ML25077A181
| ML25077A181 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Dresden  |
| Issue date: | 02/07/2025 |
| From: | US Dept of Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service |
| To: | Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards |
| References | |
| 2025-0011149 | |
| Download: ML25077A181 (1) | |
Text
02/07/2025 18:03:57 UTC United States Department of the Interior FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE Assistant Regional Director-Ecological Services 5600 American Blvd. West Bloomington, MN 55437-1458 Phone: (612) 713-5350 Fax: (612) 713-5292 In Reply Refer To:
Project code: 2025-0011149 Project Name: Dresden Unit 2 and 3 Subsequent License Renewal Federal Nexus: yes Federal Action Agency (if applicable): Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Subject:
Technical assistance for 'Dresden Unit 2 and 3 Subsequent License Renewal'
Dear Shannon Healy:
This letter records your determination using the Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC) system provided to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) on February 07, 2025, for
'Dresden Unit 2 and 3 Subsequent License Renewal' (here forward, Project). This project has been assigned Project Code 2025-0011149 and all future correspondence should clearly reference this number. Please carefully review this letter. Your Endangered Species Act (Act) requirements are not complete.
Ensuring Accurate Determinations When Using IPaC The Service developed the IPaC system and associated species determination keys in accordance with the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA; 87 Stat. 884, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and based on a standing analysis. All information submitted by the Project proponent into IPaC must accurately represent the full scope and details of the Project. Failure to accurately represent or implement the Project as detailed in IPaC or the Northern Long-eared Bat and Tricolored Bat Range-wide Determination Key (Dkey), invalidates this letter.
Determination for the Northern Long-Eared Bat and Tricolored Bat Based on your IPaC submission and a standing analysis completed by the Service, you determined the proposed Project will have the following effect determinations:
Species Listing Status Determination Northern Long-eared Bat (Myotis septentrionalis)
Endangered May affect Tricolored Bat (Perimyotis subflavus)
Proposed Endangered May affect
Project code: 2025-0011149 IPaC Record Locator: 491-156914618 02/07/2025 18:03:57 UTC DKey Version Publish Date: 01/08/2025 2 of 12
Other Species and Critical Habitat that May be Present in the Action Area The IPaC-assisted determination key for the northern long-eared bat and tricolored bat does not apply to the following ESA-protected species and/or critical habitat that also may occur in your Action area:
Eastern Massasauga (=rattlesnake) Sistrurus catenatus Threatened Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid Platanthera leucophaea Threatened Hine's Emerald Dragonfly Somatochlora hineana Endangered Indiana Bat Myotis sodalis Endangered Lakeside Daisy Hymenoxys herbacea Threatened Leafy Prairie-clover Dalea foliosa Endangered Monarch Butterfly Danaus plexippus Proposed Threatened Salamander Mussel Simpsonaias ambigua Proposed Endangered Sheepnose Mussel Plethobasus cyphyus Endangered Western Regal Fritillary Argynnis idalia occidentalis Proposed Threatened Whooping Crane Grus americana Experimental Population, Non-Essential Critical Habitats:
Sheepnose Mussel Plethobasus cyphyus Endangered You may coordinate with our Office to determine whether the Action may cause prohibited take of the species listed above.
Conclusion Consultation with the Service is not complete. Further consultation or coordination with the Service is necessary for those species or designated critical habitats with a determination of May Affect. A May Affect determination in this key indicates that the project, as entered, is not consistent with the questions in the key. Not all projects that reach a May Affect determination are anticipated to result in adverse impacts to listed species. These projects may result in a No Effect, May Affect, Not Likely to Adversely Affect, or May Affect, Likely to Adversely Affect determination depending on the details of the project. Please contact our Assistant Regional Director-Ecological Services to discuss methods to avoid or minimize potential adverse effects to those species or designated critical habitats.
Federal agencies must consult with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) when an action may affect a listed species. Tricolored bat is proposed for listing as endangered under the ESA, but not yet listed. For actions that may affect a proposed species, agencies cannot consult, but they can confer under the authority of section 7(a)
(4) of the ESA. Such conferences can follow the procedures for a consultation and be adopted as such if and when the proposed species is listed. Should the tricolored bat be listed, agencies must review projects that are not yet complete, or projects with ongoing effects within the tricolored
Project code: 2025-0011149 IPaC Record Locator: 491-156914618 02/07/2025 18:03:57 UTC DKey Version Publish Date: 01/08/2025 3 of 12 bat range that previously received a NE or NLAA determination from the key to confirm that the determination is still accurate. Projects that receive a may affect determination for tricolored bat through the key, should contact the appropriate Ecological Services Field Office if they want to conference on this species.
Project code: 2025-0011149 IPaC Record Locator: 491-156914618 02/07/2025 18:03:57 UTC DKey Version Publish Date: 01/08/2025 4 of 12 Action Description You provided to IPaC the following name and description for the subject Action.
