ML23333A022
| ML23333A022 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Turkey Point  |
| Issue date: | 11/26/2023 |
| From: | Siu A Miami Waterkeeper |
| To: | NRC/ADM/PMAE, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards |
| Shared Package | |
| ML23333A008 | List: |
| References | |
| NRC-2022-0172, NUREG-1437 S5A | |
| Download: ML23333A022 (1) | |
Text
November 26, 2023 Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWFN-7-A60M U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 Re:
Notice of Intent for Public Comment on Draft Environmental Impact Statement NUREG-1437, Supplement 5a, Second Renewal, Site-Specific Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants Regarding Subsequent License Renewal for Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 3 and 4, Draft Report for Comment, Docket Nos. 50-250 and 50-251; NRC-2022-0172
Dear Nuclear Regulatory Commission:
Pursuant to the Federal Notice Florida Power & Light Company; Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 3 and 4 Docket Nos. 50-250 and 50-251; NRC-2022-0172 issued on September 8, 2023, Miami Waterkeeper submits the following comments regarding the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commissions (NRC or the agency) draft site-specific environmental impact statement (DSEIS) for the subsequent license renewal for Florida Power and Light Companys (FPL) Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Units No. 3 and 4 (Turkey Point). On October 27, 2023, NRC staff granted Miami Waterkeeper an extension for filing comments until November 26, 2023.1 Miami Waterkeeper has participated in the Turkey Point subsequent license renewal process since 2018. Many of the comments raised in Miami Waterkeepers November 7, 2022 scoping comments2 on the draft Environmental Impact Statement, and in Miami Waterkeepers May 2, 2023 comment letter on the draft LR GEIS3 remain relevant for the underdeveloped Draft Site-Specific Environmental Impact Statement (2023 DSEIS) that we are commenting on today. Miami Waterkeeper is also submitting a Request for Hearing and Petition to Intervene before the Secretary in Docket Nos. 50-250 and 50-251. The below letter identifies a number of environmental concerns at the Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant in Miami-Dade County that the 2023 DSEIS fails to adequately consider. Miami Waterkeeper urges the NRC to consider these issues in its final SEIS.
I.
Location 3 Miami Waterkeeper Letter to NRC re Proposed Rule amending environmental protection regulations pursuant to Revision 2 to NUREG-1437 Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants (LR GEIS) (May 2, 2023) (Attachment C).
2 Miami Waterkeeper Letter to NRC re Notice of Intent To Conduct Scoping Process and Prepare Environmental Impact Statement Florida Power & Light Company Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 3 and 4, Docket Nos. 50-250 and 50-251; NRC-2022-0172 (Nov. 7, 2022) (Attachment B).
1 NRC Email Granting Extension of Comment Period for Miami Waterkeeper (Oct. 27, 2023) (Attachment A).
1
The Turkey Point complex is located in a highly sensitive area of the South Florida watershed: at the shores of the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve (a State of Florida designation to conserve a waterbodys natural and cultural heritage); abutting the Biscayne National Park; approximately 12 miles from Everglades National Park; above a sole-source drinking water aquifer; less than ten miles from several municipal wellheads; and adjacent to the Model Lands (an undeveloped area of Miami-Dade County that is designated as environmentally-endangered). It occupies traditional Miccosukee land. The complex is adjacent to an area currently contemplated for Everglades restoration under state and federal auspices.
II. Groundwater Resources Turkey Points cooling canal system (CCS) was developed in the 1970s as a product of a consent decree4 between the Federal Government and FPL, which stipulated that FPL should build a multichannel recirculating system to prevent thermal pollution from entering the Biscayne Bay.5 When the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission prepared a 1972 EIS for the planned CCS, the EIS acknowledged that water from the unlined CCS could emerge via groundwater into Biscayne Bay to the east, even while acknowledging that available information was extremely limited regarding the environmental impacts from the construction and operation of the proposed CCS.6 The agency also concluded that environmental impacts from the 5,900 acre CCS would be insignificant on subsurface flows to the west.7 FPL, in the original 1971 consent decree, agreed to seek ways of improving on the CCS by investigating the feasibility of a mechanical draft cooling tower and water spray modules as a replacement or supplemental cooling system for the CCS.8 FPL also agreed to investigate alternate sources of water, such as brackish, deep groundwater, and surface water sources for either the CCS or mechanical cooling devices.9 While the current CCS is classified as an industrial wastewater facility and was originally intended to be closed loop, in reality it functions as an open system, hydrologically connected to groundwater and surface water in the area.10 Active exchange with groundwater turns out to be the mechanism by which water balance is maintained in the cooling canals, drawing freshwater into the CCS via the Biscayne Aquifer.11 The continued operation of a CCS that is closely connecting to regional freshwater resources has impacts in two significant ways:
11 Id. at 2.
10 Expert Report of William K. Nuttle, in the case of Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, et al. vs. Florida Power &
Light Company, Case No. 1:16-cv-23017-DPG (S.D. Fla. May 14, 2018), at 2 (Attachment D, Appendix 1).
9 Id. Appendix C, at 6.
8 Id. at XI-2.
7 Id. at VI-2.
6 Id. at ii-iii.
5 NRC-047 - Atomic Energy Commn, Final Environmental Statement Related to Operation of Atomic Energy Commn, Final Environmental Statement Related to Operation of Light Company, No. 70-328-CA, (S.D. Fla. 1970),
at III-5 and III-7 (July 1972) (hereinafter referred to as AEC Consent Decree). ADAMS Accession No. ML15314A632.
4 United States v. Florida Power and Light Company, Civil Action No. 70-328-CA, September 10, 1971.
2
- 1. Water is pumped from the nearby interceptor ditch as a freshwater input into the CCS.
The interceptor ditch withdraws fresh water from the Biscayne aquifer at rates comparable to pumping from nearby public water supply wells.12 Water is pumped out of the interceptor ditch for the purpose of maintaining a hydraulic barrier to westward movement of CCS water in the shallow groundwater. Pumping lowers the water level in the interceptor ditch and in the wetlands immediately adjacent to it. This decreases the height of the water-table in the freshwater lens, which also decreases the depth to the freshwater/salt water interface. Therefore, by lowering the watertable, interceptor ditch operations also promote the vertical flow of the CCS water in the hypersaline plume upward into the upper area of the Biscayne aquifer.13
- 2. Groundwater contamination by hypersaline plume. The active exchange between the CCS and underlying aquifer feeds the growth of a hypersaline plume that accelerates the intrusion of saltwater into the Biscayne Aquifer and Biscayne Bay.14 Five decades after the 1971 consent decree between the Federal Government and FPL, the NRC has still failed to adequately consider the environmental impacts on groundwater. The environmental impacts of continued CCS operation on groundwater are clearly demonstrable and significant: dense, saline water circulating through the unlined cooling canal system migrates radially from the CCS15 because the porous geology of the underlying Biscayne Aquifer allows water from the CCS to move freely through the ground beyond the limits of the Turkey Point property. As hot water exiting the reactor circulates around the CCS, the water evaporates in the shallow canals, concentrating its salt content. Salinity has increased in the CCS by around 5%
per decade since 1973.16 As discharge from Units 3 and 4 has become hotter (increasing evaporation) and because of droughts (decreasing the freshwater precipitation replenishment),
the salinity of the cooling canal system has increased.17 Due to its density, the hypersaline water sinks through the porous limestone strata and to the bottom of the Biscayne aquifer, where it spreads in all directions. Over time, the CCS has emitted a massive volume of hypersaline
(<19,000 mg/L chloride concentration) groundwater that has extended several miles west of the property.
A. Interceptor Ditch Fails to Prevent Movement of Groundwater Contamination and its Water Use is not Analyzed Since 1974, a series of agreements with the South Florida Water Management District have prescribed the operation and monitoring of the interceptor ditch.18 The interceptor ditch was constructed to restrict movement of saline water from the cooling water system westward of 18 Id. at 14.
17 Expert report of William K. Nuttle, submitted May 14, 2018, Attachment D, Appendix 1, at 12.
16 Chin, D. A. (2015). The Cooling Canal System at the FPL Turkey Point Power Station, at 2. (Attachment I).
15 McThenia, A.W, Martin, W. K., Reynolds, J., 2017. Rising Tides and Sinking Brines: Managing the Threat of Salt Water Intrusion. Florida Water Resources Journal 68, at 36. (Attachment E).
14 Id. at 2.
13 Id. at 15.
12 Id., at 3.
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Levee 31-E adjacent to the cooling canal system to those amounts which would occur without the existence of the cooling canal system. This was in response to concerns that water discharged to the aquifer from the CCS could harm freshwater supplies.
However, the interceptor ditch is ~20 feet deep and the dense, hypersaline plume is
~80-100 feet below the surface. Therefore, the interceptor ditch is too shallow to retard the horizontal movement of water deep in the aquifer. The 2023 DSEIS does not discuss the failure of the interceptor ditch to prevent westward migration of hypersaline water towards public water supplies. NRC staff should reassess their confidence that cooperation with local agencies will shepherd FPLs remediation measures to a successful result.
Operation of the interceptor ditch represents a large, undocumented demand on the regional freshwater resource provided by the Biscayne aquifer 19 because it requires that water is pumped out for the purpose of maintaining a hydraulic barrier to westward movement of CCS water in the shallow groundwater.20 To accomplish this, interceptor ditch withdraws fresh water from the Biscayne Aquifer at rates comparable to pumping from nearby public water supply wells.21 The 2023 DSEIS fails to adequately analyze groundwater use conflicts related to the operation of the interceptor ditch. NRC staff must therefore reassess its conclusions that the continued operation of the CCS will impart SMALL impacts on the Biscayne Aquifer given the demand that the interceptor ditch imposes on it.
