miles, since Onamia Elementary School and Onamia High School are both located within that 50-mile radius, we ask that the table also includes the City of Onamia. Since Chapter 3.0 provides population profiles and projections based on various land jurisdictions types, we ask that Indian 8
Survey of the Upper Mississippi River. 43rd Congress, 1st Session, 1874, Ex. Doc. No. 145.
9 Reservoirs to Promote the Navigation of the Mississippi River. 45th Congress, 2nd Session, 1878, Ex. Doc. No, 49.
7
Docket ID No. NRC-2023-0031: Northern States Power Company - Minnesota; Xcel Energy; Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 1: Scoping Comments Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Reservations within 50-miles of the Monticello Plant also be included as a land jurisdiction type profiled in this Chapter.
Figures 3.11-1 through 3.11-20 illustrate concentrations of minority and low-income populations based on the US Census Blocks. To this illustration series, we ask the addition of Economic Justice areas based on US Census Blocks as found in the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool developed by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to inform Federal agencies on which communities could potentially benefit from the Justice40 Initiative.
Comments on Chapter 4.0 Environmental Consequences of the Proposed Action and Mitigating Actions Section 4.7 Historic and Cultural Resources compares and contrasts the Generic Analysis for Initial License Renewal with that of the Site-Specific Analysis for MNGP SLR. Please note that having the physical presence of the City of Monticello and the Monticello Plant, along with other regional developments, have significantly altered and impacted Tribal historic and cultural resources of the area. From a Tribal perspective, the purpose of Scoping for the Monticello Plants EIS is to identify and either minimize or prevent further impacts to Tribal historic and cultural resources.
Section 4.12.2.2 Air Quality and Noise states, ...there are no mandatory Class I federal areas within 100 miles of MNGP. Please note that although the Mille Lacs Reservation has not been redesignated as a Class I federal area, Title 11 of the Mille Lacs Band Statutes (11 MLBS § 119) directs the Reservation as Pursuant to Class I-Air Quality.
Section 4.12.2.7 Aquatic concludes that ... MNGPs contribution to cumulative impacts on aquatic species would be SMALL. Based on the fish-kill resulting from sudden and drastic temperature drop in the River water temperatures due to temporary Monticello Plant controlled shut-down for repairs to the tritiated water waste processing system, our opinion is that these sudden temperature changes from changes in the Monticello Plants operation are significant. Additionally, the local population of our waabiziwag (trumpeter swans: Cygnus buccinator) that no longer migrate have become highly dependent upon the open waters of the Mississippi River resulting from the Monticello Plants heat discharges into the Misi-ziibi. If the Monticello Plants controlled shut-down would have happened in December, January, or February, there would have been a very high chance this sudden removal of heat from entering the River would have killed these waabiziwag, and this too would be considered significant. Due to these two reasons, we recommend that cumulative impacts on aquatic species, now dependent upon the waters warmed from waste heat, would be MODERATE.
Comments on Chapter 7.0 Alternatives to the Proposed Action As already commented regarding Sections 3.8.3 and 3.8.4, we disagree with the characterization in Sections 7.2.3.1.8, 7.2.3.2.8, and 7.2.3.3.8 Historic and Cultural 8
Docket ID No. NRC-2023-0031: Northern States Power Company - Minnesota; Xcel Energy; Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 1: Scoping Comments Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Resources first two of the Sections say ... no cultural resources have been recorded within the MNGP site when even non-Tribal sources have recorded our historic and cultural resources through the adoption of our regional toponyms into English, and even recorded the disputes that gave rise to the Miigaadiwining name of the region. The third Section says In the event of an inadvertent find during construction work stoppage protocols and notification of the SHPO would apply. by focusing only on human remains, ignoring any evidence of habitation or artifacts that may be found, and disregarding further altering of our cultural landscape. Because the Misi-ziibi, Basaigaani-minis, and Basa'igaani-zaasijiwan are our historic and cultural resources, even if there are no anticipated adverse effects to historic and cultural resources, we still do expect Northern State Power Company - Minnesota doing business as Xcel Energy and the NRC to enter into Consultation with the Dakota and Ojibwe Tribes before any action is taken, even for mitigation.
Comments on Chapter 9.0 Status of Compliance Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Air Emission Permit No. 17100019 series for the Monticello Plant state that The air emission facility is composed of one distillate oil-fired and gas-fired heating boiler, four emergency diesel generators, and three flexible diesel fired engine pumps used to generate power, pump cooling water, and pump water for firefighting, and potentially used in flood response. Section 9.5.2.1 Air Permit should parallel this language to establish parity with the Permit series.
As discussed above in our comments regarding Section 2.2.7, in the event that the State of Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources is delegated authorities under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, in addition to Minnesota state dredge permit as discussed in Section 9.5.3.9 Section 404 Permit, we strongly urge NRC to maintain federal dredge permit through ACE regional general permit, such that the NRC may continue to fulfill its federal Trust responsibilities to Tribes, since the federal government has this obligation while the State does not. By relinquishing the Section 404 federal permitting to the State, NRC cedes its authority and responsibilities to the State, and dispossesses the Tribes of rights and obligations protected in our treaties with the United States.
We again thank NRC for this opportunity for the Band to share our thoughts and comment on the Monticello Plant Scoping. If you have questions or would like to continue this discussion, please feel free to contact us and request a formal government-to-government consultation.
Sincerely, Kelly Applegate Commissioner of Natural Resources 9
Docket ID No. NRC-2023-0031: Northern States Power Company - Minnesota; Xcel Energy; Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 1: Scoping Comments Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe cc: Susan Klapel, Executive Director, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe DNR Perry Bunting, Director of Environmental Programs, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe 10