- 1. Name Dresden Unit 2 and 3 Subsequent License Renewal
- 2. Description The following description was provided for the project 'Dresden Unit 2 and 3 Subsequent License Renewal':
This federal action authorizes the subsequent license renewal of the Dresden Nuclear Power Station Units 2 and 3 for an additional 20-year period. The current operating license expires at midnight on December 22, 2029 for Unit 2 and January 12, 2031 for Unit 3. This renewal would extend the operating license until December 22, 2049 for Unit 2 and January 12, 2051 for Unit 3. This project will not result in any new land disturbing activities, but will involve the continuance of maintenance practices and intake/discharge operations.
The approximate location of the project can be viewed in Google Maps: https://
www.google.com/maps/@41.374162,-88.26892635660933,14z
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DETERMINATION KEY RESULT Based on the answers provided, the proposed Action is consistent with a determination of may affect for a least one species covered by this determination key.
QUALIFICATION INTERVIEW Does the proposed project include, or is it reasonably certain to cause, intentional take of listed bats or any other listed species?
Note: Intentional take is defined as take that is the intended result of a project. Intentional take could refer to research, direct species management, surveys, and/or studies that include intentional handling/encountering, harassment, collection, or capturing of any individual of a federally listed threatened, endangered or proposed species?
No Is the action area wholly within Zone 2 of the year-round active area for northern long-eared bat and/or tricolored bat?
Automatically answered No Does the action area intersect Zone 1 of the year-round active area for northern long-eared bat and/or tricolored bat?
Automatically answered No Does any component of the action involve leasing, construction or operation of wind turbines? Answer 'yes' if the activities considered are conducted with the intention of gathering survey information to inform the leasing, construction, or operation of wind turbines.
Note: For federal actions, answer yes if the construction or operation of wind power facilities is either (1) part of the federal action or (2) would not occur but for a federal agency action (federal permit, funding, etc.).
No Is the proposed action authorized, permitted, licensed, funded, or being carried out by a Federal agency in whole or in part?
Yes Is the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA),
or Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding or authorizing the proposed action, in whole or in part?
No
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Are you an employee of the federal action agency or have you been officially designated in writing by the agency as its designated non-federal representative for the purposes of Endangered Species Act Section 7 informal consultation per 50 CFR § 402.08?
Note: This key may be used for federal actions and for non-federal actions to facilitate section 7 consultation and to help determine whether an incidental take permit may be needed, respectively. This question is for information purposes only.
Yes Is the lead federal action agency the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or Federal Communications Commission (FCC)? Is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or Federal Communications Commission (FCC) funding or authorizing the proposed action, in whole or in part?
No Is the lead federal action agency the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)?
No
[Semantic] Is the action area located within 0.5 miles of a known bat hibernaculum?
Note: The map queried for this question contains proprietary information and cannot be displayed. If you need additional information, please contact your State wildlife agency.
Automatically answered No Does the action area contain any winter roosts or caves (or associated sinkholes, fissures, or other karst features), mines, rocky outcroppings, or tunnels that could provide habitat for hibernating bats?
No Does the action area contain (1) talus or (2) anthropogenic or naturally formed rock shelters or crevices in rocky outcrops, rock faces or cliffs?
No Will the action cause effects to a bridge?
Note: Covered bridges should be considered as bridges in this question.
No Will the action result in effects to a culvert or tunnel at any time of year?
No
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Are trees present within 1000 feet of the action area?
Note: If there are trees within the action area that are of a sufficient size to be potential roosts for bats answer "Yes". If unsure, additional information defining suitable summer habitat for the northern long-eared bat and tricolored bat can be found in Appendix A of the USFWS Range-wide Indiana Bat and Northern long-eared bat Survey Guidelines at: https://www.fws.gov/media/range-wide-indiana-bat-and-northern-long-eared-bat-survey-guidelines.
Yes Does the action include the intentional exclusion of bats from a building or structure?
Note: Exclusion is conducted to deny bats entry or reentry into a building. To be effective and to avoid harming bats, it should be done according to established standards. If your action includes bat exclusion and you are unsure whether northern long-eared bats or tricolored bats are present, answer Yes. Answer No if there are no signs of bat use in the building/structure. If unsure, contact your local Ecological Services Field Office to help assess whether northern long-eared bats or tricolored bats may be present. Contact a Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator (NWCO) for help in how to exclude bats from a structure safely without causing harm to the bats (to find a NWCO certified in bat standards, search the Internet using the search term National Wildlife Control Operators Association bats). Also see the White-Nose Syndrome Response Team's guide for bat control in structures.
No Does the action involve removal, modification, or maintenance of a human-made structure (barn, house, or other building) known or suspected to contain roosting bats?
No Will the action cause construction of one or more new roads open to the public?
For federal actions, answer yes when the construction or operation of these facilities is either (1) part of the federal action or (2) would not occur but for an action taken by a federal agency (federal permit, funding, etc.).
No Will the action include or cause any construction or other activity that is reasonably certain to increase average daily traffic permanently or temporarily on one or more existing roads?
Note: For federal actions, answer yes when the construction or operation of these facilities is either (1) part of the federal action or (2) would not occur but for an action taken by a federal agency (federal permit, funding, etc.)..