B. Failure to Contain the Hypersaline Plume:
The 1972 EIS issued by the Atomic Energy Commission concluded that environmental impacts from the CCS would be insignificant on subsurface flows to the west.22 Yet, in contrast to early assumptions, new information shows that the environmental impacts are clearly significant, noticeable, and destabilizing important resources. Over time, the CCS has emitted an enormous volume of hypersaline (<19,000 mg/L chloride concentration) groundwater that has extended several miles west of the property.23 Both state and local governments have found FPL to be violating water quality laws and regulations by contaminating the freshwater portions of the Biscayne Aquifer.24 As a result, FPL has been ordered through a series of administrative enforcement efforts by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and Miami-Dade County, to take remedial measures, including adding 15 MGD annually of mildly saline water from the Floridan Aquifer (2.5 practical salinity units, or PSU) into the cooling canals to dilute canal salinities.25 FPL is required by the state consent order to achieve an average concentration of 34 PSU in the canals by the fourth year of freshening activities.26 FPLs freshening allocations were increased again in October 2021 to 10,950 million gal/yr (30 MGD) 26 2023 DSEIS at 2-24.
25 2023 DSEIS at 2-17, Table 2-4 (Turkey Point Groundwater Withdrawal Wells).
24 2019 FSEIS at 3-89 to 3-91.
23 Andrew W. McThenia et al., Rising Tides and Sinking Brines: Managing the Threat of Salt Water Intrusion, Florida Water Resources Journal 68, at 36 (2017). See Attachment E.
22 Supra note 5, at VI-2.
21 Id. at 3.
20 Id., at 15.
19 Id., at 15.
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as the initial 15 MGD annual allotment was insufficient to meet the target PSU in time.27 FPLs Year 5 annual remediation report claims that, as of September 2022, it has maintained a PSU of 34 or below.28 i.
The remediation plan for the hypersaline plume adds contamination to groundwater Unfortunately, there is an inherent tension between efforts to clean up water quality in the CCS and preventing the spread of the hypersaline plume in groundwater. The remediation plan aims to clean up the water quality in the CCS by adding more water to the CCS, resulting in the flushing of contaminated CCS water from the unlined canals into groundwater-- and ultimately Biscayne Bay. This flushing is the only mechanism that limits the accumulation of salt and other dissolved substances in the CCS,29 allowing FPL to achieve salinity requirements under the consent order and consent agreement. On October 19, 2021, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued an authorization to increase Turkey Points UFA annual allocation for freshening to 10,950 million gallons (average rate of 30 MGD) with a maximum monthly allocation of 1,033.6 million gallons.30 Therefore, even if the recovery well system works as designed, there will still be a net addition of salt to the Biscayne Aquifer from the cooling canal system, and potentially 30 million gallons of saline water (34 PSU) migrating into the aquifer every day. This flushing pushes contamination from the CCS into the groundwater, reducing the amount of fresh groundwater available to users in South Florida, thereby exacerbating groundwater use conflicts. Yet, the NRC staff conclude that impacts to the Biscayne Aquifer from FPLs groundwater withdrawals during the SLR term are SMALL.31 ii.
Plan to retract the hypersaline plume will not meet its target In addition to CCS freshening, FPL has constructed a recovery well system to attempt to retract the hypersaline plume.32 Both the state consent order33 and county consent agreement34 require FPL to halt the westward migration of hypersaline water from the CCS, and retract the westward extent of the hypersaline plume to the L-31E within 10 years of recovery well operation, thereby removing its influence on the saltwater interface, without creating adverse 34 Miami-Dade County Cooling Canal System Consent Agreement with FPL, ADAMS Accession Nos.
ML16004A241 & ML16015A339 (Oct. 6, 2015).
33 Florida Department of Environmental Protection Consent Order with FPL, ADAMS Accession No. ML16216A216 (June 20, 2016).
32 2023 DSEIS at 2-15.
31 2023 DSEIS at 2-20.
30 2023 DSEIS at 2-21.
29 Expert Report of William K. Nuttle (May 14, 2018), Attachment D, Appendix 1, at 5.
28 FPL Year 5 Remedial Action Annual Status Report, Turkey Point Clean Energy Center (Nov. 15, 2023), at 7-4, available at https://ecmrer.miamidade.gov/OpenContent/rest/content/content/TECHNICAL%20REPORTS.pdf?id=0902a13495c 83145&contentType[]=pdf,txt,.*/true (hereinafter FPL Year 5 RAASR).
27 FPLs Year 4 Remedial Action Annual Status Report, Turkey Point Clean Energy Center (November 15, 2022),
available at https://ecmrer.miamidade.gov/OpenContent/rest/content/content/TECHNICAL%20REPORTS.pdf?id=0902a13494a f5af8&contentType[]=pdf,txt,.*/true (hereinafter FPL Year 4 RAASR).
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environmental impact.35 Operation of these wells commenced in May of 2018.36 This plan involves the installation of a series of pump-driven wells, located near the interceptor ditch and screened near the base of the Biscayne Aquifer, that currently are approved to withdraw approximately 15 MGD of water from that part of the aquifer for disposal via reinjection into the Boulder Zone of the Floridan Aquifer.37 FPL points to these various consent agreements as reassurance to the NRC that the groundwater contamination from the plant is not a cause for concern. However, we argue the opposite, that they are evidence for an ongoing source of contamination of regional groundwater.
The recovery well system is not working per FPLs initial remediation plan. Expert review has indicated that the initial plans to remediate the plume are inadequate.38 The volume of contaminated water that can be extracted using the current recovery well system is barely adequate to offset the rate at which the continued operation of the CCS adds water to the plume.39 In fact, FPLs Year 5 remediation report, just released in November 2023, predicts that at the 10-year mark the plume in Model Layers 13 and 16 will not have retracted far enough to reach its target.40 FPLs three latest consecutive annual reports on the remediation efforts41,42,43 show by way of modeling that the remediation system is unlikely to achieve hypersaline plume retraction by Year 10 in lower layers of the aquifer. Moreover, FPLs modeling predicts that the hypersaline interface in layer 16 will have expanded in some areas.44 In its November 15, 2023 remediation status report, FPLs own mapping of the present-day chloride contour at the 5-year mark indicates that the chloride contour in aquifer Layers 6-14 are far from retracting to meet the consent order and consent decree targets.45 FPL notes in its report,... full retraction of the existing hypersaline plume to the L-31E canal is unlikely after ten years of RWS operation.46 To mitigate for the long-term existence of the plume, FPL proffers modifications to the RWS including increased withdrawal flexibility and hardening of project components for long term operations... 47 Today, the recovery well system and the Upper Floridan Aquifer pumping exert additional pressure on existing groundwater use conflicts. The 2023 DSEIS maintains that the potential for groundwater use conflicts would be MODERATE on the Upper Floridan Aquifer.48 48 2023 DSEIS at 2-22.
47 Id. at 7-4.
46 Id. at 7-4.
45 Id. at 4-36-4-44 (Figures 4.5-1 through 4.5-9).
44 Id. at 5-23 (Figure 5.3-1d).
43 FPL Year 5 RAASR.
42 FPL Year 4 RAASR.
41 FPL Year 3 Remedial Action Annual Status Report, Turkey Point Clean Energy Center (Nov. 15, 2021), available at https://ecmrer.miamidade.gov/OpenContent/rest/content/content/TECHNICAL%20REPORTS.pdf?id=0902a134928 28df9&contentType[]=pdf,txt,.*/true (Exhibit 10).
40 FPL Year 5 RAASR at 5-22-5-23 (Figures 5.3-1c & 5.1-3d).
39 Id. at 3.
38 Expert Report of William K. Nuttle (May 14, 2018), Attachment D, Appendix 1, at 3.
37 2023 DSEIS at 2-16. The Boulder Zone is a deeply buried zone of the Floridan Aquifer (~3,000 feet below sea level) that is used to store wastewater.
36 FPL Year 4 RAASR at 2-7 (Exhibit 8).
35 2019 FSEIS at 3-91.
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Since FPLs Year 5 remediation report was made public on November 17, 2023, the NRC has not evaluated the increased withdrawal flexibility of the RWS for long-term operations over the subsequent license renewal period.
The 2023 DSEIS notes that FPL has not presented predictive modeling results that extend to either the start or expiration of the SLR term, which precludes staff from reaching a definitive conclusion about the likely extent of the hypersaline plume retraction during the SLR term.49 The 2023 DSEIS further contemplates that if FPL can retract and maintain the hypersaline plume to within the FPL site boundary prior to the SLR term, impacts on groundwater quality from the CCS operations during the SLR term would be SMALLthough due to uncertainty about FPLs efforts, the impact could be MODERATE.50 This is not a reasonable conclusion.
As discussed below, the impacts are likely to be significant:
First, the NRC has not considered how the States regulatory processes could conflict and exacerbate contamination of the groundwater. For example, the NRC has not considered that the adjacent Model Lands, the L-31E canal and its weir system, Everglades Mitigation Bank, and the continued operation of the cooling canal system are all hydrologically linked, and as such, are at the nexus of overlapping goals and responsibilities for several agencies.51 These overlapping jurisdictions can conflict. For instance, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued a permit modification on June 28, 2018, stipulating that Florida Power and Light set and maintain the Everglades Mitigation Bank weirs along the L-31E canal at 1.8 feet NGVD.52 Lowering the elevation of the weirs drains water out of the Model Lands basin, which has the effect of lowering the water table throughout the basin.53 Lowering the water table directly impacts the wetlands in the Model Lands basin, degrading their ecological functioning.54 Lowering the water table indirectly impacts the wetland by opening pathways for the infiltration of saline groundwater into the L-31E canal.55 From here, the saline water can move throughout the basin through the network of interconnected drainage canals, which threatens the freshwater wetlands with further degradation.56 Lowering the water table also reduces the natural hydraulic barrier against the intrusion of saltwater into the basin through the Biscayne Aquifer from Biscayne Bay and water discharged into the aquifer from the CCS.57 Miami-Dade County challenged the permit modification, asserting that the permit modification may adversely impact water resources, is not sustainable over the long term, and [i]nterferes with protecting water quality in the L-31E canal from chloride contamination and addressing the existing inland migration of the salt intrusion front [from the cooling canal system] in this area.58 FDEPs permit modification reverses one of the actions prescribed in the 58 Id. at 2 to 3.
57 Id. at 4.
56 Id. at 4.
55 Id. at 3-4.
54 Id. at 3.
53 Id. at 3.
52 Id. at 2.
51 Expert Report of William K. Nuttle, Ph.D. (June 23, 2019) (Attachment D, Appendix 2, at 11).
50 Id. at 2-31.
49 2023 DSEIS at 2-31.
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consent agreement between the County and FPL for remediation at Turkey Point, which required FPL to raise the elevation of the weirs.59 With conflict occurring between state and local regulators, NRC staff should reassess their confidence that cooperation between FDEP and DERM will shepherd FPLs remediation measures to a successful result.
The uncertainty regarding the remediation plan has been clarified by the Applicants Year 5 report: the RWS will need to operate long-term as it is evident that the current plans to remediate the plume are inadequate.60 Second, the 2023 DSEIS fails to include information that was sent to NRC in Petitioner Miami Waterkeepers scoping comments.61 Petitioner provided a report by a peer reviewer, Groundwater Tek Inc., which posited that the hypersaline plume in the lower layers will likely remain a source of pollution, and the salt will likely diffuse back to the layers above due to the concentration gradient if the recovery well pumps were shut off.62 Also not discussed in the 2023 DSEIS was the September 2020 report by a second peer reviewer that recommended FPL perform a more robust and technically defensible assessment of the mathematical relationships between variables and the magnitude of uncertainty, particularly in the absolute plume volume.63 In a recent analysis performed after we submitted our November 2022 scoping comments, Arcadis found that FPLs estimates of the plume volume were unreliable due to FPL including data from outside the relevant calibration range in establishing relationships between chlorine concentration, water resistivity, and aerial-electromagnetic resistivity. Arcadis found that the hypersalinity volume estimates across years 2018 through 2022 are inaccurate.64 Therefore, it is unknown the degree to which FPLs remediation plan has been effective. That the NRC has based its analysis of groundwater impacts solely on information provided by the Applicant and has chosen to exclude from discussion a spate of peer reviews challenging FPLs methods and findings is inconsistent with 10 C.F.R. § 51.71(b).
The inability of the Applicant to define the absolute plume volume and to retract it per the consent order and consent agreement underscores the failure in the original 1972 EIS that determined the CCS operation would have an insignificant effect on subsurface flows to the west. The hypersaline plume pollution has already had significant, clearly noticeable, and destabilizing environmental impacts, so much so that local and state regulators needed to intervene to protect the public interest. The prospect of the recalcitrant plume in the lower aquifer diffusing back to layers above if the pumps were shut off could have additional significant, clearly noticeable, and destabilizing environmental impacts on the sole source aquifer, surface waters, and ecological communities surrounding the plant. Conversely, the 64 Arcadis Letter to DERM re Final Review Memorandum for the Florida Power and Light 2022 Remedial Action Annual Status Report, (Jun. 2, 2023) at 2 (Attachment G).
63 Site Specific EIS Scoping Process Summary Report for Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 3 and 4, ADAMS Accession No. ML23198A271 (Aug. 2023), at 16.
62 Groundwater Tek, Inc., Review of FPLs Groundwater Flow and Salt Transport Models and Assessment of the First Year Operation of the RWS 34 (July 2020) (Attachment F). This peer review report was also noted in the Site Specific EIS Scoping Process Summary Report for Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 3 and 4, at 16.
61 Miami Waterkeeper Letter to NRC re Notice of Intent To Conduct Scoping Process and Prepare Environmental Impact Statement Florida Power & Light Company Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 3 and 4, Docket Nos. 50-250 & 50-251; NRC-2022-0172 (Nov. 7, 2022) (Attachment B).
60 FPL Year 5 RAASR at 7-4 (Exhibit 9).
59 Id. at 11.
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prospect of running the remediation systemindefinitelyis an unexamined impact on groundwater use. The NRC must reassess its conclusion that groundwater conflicts are SMALL on the Biscayne Aquifer and MODERATE on the Upper Floridan Aquifer given this new and significant information. The NRC must also reassess its conclusion that impacts on groundwater quality are SMALL to MODERATE given this new information.
III. Surface Water Resources The 2023 DSEIS fails to adequately consider the effects of continued CCS operation on the surrounding surface water resources.
A. Altered Salinity Gradients NRC concluded in the 2019 FSEIS that review of altered salinity gradients is not applicable to Turkey Point due to the CCS functioning as enclosed.65 This category was therefore not evaluated in the 2023 DSEIS. Miami Waterkeeper provides the following information for NRC to reassess its finding that the CCS does not alter the salinity gradients of adjacent surface waters:
Concerns regarding the unusually high temperatures and salinity in the CCS reached a flashpoint following an uprate that increased the plants power. In August of 2014, the plant operator reduced power at Turkey Point Units 3 and 4 due to excessive ultimate heat sink temperature in the CCS.66 Likewise, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD, or District) issued an emergency order approving the use of water from the nearby L-31E canal to freshen the CCS.67 Following the emergency order, the District approved a separate authorization in 2015 to allow the plant operator to pump up to 18,300 million gallons annually (up to 100 million gallons per day) of L-31E fresh water into the CCS.68 The canal freshening was evaluated by a third-party academic reviewer who posited that water volume additions to the CCS may have adverse impacts.69 The reviewer stated that, under the SFWMD-approved pumping protocol, the cooling canal stage would rise, while the stage of the L-31E canal would be held constant. This could result in a decreased, or potential reversal of, the seaward piezometric-head gradientleading to a potential saline plume advecting from the CCS towards the L-31E canal and creating a circulation cell in which the salinity of the water in the L-31E Canal is increased as the saline plume enters the L31E Canal.70 The reviewer additionally found that elevated water levels in the CCS resulting from pumping 100 MGD from the L-31E will increase the (seaward) piezometric head gradient between the CCS and 70 Id. at 3.
69 Chin, D. A., 2015. The Cooling Canal System at the FPL Turkey Point Power Station. (Attachment I) 68 SFWMD Permit Number 13-05856-W, issued June 1, 2015 67 Miami-Dade County, March 7, 2016. Report on Recent Biscayne Bay Water Quality Observations associated with Florida Power and Light Turkey Point Cooling Canal System Operations, at 4. (Attachment H).
66 NUREG-1437, Volume 1, Revision 2 GEIS - Draft Report for Comment, February 2023, at 3-42.
65 2019 FSEIS at 4-22.
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Biscayne Bay, resulting in the increased discharge of higher-salinity water from the CCS into the Bay via the Biscayne Aquifer.71 That is exactly what was observed when the additional water was added to the CCS.
Under current authorization, water is taken from the brackish Floridan Aquifer and pumped into the CCS. However, no matter the source of the water used to freshen the canals, there exists the possibility of a decreased or reversed piezometric head gradient if the CCS water level exceeds the stage of the L-31E, resulting in advection of hypersaline water into the L-31E.
Figure 1, below, shows measured spikes in specific conductance - indicating that significant salinity events in the L-31E have occurred as recently as March 2023. The events on March 8-15, 2023 do not coincide with king tides. The NRC must evaluate the impact that the continued operation of the CCS has on salinity gradients in surrounding surface waters.
Figure 1: March 8, 2023 salinity event on L-31E canal, at approximately 3:00AM. Source:
Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources.
B. Impact of Non-Radiological Contaminants on Aquatic Organisms In addition to impacting freshwater resources, the continued operation of the CCS impacts marine waters and the ecosystems that depend on them. The 2023 DSEIS fails to adequately consider the effects of non-radiological contaminants on aquatic organisms. The adjacent Biscayne Bay is a phosphorus-limited estuary, meaning that phosphorus controls the abundance, productivity, and species composition of seagrass.72 Continued phosphorus loading (P loading) is cumulative and permanent, so continued P loading leads to regime changes in species composition that can disrupt essential fish habitat.73 In essence, seagrasses are killed and replaced by fast-growing, noxious seaweed or planktonic algae,74and the loss of the healthy seagrass community will result in dramatic change in community structure and function. Animal species dependent on seagrass for food and shelter (e.g., speckled trout, redfish, bonefish and tarpon) are replaced by less desirable species (e.g., jellyfish).75 75 Id. at 3.
74 Id. at 2 73 Id. at 1.
72 Declaration of James Fourqurean, Ph.D. (Jan. 8, 2021), at 1 (Attachment J).
71 Id. at 40.
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As established in previous paragraphs, the unlined CCS is not a closed system; it exchanges water radially with the Biscayne Aquifer and the Bay. Data from FPL show that periods of groundwater flow out of the canals toward the Bay have occurred regularly throughout the period for which data are available.76 The CCS also contains high levels of tritium. Porewater tritium is, therefore, an excellent tracer for CCS water and can indicate where CCS water is discharged through groundwater into Biscayne Bay. Recent sampling indicates that water from the CCS is influencing the porewater in areas adjacent to the CCS.77 Groundwater under the seagrass meadows of this part of the bay, in the vicinity of the CCS, contains tritium at concentrations that can only be explained by this water coming from the CCS.78 CCS water itself has been documented to contain not only high salinity, but, importantly to Biscayne Bay, very high phosphorus concentrations. Seagrasses in areas that hydrological models and field data show as receiving phosphorus-laden discharge also show signs of abnormally high phosphorus concentrations.79 Yet, the water column in southern Biscayne Bay has very low concentrations of dissolved phosphorus, and the grand mean TN:TP ratios (i.e., the ratio of moles of nitrogen to the moles of phosphorus) of the water in southern Biscayne Bay average 177.9.80 When TN:TP of oceanic water is above 16, it indicates that the availability of phosphorus limits the growth of plankton.81Seagrasses are more complex than phytoplankton, so that the critical ratio determining whether N or P limits plant growth for seagrasses is 30.82 The N:P of Turtle Grass (Thalassia testudinum) collected in the vicinity of Turkey Point was 88.6 in 2013, a clear indication of phosphorus limitation.83 In 2014, the nitrogen-to-phosphorus ratio of seagrass in the vicinity of the CCS was over 60, a sign of higher P availability within 50m of the shore close to the CCS, and around 80 within 500m of shore.84 The seagrass beds of Biscayne Bay and the rest of South Florida require very low nutrient loading to survive.85 At higher nutrient levels, seagrasses are replaced by seaweeds (macroalgae) and microalgae.86 The loss of the seagrass community will result in a dramatic change in community structure, function, and ecological productivity. Specifically, the addition of excess phosphorus in south Biscayne Bay will upset the ecological balance of seagrass beds as has occurred in the northern part of the bay.87 In transect samples within the nearshore area of Turkey Point, elevated nutrients inputs were identified as a result of the operations of Turkey Point.88 88 Id. at 5.