No
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Will the action include or cause any construction or other activity that is reasonably certain to increase the number of travel lanes on an existing thoroughfare?
For federal actions, answer yes when the construction or operation of these facilities is either (1) part of the federal action or (2) would not occur but for an action taken by a federal agency (federal permit, funding, etc.).
No Will the proposed Action involve the creation of a new water-borne contaminant source (e.g., leachate pond, pits containing chemicals that are not NSF/ANSI 60 compliant)?
Note: For information regarding NSF/ANSI 60 please visit https://www.nsf.org/knowledge-library/nsf-ansi-standard-60-drinking-water-treatment-chemicals-health-effects No Will the proposed action involve the creation of a new point source discharge from a facility other than a water treatment plant or storm water system?
No Will the action include drilling or blasting?
No Will the action involve military training (e.g., smoke operations, obscurant operations, exploding munitions, artillery fire, range use, helicopter or fixed wing aircraft use)?
No Will the proposed action involve the use of herbicides or other pesticides other than herbicides (e.g., fungicides, insecticides, or rodenticides)?
Yes Will the action include or result in herbicide use that may affect suitable summer habitat for the northern long-eared bat or tricolored bat?
Note: Additional information defining suitable summer habitat for the northern long-eared bat and tricolored bat can be found in Appendix A of the USFWS Range-wide Indiana Bat and Northern long-eared bat Survey Guidelines at: https://www.fws.gov/media/range-wide-indiana-bat-and-northern-long-eared-bat-survey-guidelines.
No
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Will the action include or cause the application or drift of pesticides (e.g., fungicides, insecticides, or rodenticides) into forested areas that are suitable summer habitat for the northern long-eared bat or tricolored bat?
Answer "Yes" if the application may result in transport (e.g., in water) or aerial drift of the pesticide into forested areas that are suitable summer habitat for the northern long-eared bat or tricolored bat.
Note: Additional information defining suitable summer habitat for the northern long-eared bat and tricolored bat can be found in Appendix A of the USFWS Range-wide Indiana Bat and Northern long-eared bat Survey Guidelines at: https://www.fws.gov/media/range-wide-indiana-bat-and-northern-long-eared-bat-survey-guidelines.
Yes Does the action area intersect the northern long-eared bat species list area?
Automatically answered Yes
[Semantic] Is the action area located within 0.25 miles of a culvert that is known to be occupied by northern long-eared or tricolored bats?
Automatically answered No
[Semantic] Is the action area located within 150 feet of a documented northern long-eared bat roost site?
Note: The map queried for this question contains proprietary information and cannot be displayed. If you need additional information, please contact your State wildlife agency.
Automatically answered No Is suitable summer habitat for the northern long-eared bat present within 1000 feet of project activities?
If unsure, answer "Yes."
Note: Additional information defining suitable summer habitat for the northern long-eared bat and tricolored bat can be found in Appendix A of the USFWS Range-wide Indiana Bat and Northern long-eared bat Survey Guidelines at: https://www.fws.gov/media/range-wide-indiana-bat-and-northern-long-eared-bat-survey-guidelines.
Yes Has a presence/probable absence summer bat survey targeting the northern long-eared bat following the Services Range-wide Indiana Bat and Northern Long-Eared Bat Survey Guidelines been conducted within the project area?
No
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Does the action area intersect the tricolored bat species list area?
Automatically answered Yes
[Semantic] Is the action area located within 0.25 miles of a culvert that is known to be occupied by northern long-eared or tricolored bats?
Note: The map queried for this question contains proprietary information and cannot be displayed. If you need additional information, please contact your State wildlife agency.
Automatically answered No Has a presence/probable absence bat survey targeting the tricolored bat and following the Services Range-wide Indiana Bat and Northern Long-Eared Bat Survey Guidelines been conducted within the project area?
No Is suitable summer habitat for the tricolored bat present within 1000 feet of project activities?
(If unsure, answer ""Yes."")
Note: If there are trees within the action area that may provide potential roosts for tricolored bats (e.g., clusters of leaves in live and dead deciduous trees, Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides), clusters of dead pine needles of large live pines) answer ""Yes."" For a complete definition of suitable summer habitat for the tricolored bat, please see Appendix A in the Service's Range-wide Indiana Bat and Northern long-eared Bat Survey Guidelines.
Yes Do you have any documents that you want to include with this submission?
No
Project code: 2025-0011149 IPaC Record Locator: 491-156914618 02/07/2025 18:03:57 UTC DKey Version Publish Date: 01/08/2025 11 of 12 PROJECT QUESTIONNAIRE
Project code: 2025-0011149 IPaC Record Locator: 491-156914618 02/07/2025 18:03:57 UTC DKey Version Publish Date: 01/08/2025 12 of 12 IPAC USER CONTACT INFORMATION Agency: Nuclear Regulatory Commission Name:
Shannon Healy Address: 11555 Rockville Pike City:
Rockville State:
MD Zip:
20852 Email shannon.healy@nrc.gov Phone:
3014156714