87 Id. at 4.
86 Id. at 3.
85 Id. at 2.
84 Id. at 4.
83 Id. at 4 (citing Bryan Dewsbury, The Ecology and Economics of Seagrass Community Structure, Florida International University (2014)).
82 Id. at 4 (citing James W. Fourqurean & Leanne M. Rutten, Competing Goals of Spatial and Temporal Resolution:
Monitoring Seagrass Communities on a Regional Scale, in Monitoring Ecosystem Initiatives: Interdisciplinary Approaches for Evaluating Ecoregional Initiative, Island Press (2003)).
81 Id. at 4 (citing Alfred C. Redfield, The Biological Control of Chemical Factors in the Environment, American Scientist 46:205-221 (1958)).
80 Id. at 4 (citing Valentina Caccia & Joseph N. Boyer, Spatial Patterning of Water Quality in Biscayne Bay, Florida as a Function of Land Use and Water Management, Marine Pollution Bulletin 50:1416-1429 (2005)).
79 Id. at 1.
78 Id. at 3.
77 Expert Report of James Fourqurean, Ph.D. (Jan. 8, 2021), Attachment J, at 1.
76 Expert report of William K. Nuttle (May 14, 2018), Attachment D, Appendix 1, at 3.
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Under phosphorus pollution, normally phosphorus-limited turtlegrass (Thalassia testudinum) first increases in density and then becomes displaced by progressively faster-growing species until no benthic vegetation is left at the highest phosphorus pollution levels.89 Time series aerials from Google Earth show that high phosphorus in this area is related to very dense seagrasses that collapsed over the period of 2010-2014.90 It is evident that operations of the CCS are leading to the increased availability of phosphorus in nearshore waters and, consequently disrupting the balance of flora and fauna in adjacent Biscayne Bay and Biscayne National Park.91 Operations to decrease the salinity and temperature of the CCS are expected to increase tritium concentrations in porewater if future operations of the CCS increase the hydraulic head, thus flushing of contaminated water, including the phosphorus content of the canal waters, into the Biscayne Aquifer and eventually to Biscayne Bay.92 After freshening activities began to occur as part of the consent order and consent agreement, sampling of porewater was conducted in seagrass soils adjacent to the CCS to examine the spatial extent of CCS tritium-containing groundwater.93 This sampling indicated that CCS-derived water is indeed influencing the porewater in the areas adjacent to the CCS, and that soil phosphorus content and seagrass phosphorus content (an indicator of phosphorus pollution in this region) are higher when tritium concentrations in the porewater are higher.94 The addition of water to freshen canals may help FPL meet terms and conditions of the consent agreement and consent decree with respect to the salinity in the CCS itself, though the unintended consequence is to exacerbate the groundwater contamination, flushing CCS pollution into the groundwater and surface water surrounding the plant. The NRC has concluded that the impacts of non-radiological contamination on aquatic species is SMALL. Given the new and significant information presented here, the NRC must reassess this finding as the continued discharge of phosphorus and other pollutants is causing clearly noticeable and destabilizing impacts on seagrass habitat and the species that depend upon it.
IV. Endangered Species Consultation A. American Crocodile The NRC must also consider updated information on how the subsequent license renewal will affect crocodiles and their critical habitat, as climate change causes atmospheric and oceanic temperatures to rise, presenting added stressors on the species.
When considered along with an environmental baseline that will be significantly affected by climate change, the effects of Turkey Points subsequent renewed license will likely have increasingly significant impacts on the American crocodile over the coming decades. Although 94 Id. at 7.
93 Id. at 7.
92 Id. at 7.
91 Id. at 1.
90 Id. at 6 & Figure 9.
89 Id. at 6.
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sea level rise occurs over time, it intensifies the effects of discrete events such as spring tides and storm surges, causing habitat damage, migration, elimination, and conversion into other habitat types. Increasingly intense storms and higher storm surges will pose additional threats to the crocodiles coastal habitat. For example, eutrophication and seagrass loss in the CCS are likely to become more frequent or intense as temperatures rise and more intense storms increase turbidity.
Sea level rise may further compromise Turkey Points open CCS or necessitate resiliency responses such as coastal hardening that adversely modify the crocodiles critical habitat or subject it to coastal squeeze. In general, climate change will make the crocodile more vulnerable to existing negative effects, including those originating from Turkey Points operations under the subsequent renewed license. The NRC must consider these environmental impacts - regardless of whether the NRC designates the issues as Category 1 or 2. Climate change impacts are new and significant information that the NRC must consider for all environmental issues.
B. Miami Cave Crayfish The 2023 DSEIS Turkey Point draft Site-Specific EIS does not mention nor consider the proposed threatened species, the Miami cave crayfish. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS, or Service) proposed the Miami cave crayfish for listing as a threatened species under the ESA on September 20, 2023.95 A threatened species is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.96 FWS found the Miami cave crayfish to have low resiliency, redundancy, and representation.97 This was attributed to the species restricted endemic habitat and its low threshold to adapt to catastrophic events, like shifts in freshwater quality and/or quantity, which is enhanced by the Biscayne Aquifers connectivity. The high permeability and connectivity of the Biscayne Aquifer make it particularly susceptible to contaminants.98 Pursuant to the Endangered Species Act, FWS must designate the critical habitat for the Miami cave crayfish, including areas essential to the conservation of the species.99 The proposed area identified as critical habitat is expected to be published in the Federal Register in early 2024, subsequent to its review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.100 The Miami cave crayfish is highly endemic to the Miami-Dade County region. Its habitat range is localized within the Biscayne Aquifer and along the Atlantic Coastal Ridge of Miami-Dade County.101 Habitat requirements specific to the Miami cave crayfish include 1.
freshwater of sufficient water quality and quantity, 2. overlying surface cover that facilitates nutrient flow into subterranean ecosystems, and 3. karstic limestone substrate marked by a vertical and horizontal network of megaporosities. These elements allow for individuals to have sufficient food and shelter resources to grow, reach maturity, and reproduce.102 FWS detailed 102 Id. at 24.
101 Id. at 19 100 88 Fed. Reg. at 64869; Executive Order 12,866.
99 88 Fed. Reg. at 64869; 16 U.S.C. §§ 1533(a)(3), 1532(5).
98 Id. at 56.
97 Id. at 92.
96 16 U.S.C. § 1532(20).
95 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Threatened Species Status With Section 4(d) Rule for the Miami Cave Crayfish, 88 Fed. Reg. 64,856 (Sept. 20, 2023).
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several variables that may impact the species, including saltwater intrusion and groundwater contamination.
FPL operates its Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 and 4 in close proximity to the species habitat and near the Atlantic Coastal Ridge.103 In its current operation, Turkey Points Units 3 and 4 disturb the Biscayne Aquifers fragile environment: tritium leakages into the Aquifer and increased saltwater intrusion due to the Plants hypersaline plume. Turkey Points expansive, unlined cooling canal system (CCS) spans nearly 6,000 acres and contributes to two anthropogenic sources that could impact the Miami cave crayfish: tritium and hypersalinity.
The waters in Turkey Points cooling canals have reported tritium levels at least two magnitudes higher than those in surrounding bodies of water.104 The tritium pollution is not localized to the CCS since the canals actively convey water to the surrounding environment.
Miami-Dade County conducted surface water sampling in Biscayne Bay near the CCS and found that all samples contained tritium concentrations higher than background levels typical for Biscayne Bay surface waters (where the baseline is 20 pCi/L).21 The approximate limit of the 20 pCi/L contour has been reported as far as 3.8-4.7 miles west of the CCS and 2.1 miles east of the CCS.105 The Biscayne Aquifers high connectivity makes it plausible that tritium introduced via Turkey Points leaking cooling canal systems could impact Miami cave crayfish populations in the southeastern portion of the species endemic range.106 Additionally, current and sustained exposure to tritium and other radioactive isotopes associated with nuclear power generation can negatively impact the Miami cave crayfish, as crustaceans are exceedingly sensitive to (short-and long-term) radiation exposure. This can lead to high, even multigenerational, morbidity and mortality within the species.107 The Miami cave crayfish is especially susceptible to saltwater intrusion because of their restricted range within the Biscayne Aquifer,108 and processes like the leakage of saltwater from canal systems into the freshwater aquifer compound the issue because it causes complete loss of habitat and is projected to get worse in the future; and the species has no dispersal potential outside of its current, restricted range.109 The unlined cooling canals have contributed to a hypersaline plume within the Biscayne Aquifer.110, 111 Hypersaline waters are extreme environments that have a higher salt salinity than seawater (35) and may be salt-saturated.112 Normal seawater has about 35 practical salinity units and a chlorine level of 19,000 mg/L.
Miami-Dade Countys Division of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) defines 112 Virginia I. Rich & Raina M. Maier, Chapter 6 - Aquatic Environments, Environmental Microbiology (Academic Press 2015), https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-394626-3.00006-5.
111 Consent Order (June 20, 2016). ADAMS Accession No. ML16216A216.
https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1621/ML16216A216.pdf.
110 OFFICIAL EXHIBIT - INT - 006-00-BD01 - INT-006 - FPL DERM Consent Agreement (hereinafter Miami-Dade County Consent Agreement) (Oct. 7, 2015). ADAMS Accession No. ML16015A339.
109 88 Fed. Reg. 64860.
108 Id. at 77.
107 Id. at 63.
106 Supra note 104, at 61.
105 Supra note 69, at 2.
104 Miami Cave Crayfish (Procambus milleri) Species Status Assessment, Version 1.0 (January, 2022) at 61, citing Janzen and Krupa, 2011.
103 Id. at 61, 62 (Figure 3.4.3), and 65.
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hypersaline groundwater as having a chlorinity of more than 19,000 mg/L.113 FPLs own modeling shows that its attempts to retract the hypersaline plume in all layers of the Biscayne Aquifer back to the Turkey Point property will be unsuccessful.114 As the primary threat to the Miami cave crayfish, prolonged exposure to salinity levels above the Biscayne Aquifers natural habitat may result in limited to no reproduction, reduced numbers and death of fertile eggs, lower hatching success, inhibition of growth, and elevated mortality.115 Ultimately, the FWS concluded, the Miami cave crayfish likely cannot persist in areas affected [by] saltwater intrusion because it needs sufficient freshwater in order to survive and reproduce.116 There is no discussion in FPLs environmental report as to whether the vicinity around the plant is subject to influences of the leaking CCS has been surveyed for the cave crayfish and its habitat.117 The continued operation of the cooling canal system throughout the subsequent license renewal period presents a risk to the Miami cave crayfishs survivability. The high permeability and connectivity of the Biscayne Aquifer make it particularly susceptible to contaminants emanating from pollution sources. Contaminants disperse widely through surficial and subsurface flows. FPLs cooling canal system is a significant pollution source and has been well-established to be destabilizing groundwater and surface waters-leading to habitat impacts.
Turkey Points unlined cooling canal system contributes to the salinization of the neighboring canals and Aquifer system,118 and could be thus further constricting the Miami cave crayfishs already localized and niche habitat. The cooling canal system has also been attributed to the pollution of the radioactive isotope tritium into the canal system. Exposure to radioactive isotopes like tritium can result in multigenerational morbidity and mortality to the Miami cave crayfish species. The NRC must analyze impacts of the continued operation of the CCS on this species and consult with the FWS pursuant to the Endangered Species Act as appropriate. The NRC analysis should be supported by the best available scientific and commercial information, and if that information is not available, the benefit of the doubt is afforded to the species when evaluating the potential for jeopardy and adverse modification.119 V. Alternative Analysis Given the significant environmental impacts to aquatic resources and threatened species that the unlined CCS pose, it is particularly troubling that the 2023 DSEIS fails to adequately 119 Endangered Species Consultations Frequently Asked Questions. ADAMS Accession No. ML16120A505.
118 EXPERT REPORT OF WILLIAM NUTTLE, PH.D, P.E. at 3-8 (May 14, 2018).
117 FPL Environmental Report, Supplement 2 at 35-38, 41-46, 57-67 (Jun. 9, 2022). ADAMS Accession No. ML22160A301.
116 88 Fed. Reg. 64860.
115 Miami Cave Crayfish (Procambus milleri) Species Status Assessment, Version 1.0 (January, 2022), at 69.
114 Supra note 47.
113 FPL Turkey Point Cooling Canal System Baseline CSEM Report (Oct. 2018). ADAMS Accession No. ML21035A195. https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2103/ML21035A195.pdf.
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analyze alternatives available for reducing or avoiding adverse environmental effects.120 NEPA and NRC regulations require that an draft supplemental environmental impact statement (DSEIS)
[r]igorously explore and objectively evaluate all reasonable alternatives.121 An agencys consideration of reasonable alternatives is the heart of NEPA.122 Furthermore, NRC regulations require that a DSEIS include a mitigation discussion analyzing alternatives available for reducing or avoiding adverse environmental effects of the proposed project.123 This mitigation discussion must include an analysis of benefits and costs of the proposed action and alternatives.124 It is a vital part of the action forcing function of NEPA because [w]ithout such a discussion, neither the agency nor other interested groups and individuals can properly evaluate the severity of the adverse effects.125 The existence of a viable but unexamined alternative renders [a NEPA document] inadequate.126 Instead of adequately considering alternatives, the 2023 DSEIS merely relies on the 2019 FSEIS, which at best only analyzes the adverse impacts of constructing and operating an alternative cooling system without looking specifically and in any detail at the environmental benefits that would accrue from replacing the current cooling canal system (CCS) with a cooling tower.127, 128 The 2023 DSEIS maintained that the NRC staff found no new significant information that would alter the FSEIS discussions.129, 130, 131 NRC staff did not complete an adequate alternatives analysis because they did not discuss how replacing the existing CCS with cooling towers would reduce adverse environmental impacts to environmental issues identified in Table B-1 of Appendix B to Subpart A of Part 51.132 Miami Waterkeeper has provided new and significant information in Sections II, III, and IV of this letter. As we have shown, the impacts of operating the CCS as a heat sink has driven evaporative losses in the canals, leading to hypersaline water contaminating groundwater in all 132 Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants Regarding Subsequent License Renewal for Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 3 and 4 (NUREG-1437, Supplement 5, Second Renewal)
Final Report. ADAMS Accession No. ML19290H346.
131 2023 DSEIS at 3-2.
130 2019 FSEIS Table 2-1 Summary and Key Characteristics of Replacement Power Alternatives Considered In Depth at 2-8.
129 2019 FSEIS at 4-87.
128 See e.g., 2019 FSEIS 4-11, 4 4-19, 4 4-42, 4-43, and 4-44.
127 See e.g., 2019 FSEIS at 2-13, which states that the benefits of the alternative cooling water system are that the impacts of utilizing the CCS for cooling for Turkey Point Units 3 and 4 would be avoided.
126 Natural Res. Defense Council v. U.S. Forest Serv., 421 F.3d 797, 813 (9th Cir. 2005) (internal quotation marks omitted); see also City of Grapevine v. Dept of Transp., 17 F.3d 1502, 1506 (D.C. Cir. 1994) (agency must consider all feasible or reasonable alternatives[.]).
125 Robertson v. Methow Valley Citizens Council, 490 U.S. 332, 352 (1989); see also Hydro Res., Inc. (P.O. Box 777, Crownpoint, New Mexico 87313), 64 NRC 53, 93 (Aug. 21, 2006) (Mitigation must be discussed in sufficient detail to ensure that environmental consequences have been fairly evaluated.).
124 Id. (emphasis added).
123 10 C.F.R. § 51.71(d).
122 Union Neighbors United, Inc. v. Jewell, 831 F.3d 564, 575 (D.C. Cir. 2016) (citing 40 C.F.R. §1502.14). CEQs regulations implementing NEPA apply to all federal agencies, including the NRC. Id. at 569 n.1 (citing 40 C.F.R.
§1500.3).
121 40 C.F.R. § 1502.14. The Council on Environmental Qualitys regulations implementing NEPA apply to all federal agencies, including the NRC. Union Neighbors United, Inc. v. Jewell, 831 F.3d 564, 569 n.1 (D.C. Cir.
2016) (citing 40 C.F.R. § 1500.3).
120 10 C.F.R. § 51.71(d).
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directions through the aquifer. Further, tritiuma reliable tracer of the CCS waterindicates that phosphorus-laden water has emerged through conduits in the bay bottom and contributed to the degraded health of adjacent marine ecosystems in Biscayne Bay. The continued operation of the CCS without remediation of the hypersaline plume threatens public water supplies and the wetlands and marine ecosystems surrounding the plant.
At the same time, actions being taken by FPL cannot achieve the objectives of the consent order and consent agreement because of (1) the failure of the interceptor ditch to stop the movement of the plume; (2) the inadequacy of the recovery well system in retracting the plume; and (3) the increase in discharges from the CCS as a result of addition of fresher water.
Regarding the inadequacy of the recovery well system, FPLs Year 5 annual report on remediation activities confirms that the actions being taken by FPL ignore the basic reality of the way the CCS interacts with groundwater and surface water.133As such, the perpetual remediation via the long-term use of the RWS pumps and flushing of the canals to cool and desalinate waters will have impacts on regional water supplies and adjacent ecosystems.
The failure to seriously evaluate the cooling tower alternative undermines a 1971 Consent Order issued by the Atomic Energy Commission to the Applicant, which required FPL to evaluate mechanical draft cooling towers as an alternative to the CCS.134 The Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners also expressed deep concern regarding the continued operation of the CCS when they unanimously passed a resolution to seek FPLs commitment to discontinue using the CCS due to concerns about water quality standards and the challenges that may persist should the CCS continue to operate.135 NRCs failure to consider cooling towers as an alternative is even more egregious when considered in light of new and significant information regarding the impacts of the cooling canal system on groundwater use conflicts. Neither the NRC nor the Applicant have seriously considered any other alternatives to mitigate these impacts on groundwater use conflicts.
Because the stress on groundwater resources originates from operation of the cooling canal system as the ultimate heat sink for Units 3 and 4, the 2023 DSEIS should have considered closure of the cooling canal system and installation of mechanical draft cooling towers instead.
The cooling tower alternative is certain to remediate the impacts of continued operation. Under such an alternative, there would be no new addition of salt to the aquifer. The NRC must revisit its alternatives analysis in light of this new information, fully exploring how the benefits of cooling towers would be the impacts of CCS operations avoided.
The agency is required to follow the rule of reason in preparing a NEPA document, and this rule governs... which alternatives the agency must discuss.136 The rule of reason does not permit the agency to delineate the range of alternatives in a vacuum. Instead, where changed 136 Citizens Against Burlington, Inc. v. Busey, 938 F.2d 190, 195 (D.C. Cir. 1991) (internal quotation marks omitted).
135 Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners Resolution No. 161617 (Jul 19, 2016).
134 NRC-047 - Atomic Energy Commn, Final Environmental Statement Related to Operation of Atomic Energy Commn, Final Environmental Statement Related to Operation of Light Company, No. 70-328-CA, (S.D. Fla. 1970),
at i-vi, X-1, X-11-X13, and X-21, (July 1972). ADAMS Accession No. ML15314A632.
133 Expert report of William K. Nuttle (May 14, 2018), at 14 (Attachment D, Appendix 1).
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circumstances affect the factors relevant to the development and evaluation of alternatives, the
[agency] must account for such change in the alternatives it considers.137 [T]he concept of alternatives is an evolving one, requiring the agency to explore more or fewer alternatives as they become better known and understood.138 Replacing the existing cooling canal system with cooling towers is a reasonable and cost-effective alternative to granting the requested license renewal based on the continued operation of the cooling canal system during the renewal term.139 FPL itself has demonstrated that the siting and water supply aspects of cooling towers are feasible.
First, FPL chose cooling towers rather than the existing cooling canal system or another cooling system for its proposed Turkey Point Units 6 and 7, for which the NRC granted combined construction permits and operating licenses in 2018.140 Both Units 6 and 7 would utilize closed-cycle wet-cooling towers using reclaimed water from the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department.141 The EIS for Units 6 and 7 includes specific design elements of the cooling system, including: (a) a plan for piping reclaimed water from the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department South District Wastewater Treatment Plant to the cooling system for Units 6 and 7; (b) location of the water-treatment facility and related infrastructure; (c) storage of treated reclaimed water in a make-up water reservoir.142 Second, replacement power options under the no-action alternative considered in the 2019 FSEIS incorporate closed-cycle cooling with mechanical draft cooling towers, and the 2023 DSEIS maintained that the NRC staff found no new significant information that would alter the FSEIS discussions.143, 144, 145 None of the replacement power optionsnot even the new nuclear generation optionwould utilize the existing cooling canal system. In other words, under the alternative to shut down Units 3 and 4 and construct and operate a new nuclear plant, FPL has deemed the construction of cooling towers as the best option, rather than utilization of the already constructed cooling canal system. Further, the 2019 FSEIS-upon which the 2023 DSEIS relies-recognizes that the impacts of the CCS would be avoided if an alternative cooling water system was employed.146 146 2019 FSEIS at 2-13.
145 2023 DSEIS at 3-2.
144 2019 FSEIS Table 2-1 Summary and Key Characteristics of Replacement Power Alternatives Considered In Depth at 2-8.
143 2019 FSEIS at 4-87.
142 Id.
141 NRC Final Report, Environmental Impact Statement for Combined Licenses for Turkey Point Nuclear Plant Units 6 and 7, ADAMS Accession No. ML16300A104 (Oct. 2016), at 3-8 to 3-14, available at https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/turkey-point/documents.html#eis (hereinafter FEIS for Units 6 and 7); Cooling Tower Feasibility Assessment, at 9-11.
140 NUREG 2176, Vol. 1, Environmental Impact Statement for Combined Licenses (COLs) for Turkey Point Nuclear Plans Units 6 and 7, Final Report, Chapters 1 to 6, at 3-14. ADAMS Accession No. ML16300A104 139 Declaration of Bill Powers (attached to Petition to Intervene by Southern Alliance for Clean Energy) at 1-2, and 16, submitted November 3, 2023; see generally Expert Report of Bill Powers, P.E., Powers Engineering (hereinafter Cooling Tower Feasibility Assessment) (Attachment K).
138 Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 435 U.S. 519, 552-53 (1978).
137 Natural Res. Defense Council v. U.S. Forest Serv., 421 F.3d 797, 813 (9th Cir. 2005).
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Third, Turkey Point Unit 5 (a natural gas combined-cycle unit that began operating in 2007) already utilizes mechanical-draft cooling towers that use make-up water drawn from the Upper Floridan Aquifer.147 Thus, it is clear that the siting and water supply aspects of cooling towers are feasible.
Construction of cooling towers to replace the existing cooling canal system has been successful at other sites at Units 3 and 4 is feasible. Palisades Nuclear Plant, an 800-MW plant in Michigan, converted from a once-through cooling system to a closed-cycle wet cooling tower system after a significant period of operating utilizing the once-through system.148 At least five other power plants have also converted to a closed-cycle system.149 The cost of replacing the cooling canal system with cooling towers is reasonable. The cost of the Palisades retrofit was approximately $99/kW in 2017 dollars.150 Todays retrofit costs are approximately 40% higher than 2017 to account for inflation.151 The installed cost of cooling towers at Turkey Point Units 3 and 4, each of which has nearly the same capacity as Palisades (816 MW), would be approximately $113.4 million per unit in 2023 dollars for conventional inline mechanical draft cooling towers, or $226.8 million for both units.152 This $226.8 million capital expense, amortized over only ten years at standard rates, equates to approximately $28.78 million annual cost for both units.153 Given that the subsequent license renewal periods, if granted, would not expire until 2052 and 2053, FPL could expect a much longer amortization period and, therefore, a lower annual cost. This would equate to a small fraction of the energy charge component of an FPL residential customers bill.
The Commissions order in CLI-22-03 is clear: no further licenses for subsequent renewal terms will be issued until the NRC staff has completed an adequate NEPA review for each application.154 As the 2023 DSEIS only carries forward the prior, inadequate alternatives analysis, the agency must evaluate the economic, technical, and other benefits and costs of the cooling tower alternative, and this analysis must be done in light of new information concerning the CCSs impacts to surface and groundwater resources.
VI. SEIS Scope and Baseline The Commissions Order is clear about the scope of the new SEIS analysis that NRC staff must conduct before the NRC can issue a subsequent license renewal for the two units.155 155 Commission Memorandum and Order (CLI-22-03) (dated Feb. 24, 2022). ADAMS Accession No. ML22055A527.
154 CLI-22-03, 95 N.R.C. 40 (Feb. 24, 2022).
153 Id. at 15-16, and adjusted for 40% inflation.
152 Id. AT 15, and adjusted for 40% inflation.
151 Bill Powers declaration, Nov 3, 2023-cover letter.
150 Cooling Tower Feasibility Assessment, at 15.
149 EPA 2002 TDD, at 4-1 to 4-6; Cooling Tower Feasibility Assessment, at 28-29 & n.138.
148 EPA, Technical Development Document for the Proposed Section 316(b) Phase II Existing Facilities Rule (Apr.
2002), at 4-1 (hereinafter EPA 2002 TDD).
147 Cooling Tower Feasibility Assessment at 7-8 (Attachment J).
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The Commission ruled that issues previously designated as Category 1 (generic) issues must be addressed on a site-specific basis, not in the generic fashion authorized by the Generic Environmental Impact Statement for initial license renewals.156 In addition, the NRCs analysis of issues previously characterized as Category 2 (site-specific) in the final supplemental impact statement for Turkey Point's subsequent license renewal (2019 FSEIS)157 must be revisited, because the Commission conclude[d] that the Staff did not conduct an adequate NEPA analysis before issuing FPL licenses for the subsequent license renewal period and give due consideration to new research findings and information in the 2023 DSEIS.158 Further, Miami Waterkeeper is presenting, here and in its petition before the Secretary, important information that is not contained in the 2023 DSEIS. Miami Waterkeeper urges the NRC to take this information into account and conduct a robust and comprehensive review in accordance with NEPA and its own regulatory requirements.
To satisfy NEPAs hard look requirement and complete an adequate environmental analysis, the NRC must establish the proper environmental baseline. That is, the NRC must address the state of the environment that is likely to exist during the proposed subsequent license renewal period and decommissioning. The scope of what the NRC must analyze now is the impact of operations of the units from 2032 to 2052 and 2033 to 2053, plus at least ten additional years to address the minimum time it will take to decommission the units.
When defining the baseline environment of southeastern Florida in the 2030s through 2050s, the NRC must reassess the projections of both climate science and the groundwater contamination caused by FPLs unique cooling canal system. Yet, as explained in detail below, the DSEIS remains short-sighted and fails to recognize that the next 30 years will not be like the past 30 years. The attendant circumstances surrounding the plant are changing. The global mean sea level in the area around Turkey Point has risen over the past century and is projected to continue rising at an accelerated rate throughout this century and beyond.159 With respect to climate science, the NRC relies on its decision in the 2019 FSEIS and excludes newly available science.
With respect to the groundwater plume, the 2023 DSEIS assumes that the mitigation program for the hypersaline plume being undertaken by FPL would ensure the restoration of the polluted groundwater. New evidence, as discussed below, and which the 2023 DSEIS must take 159 Declaration of Dr. Robert Kopp (Kopp Decl.) ¶ 12(i) (Attachment L) (referencing William V. Sweet et al.,
GLOBAL AND REGIONAL SEA LEVEL RISE SCENARIOS FOR THE UNITED STATES, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (Feb. 2022), available at https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/sealevelrise/noaa-nos-techrpt01-global-regional-SLR-scenarios-US.pdf.
158 Commission Memorandum and Order (CLI-22-02) at 14 (dated Feb. 24, 2022). ADAMS Accession No. ML22055A496; Site-Specific Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Docket ID 50-250 and 50-251, NRC-2022-0172 (Aug. 2023). ADAMS Accession No. ML23242A216.
157 Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement 5, Second Renewal, Regarding Subsequent License Renewal for Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 3 and 4 (Final Report), NUREG-1437 (Oct. 2019). ADAMS Accession No. ML19290H346.
156 ORDER CLI-22-03; see also Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants (Final Report), NUREG 1437, vols. 1-2 (May 1996) (ML040690705, ML040690738) (1996 GEIS);
Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants (Final Report), NUREG-1437, vols. 1, Rev. 1 (June 2013) (ML13106A241) (2013 GEIS).
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into account, suggests the NRC was far too optimistic regarding groundwater restoration in its 2019 FSEIS.
VII. Climate Change and Cumulative Impacts The 2023 DSEIS does not adequately address the cumulative effects on the environment of operating Units 3 and 4 through the license extension period, as required by 10 C.F.R. § 51.71(d). The 2023 DSEIS does not adequately consider the cumulative effects of continued CCS operation on water resources associated with reasonably foreseeable increases in sea level rise and air temperature.
NRCs regulations require the agency to include in its EIS analysis of the environmental effects, including any cumulative effects, of the proposed action on a plant-specific basis.160 Cumulative effects are those effects on the environment that result from the incremental effects of the action when added to the effects of other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable actions.161 Effects that the agency must review depend on regional resource characteristics, the resource-specific impacts of license renewal, and the cumulative significance of other factors affecting the resource.162 The cumulative effects analysis must account for climate change, including rising sea levels and a hotter climate.163 Failure to take a hard look at cumulative impacts, including those related to climate change, violates the NRCs NEPA regulations.
On March 3, 2023, the NRC published a draft rule proposing to amend environmental protection regulations in 10 C.F.R. Part 51.164 Specifically, the proposed rule would update the NRCs findings concerning the environmental impacts of renewing the operating license of a nuclear power plant and specifically address subsequent license reviews.165 The 2023 draft rule, when finalized, would redefine the number and scope of the environmental issues that must be addressed by the NRC during the initial license renewal (LR) and subsequent license renewal (SLR) environmental reviews.166 It adds new Category 2 issues to Table B-1, including climate change impacts on environmental resources.167 The 2023 proposed rule is expected to be finalized in or about May 2024. To account for the possibility that the proposed rule may be finalized before a final determination is reached on FPLs SLR application, the NRC staff purports to analyze on a site-specific basis the new and revised environmental issues described in 167 Id.
166 Id.
165 Id.
164 Id.
163 See Renewing Nuclear Power Plant Operating Licenses-Environmental Review, 88 Fed. Reg. 13329 (Mar. 3, 2023) (noting that climate change impacts on affected resources will be treated on a plant-specific basis).
162 10 C.F.R. Pt. 51, Subpt. A, App. B.
161 40 C.F.R. § 1508.1(g)(3).
160 10 C.F.R. § 51.71(d) ([T]he draft environmental impact statement will include a preliminary analysis that considers and weighs the environmental effects, including any cumulative effects, of the proposed action[.]; 10 C.F.R. Pt. 51, Subpt. A, App. B (Cumulative impacts of continued operations and refurbishment associated with license renewal must be considered on a plant-specific basis. Impacts would depend on regional resource characteristics, the resource-specific impacts of license renewal, and the cumulative significance of other factors affecting the resource.).
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the 2023 draft rule, because they may apply to subsequent license renewal for Turkey Point.168 The NRCs proposed rule, which accurately describes the agencys legal obligation under NEPA to account for climate change-related impacts in its cumulative impacts assessment, is consistent with Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) guidance on cumulative impacts assessments. The CEQs interim guidance on analyzing climate change effects of their proposed actions under NEPA advises that:
[A]gencies should identify and use information on future projected GHG emissions scenarios to evaluate potential future impacts (such as flooding, high winds, extreme heat, and other climate change-related impacts) and what those impacts will mean for the physical and other relevant conditions in the affected area.... Agencies also should consider the likelihood of increased temperatures and more frequent or severe storm events over the lifetime of the proposed action, and reasonable alternatives (as well as the no-action alternative). For example, an agency considering a proposed development of transportation infrastructure on a coastal barrier island should consider climate change effects on the environment and, as applicable, consequences of rebuilding where sea level rise and more intense storms will shorten the projected life of the project and change its effects on the environment.169 The CEQ further advises agencies to use the best available information and science when assessing the potential future state of the affected environment in NEPA analyses and providing up to date examples of existing sources of scientific information.170 The NRC is aware that it must evaluate the additive effects of climate change on environmental resources that may also be directly affected by continued operations and refurbishment during the license renewal term. The agency itself acknowledged this in its 2023 DSEIS at E-8.171 The NRC claims that climate change impacts on environmental resources have already been adequately addressed in the 2019 FSEIS. Yet the 2019 FSEIS failed to consider the cumulative effects of operating Units 3 and 4, which utilize the CCS, on water resources associated with reasonably foreseeable increases in sea level rise and air temperature.172It also failed to adequately address cumulative impacts on groundwater associated with its cooling canal system.173 NRC fails to address these shortfalls in the 2023 DSEIS.
173 2019 FSEIS at 4-128 131.
172 See 2019 FSEIS 4-118 through 4-127; 10 C.F.R. Pt. 51, Subpt. A, App. B.
171 2023 DSEIS at E-8. (With respect to climate change, the draft rule proposes to amend Table B-1 in Appendix B to Subpart A of 10 CFR Part 51 by adding the new Category 2 issue Climate change impacts on environmental resources. This new issue considers the additive effects of climate change on environmental resources that may also be directly affected by continued operations and refurbishment during the LR term. The effects of climate change can vary regionally and climate change information at the regional and local scale is necessary to assess trends and the impacts on the human environment for a specific location. The impacts of climate change on environmental resources during the LR term are location-specific and cannot be evaluated generically.).
170 Id.
169 National Environmental Policy Act Guidance on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change, 88 Fed. Reg. 1196 (Jan. 9, 2023).
168 2023 DSEIS at E-8.
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Furthermore, the NRC excludes the most up-to-date research on the rapidly changing climate from the 2023 DSEIS. Local, state, federal, and international authorities have published significant information on projected climate changes such as sea level rise, subsidence, rising temperatures, storm intensity and duration, and drought. The NRC must use this updated climate research, information, and projections to define the baseline environment for the subsequent license renewal period, which starts in 2032. In our May 2023 letter, Miami Waterkeeper urged the NRC to update the DSEIS using the proposed 2023 LR GEIS consider how climate change will affect Turkey Points environmental impacts during the subsequent license renewal period of 2032 to 2053, as well as a subsequent decommissioning period.
Despite the abundance of salient climate-related research that has come to light since NRC issued its 2019 EIS, the NRC claims in its 2023 DSEIS that there has been no new or significant information that would change its conclusions from the 2019 FSEIS (although quotes the 2022 6th Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report).174 NRC fails to acknowledge the IPCCs prediction that people and ecosystems in coastal areas are at high, unavoidable risk for sea level rise.175 Additionally, NRC hasnt considered the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations 2022 Global and Regional Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the United States, which is directly relevant to future operation of the plants.176 A. Sea Level Rise and Flooding The DSEIS fails to adequately address how a sea level rise and flooding will impact the operation of the cooling canal system (CCS) and the CCSs effects on aquatic resources.
According to the 2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Report, Global and Regional Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the United States, which was written on behalf of the U.S. Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flood Hazard Scenarios and Tools Interagency Task Force by twenty-four authors from federal agencies and academic institutions, [r]elative sea level along the contiguous U.S.
(CONUS) coastline is expected to rise on average as much over the next 30 years (0.25-0.30 m over 2020-2050) as it has over the last 100 years (1920-2020).177 Higher sea level rise is expected along the East and Gulf Coasts as compared to the West and Hawaiian/Caribbean Coasts.178 The report concludes that:
By 2050, the expected relative sea level (RSL) will cause tide and storm surge heights to increase and will lead to a shift in U.S. coastal flood regimes, with major and moderate high tide flood events occurring as frequently as moderate and minor high tide flood events occur today. Without additional risk reduction measures, U.S. coastal 178 Supra note 176.
177 Supra note 176.
176 William V. Sweet et al., GLOBAL AND REGIONAL SEA LEVEL RISE SCENARIOS FOR THE UNITED STATES, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (Feb. 2022), available at https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/sealevelrise/noaa-nos-techrpt01-global-regional-SLR-scenarios-US.pdf.
175 IPCC, 2023: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change at 15 and Figure SPM-4.
174 Id. at E-9.
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infrastructure, communities, and ecosystems will face significant consequences.179 Sea-level rise for the remainder of this century in South Florida, including around Turkey Point, will be faster than the average over the last century in every reasonably foreseeable climate change scenario.180 Scenarios for average sea-level rise at Key West over 2041-2059, relative to average sea level over 1995-2014, are as follows:
Based on the spatial scales of variability of sea level, conclusions drawn from this tide gauge can be reasonably construed to reflect the changes experienced at Turkey Point.181 These projections indicate the acceleration of sea level rise in the South Florida region and underscore Turkey Points vulnerability to sea level rise with its current operating conditions. Yet the 2023 DSEIS fails to adequately consider the cumulative impacts that the continued operations of the plant will have in light of these reasonably foreseeable changes in sea level rise that have been projected by a consortium of experts from federal agencies and academic institutions.
The 2023 Federal Flood Risk Management Standard Climate-Informed Science Approach (CISA) State of the Science Report, written by the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS) Science Subgroup of the Flood Resilience Interagency Working Group of the National Climate Task Force, directs federal agencies to apply this latest interagency Federal guidance for regionally-based SLR projections.182 Thus, for Turkey Point, application of the 2023 guidance directs NRC to use either the Intermediate High (central value of 1.3 ft in 2050 and 1.9 ft in 2060, relative to a 1995-2014 baseline) or High (central value of 1.6 ft in 2050 and 2.3 ft in 2060, relative to a 1995-2014 baseline) scenarios to generate planning curves when considering the environmental impacts of a 30-year extension of the Turkey Point license.183 NRC has not done so in its 2023 SEIS.
Hurricanes and tropical cyclones are becoming more intense as temperatures rise due to 183 Id. ¶ 18.
182 Id. ¶ 17.
181 Id. ¶ 16.
180 Expert Report of Robert Kopp, Ph.D., Attachment L, at ¶ 15.
179 Supra note 176.
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climate change, particularly in the North Atlantic.184 Recent studies project that the proportion of tropical cyclones reaching category 4 & 5 intensity will increase in a warming climate.185 These studies project that in the North Atlantic, category 4 & 5 storms will increase in frequency by a factor of 1.5 to 2.0, depending on the extent of future emissions.186 Scientists have documented rapid intensification of Atlantic tropical cyclones in recent decades.187 As the intensity of coastal storms increases, so does the frequency and extent of extreme flooding.188The forward motion (translation speed) of tropical cyclones may have slowed over the continental U.S. over the past decade, which causes an increase in rainfall and flooding, due to the longer duration a tropical cyclone is within the same area.189 Studies predict a 8% to 17%
increase in rainfall rate for tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic under a medium future emissions scenario, exacerbating flood risk.190 Continued sea level rise will likely exacerbate severe storm surge inundation and flooding.191One study found that [i]n coastal regions, higher storm inundation levels will be among the greatest potential impacts of future tropical cyclones under climate change, where the combination of likely increased storm intensity and rainfall rates and continued sea level rise will act to increase inundation risk of lowlying, unprotected region.192This threat is particularly salient for Atlantic coastal areas like Turkey Point, with one study projecting that the combined effects of sea level rise and tropical cyclone storm surge by the late 21st century (20702095),
under a high emissions scenario (RCP8.5), will result in the historical 100year flood level occurring every 130 years in the Gulf of Mexico and southeast Atlantic coast, and every year in the midAtlantic coast.193 For an intense storm with an appropriate track, extreme water levels well above the highest level observed historically at a particular site are well within the range of possibility.
Extreme high-water levels are projected to arise from the superimposition of tidal and storm influences on top of a higher average sea level.194 The IPCC report found, with high confidence, that increases in tropical cyclone winds and rainfall, and increases in extreme waves, combined with relative sea level rise, exacerbate extreme sea level events and coastal hazards.195 Nationally, the frequency of moderate high tide flooding events (approximately 2.8 ft above current mean higher high water) in 2050 is expected to be 10 times greater than in 195 IPCC SPECIAL REPORT: SPECIAL REPORT ON THE OCEAN AND CRYOSPHERE IN A CHANGING CLIMATE, Summary for Policymakers, available at https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/chapter/summary-for-policymakers/.
194 IPCC (AR6 Working Group 1 Contribution): Chapter 9, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2021), at 1309, available at https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_Chapter09.pdf. (attached to Attachment L/ Expert Report of Dr. Robert Kopp).
193 Id. at 7.
192 Id. at 6.
191 Id. at 6.
190 Id. at 6.
189 Id. at 3.
188 Id. at 1.
187 Id. at 4.
186 Id at 5.
185 Id at 5.
184 Thoms R. Knutson et al., Climate Change is Probably Increasing the Intensity of Tropical Cyclones, ScienceBrief Review, at 1-2 (Mar. 2021) (Attachment M).
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2020.196 Even with drastic reductions in emissions of greenhouse gasses and if the Antarctic ice sheets remain relatively stable, it is likely that sea-level rise will exceed 1 foot in south Florida by 2060.197 If the Antarctic becomes unstable, as seems increasingly likely, and greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow at todays rate, sea level rise in Florida is likely to exceed 4 feet by 2100, and there is a greater than 1-in-10 chance of exceeding 10 feet by 2100.198 The NRC has not adequately considered the reasonably foreseeable impacts of Bay waters increasingly over-topping the banks of the cooling canal system in its 2023 DSEIS.
Repeated inundation, and then constant flooding as the mean high water line of the bay shifts landward,199 would cause the surface waters of the cooling canal to flow into Biscayne Bay National Park, carrying with it thermal pollution, high levels of tritium, phosphorus, and salt-concentrated waters.
B. Increased Temperatures The 2023 DSEIS does not adequately address how increased temperatures will impact the operation of the cooling canal system (CCS) and the CCSs effects on aquatic resources.
The annual average temperature of the contiguous United States is projected to rise throughout this century.200 For the period 2021-2040, temperatures are projected to rise on average by 2.7°F for a lower scenario.201 Projected temperature increases in the Southeast for the 2036-2065 period range from 3.40°F to 4.30°F.202 Projected changes in temperature extremes for the Southeast region over 2036-2065 are projected to be 5.79°F for the warmest day of the year compared to the 1976-2005 period.203 Change in the warmest 5-day, 1-in-10-year event for the same period is 11.09°F.204 Extreme temperatures in the contiguous United States are projected to increase even more than average temperatures, with heat waves becoming more intense.205 205 Id. at 202.
204 Id.
203 Id. at 198, Table 6.5.
202 Donald J. Wuebbles, et al., Climate Science Special Report: Fourth National Climate Assessment, U.S. Global Change Research Program, at 197, Table 6.4 (2017), available at https://science2017.globalchange.gov/downloads/CSSR2017_FullReport.pdf.
201 Id. at 14.
200 IPCC Report (2022), Summary for Policymakers, at 14, available at https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM_Stand_Alone.pdf.
199 See Sweet et al., supra note 176, at 28 (As sea levels continue to rise, coastal water levelsfrom the mean to the extremeare growing deeper and reaching farther inland along most U.S. coastlines. Where local relative sea level (RSL) is rising, the wet-dry land delineation (i.e., mean higher high water [MHHW] tidal datum) is encroaching landward, causing more permanent inundation and land loss... ; affecting groundwater levels (Befus et al., 2020),
stormwater systems effectiveness, and water quality; and altering the intertidal zone and its ecosystems.) (internal citations omitted).
198 Id. ¶ 40.
197 Expert Report of Robert Kopp, Ph.D., Attachment L, at ¶ 15;. Interagency Sea Level Rise Scenario Tool: Key West, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2022), available at https://sealevel.nasa.gov/task-forcescenario-tool?psmsl_id=188.
196 Supra note 176 at 41-42.
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FPLs current operating license limits allowable intake water temperature for Units 3 and 4 at 104°F.206 In 2014 FPL requested and received from the NRC a modification to its license authorizing an increase of 4°F (from 100 to 104) for its cooling water intake.207 FPL requested this modification to its license because prolonged hot weather in the area has resulted in sustained elevated [Ultimate Heat Sink] temperatures....High temperatures during the daytime with little cloud cover and low precipitation have resulted in elevated canal water temperatures at the Turkey Point site.208The average intake temperature of cooling water for Units 3 and 4 is 2.5°F above the average ambient air temperature.209 The foreseeable increase in air temperature at Turkey Point during the subsequent license renewal period, absent mitigating measures, will cause intake water temperatures to exceed the 104°F limit in Applicants operating license. An increase in air temperature during the subsequent license renewal period will increase the rate of evaporation from the cooling water canals, thereby increasing salinity in the canals and cumulative impacts on groundwater. Additional mitigation measures or alternatives will be necessary to lower this increase in salinity.
Yet the NRC has not considered how incrementally higher temperatures over the license renewal period will drive greater evaporative losses in the CCS, and what this will mean for groundwater use conflicts. The 2023 DSEIS categorizes the potential for groundwater use conflicts as MODERATE with respect to the Upper Floridan Aquifer under current pumping levels.210 The NRC must update its cumulative impacts analysis in the site-specific EIS to evaluate the cumulative significance of these reasonably foreseeable hotter air temperatures, longer droughts, and increased sea level rise inundation interact with the cooling canal system over the subsequent license period and conclude how those interactions will, cumulatively, affect regional resource characteristicsplus mitigative measures designed to avoid or minimize impacts to those regional resource characteristics. It must do this to ascertain the resource-specific impacts of license renewal.
In summary, we believe that in any re-licensing procedure, the NRC must evaluate whether FPL is preparing and fortifying the plant for sea level rise and what impacts the fortification will have. For instance, will roads into the plant be elevated? Will the cooling canal system be protected? Will the backup cooling and power systems be protected? What impacts will the construction and operation of any new features have on the habitat? What impacts will the construction and operation of any new features have on local surface and subsurface hydrology, and will alterations in hydrology caused by construction affect the hypersalinity plume remediation? For these reasons, the 2023 DSEIS does not adequately address the cumulative effects on the environment of operating Units 3 and 4 through the license extension periodand therefore fails to comply with 10 C.F.R. §51.71(d).
210 2023 DSEIS at 2-22.
209 FP&L, Letter, License Amendment Request No. 231, Application to Revise Technical Specification to Revise Ultimate Heat Sink Temperature Limit, ADAMS Accession No. ML14196A006 (July 10, 2014), encl. at 5.
208 FP&L, Letter, Request for Enforcement Discretion Regarding Technical Specification 3/4.7.4, Ultimate Heat Sink, ADAMS Accession No. ML14204A083 (July 21, 2014), encl. at 3.
207 ER at 3-112.
206 ER at 3-112.
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Conclusion The Turkey Point plant is operating in a highly sensitive area of the watershed, and as such, Miami Waterkeeper underscores the widespread and protracted negative impacts of the CCS when it is used to discharge heated water. Much is at stake for Miami-Dade residents in this processthe health of Biscayne Bay, the future of our cultural heritage, and the safety of our drinking water supply. The continued operation of the CCS without remediation of the hypersaline plume threatens public water supplies and the wetlands and marine ecosystems surrounding the plant. At the same time, actions being taken by FPL cannot achieve the objectives of the consent order and consent agreement because of (1) the failure of the interceptor ditch to prevent the movement of the hypersaline plume; (2) the inadequacy of the recovery well system to fully retract the hypersaline plume; and (3) the increase in discharges from the CCS to ground and surface water as a result of addition of fresh water. The actions being taken by FPL ignore the basic reality of the way the CCS interacts with groundwater and surface water.211As such, the perpetual remediation via the long-term use of the RWS pumps and flushing of the canals to cool and desalinate waters will have impacts on regional water supplies and adjacent ecosystems.
We therefore expect the NRC to ensure that the environmental review process is not a box checking procedure. Instead, we expect NRC to fully consider the environmental impacts of the plants continued operation as mandated by NEPAincluding the impacts of using unlined cooling canals for decades into the future, as climate change intensifies sea level rise, storm surges, and rising temperatures. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Miami Waterkeeper to discuss.
Sincerely, Audrey Siu Policy Director Miami Waterkeeper PO Box 141596 Coral Gables, FL 33114-1596 211 Expert Report of William K. Nuttle (May 14, 2018), at 14 (Attachment D, Appendix 1).
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Attachments:
A. NRC Email Granting Extension of Comment Period for Miami Waterkeeper (Oct. 27, 2023).
B. Miami Waterkeeper Letter to NRC re Notice of Intent To Conduct Scoping Process and Prepare Environmental Impact Statement Florida Power & Light Company Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 3 and 4, Docket Nos. 50-250 and 50-251; NRC-2022-0172 (Nov. 7, 2022).
C. Miami Waterkeeper Letter to NRC re Proposed Rule amending environmental protection regulations pursuant to Revision 2 to NUREG-1437 Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants (LR GEIS) (May 2, 2023).
D. Expert reports of William Nuttle (Appendices 1 and 2).
E. McThenia, A.W, Martin, W. K., Reynolds, J., 2017. Rising Tides and Sinking Brines:
Managing the Threat of Salt Water Intrusion. Florida Water Resources Journal 68.
F. Groundwater Tek, Inc., Review of FPLs Groundwater Flow and Salt Transport Models and Assessment of the First Year Operation of the RWS 34 (July 2020) (Attachment F).
This peer review report was also noted in the Site Specific EIS Scoping Process Summary Report for Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 3 and 4, at 16.
G. Arcadis Letter to DERM re Final Review Memorandum for the Florida Power and Light 2022 Remedial Action Annual Status Report, (Jun. 2, 2023).
H. Miami-Dade County, March 7, 2016. Report on Recent Biscayne Bay Water Quality Observations associated with Florida Power and Light Turkey Point Cooling Canal System Operations, at 4.
I.
Chin, D. A. (2015). The Cooling Canal System at the FPL Turkey Point Power Station.
J.
Expert Report of James Fourqurean, Ph.D. (Jan. 8, 2021).
K. Expert Report of Bill Powers, P.E., Powers Engineering (Nov. 3, 2023).
L. Expert Report of Dr. Robert Kopp (Nov. 7, 2023).
M. Thoms R. Knutson et al., Climate Change is Probably Increasing the Intensity of Tropical Cyclones, ScienceBrief Review (March 2021).
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