ML12005A115

Enclosure 1 for ML11349A001 La Usfws Letter

ML12005A115
Person / Time
Site:	Grand Gulf
Issue date:	02/04/2011
From:	John Thomas Enercon Services
To:	Watson R US Dept of Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Drucker D, 415-6223
Shared Package
ml11356A186	List: ML12005A115
References
Download: ML12005A115 (7)

Text

ENERCON Excellence-Every projecr. Every day February 4, 2011 Mr. Russell C. Watson Supervisor U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Louisiana Field Office 646 Cajundome Blvd., Suite 400 Lafayette, LA 70506 RE : Entergy Operations, Inc. (EOI)

Grand Gulf Nuclear Station

Dear Mr. Watson ,

In 2011 , Entergy plans to apply to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for renewal of the operating license for the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station (GGNS), which is located in Claiborne County, Mississippi on the east bank of the Mississippi River at River Mile 406, approximately 25 miles south of Vicksburg , Mississippi and 37 miles north-northeast of Natchez, Mississippi. The existing license for GGNS was issued for a 40-year term that expires in 2024. If the NRC approves the application , Entergy will then have the option to continue operating GGNS until 2044. In conjunction with this effort, Enercon is gathering information on Entergy's behalf relative to this license renewal project.

The NRC requires that the license reneWal application for GGNS include an environmental report assessing potential environmental impacts from operation during the license renewal term . One of these potential environmental impacts would be the effect of license renewal on threatened or endangered species located.on the GGNS site, its immediate environs (6-mile radius) , and transmission line corridors specifically constructed to connect the plant to the existing regional transmission grid . Accordingly, the NRC requires that the environmental report for each license renewal application assess such a potential effect (10 CFR 51.53) . Later, during its review of the license renewal environmental report pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) ,

the NRC may request information from your office to ensure compliance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.

Enercon is contacting you now in order to obtain input regarding issues that may need to be addressed in the GGNS license renewal environmental report, and to assist Entergy in identifying any information your staff believes would be helpful to expedite NRC's review.

Corporat e' Head q uarters 5100 East Sk elly Drive Suite 450 Tulsa, OK 74135 phone 918.665 . 7693 tax 918.665.7232 enercon . com

Mr. Russell C. Watson Supervisor U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Louisiana Field Office Page 2 of 5 The 2,100 acre GGNS site consists primarily of woodlands and former farms as well as two lakes, Hamilton Lake and Gin Lake (see Figure 1). The land in the vicinity of the GGNS site is mostly rural. There are two transmission corridors containing a single-circuit 500-kV transmission line that were constructed to connect GGNS to the regional electricity grid (see Figure 2). These transmission corridors are considered by the NRC to be within the scope of its environmental reviews for the GGNS license renewal.

Entergy's Transmission group owns and operates these two lines. The total length of the two corridors is approximately 66 miles, and crosses Claiborne, Warren , Jefferson and Franklin Counties in Mississippi.

Based on a review of information available and previous consultations, Enercon has included Table 1 which lists federally- or state-listed threatened or endangered species within the vicinity of GGNS and the transmission corridors. However, Entergy does not expect GGNS operations during the license renewal term (an additional 20 years) to adversely affect threatened or endangered species at the station site, the immediate environs, or the transmission line corridors because license renewal will not alter existing operations. There are no plans to alter current operations during the 20-year license renewal period, and any maintenance activities necessary to support continued operation of GGNS will be limited to currently developed areas of the site. Although administrative procedural controls are in place to comply with applicable state and federal laws to preserve biological resources when facility expansion or land disturbance activities occur, no expansion is planned or needed in support of license renewal. In addition , Entergy's Transmission group has established maintenance procedures for transmission lines that involve minimal disturbance of land, wetlands, and streams and are protective of threatened or endangered species.

After your review of the information provided in this letter, I would appreciate you sending a letter detailing any concerns you have about potential impacts to threatened or endangered species or critical habitat in the area of GGNS or along the associated transmission corridors , or alternatively, confirming our conclusion that threatened of endangered species will not be adversely affected as a result of renewing the GGNS operating license for an additional 20 years. Entergy will include copies of this letter and your response in the environmental report submitted to the NRC as part of the GGNS license renewal application.

Mr. Russell C. Watson Supervisor U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Louisiana Field Office Page 3 of 5 If you have any questions, please contact me at (918) 665-7693 or through my email address, jthomas@enercon.com . Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Thank you ,

James A. Thomas Manager, Electric Utilities Environmental Services Attachment Mihi! Map 50-Mile Map cc : Rick Buckley (Entergy)

Table 1 Federal and State-Listed Species Scientific Name Common Name Federal MS LA On-Site Vicinity Transmission Status Status Status IS-mile} ROW Mammals Puma con c%r coryi Florida Panther E E E No No No Ursus americanus luteo/us Louisiana Black Bear T E T Yes Yes Yes Ursus americanus American Black Bear T E Yes Yes Yes Birds Haliaeetus leucocepha/us Bald Eagle E E Yes Yes Yes Mycteria americana Wood Stork E E Yes Yes Yes Sterna antillarum atha/assos Interior Least Tern E* E* E No Yes Yes Picoides borealis Red-Cockaded Woodpecker E E No No Yes Eudocimus a/bus White Ibis S2, S3 Yes Yes Yes Reptiles AI/igator mississippiensis American Alligator T (S/A) Yes Yes Yes Fish Scaphirhynchus a/bus Pallid Sturgeon E E E Yes . Yes No Etheostoma rubrum Bayou Darter T E No Yes No Crystal/aria asp reI/a Crystal Darter E Yes Yes No Macrhybopsis meeki Sicklefin Chub S1 Yes Yes Macroinvertebrates Potami/us capax Fat Pocketbook Mussel E E No No Yes Quadrula cylindrica Rabbitsfoot Mussel CS No Yes Yes

Table 1 (Continued)

Federal and State-Listed Species Scientific Name Common Name Federal MS LA On-Site Vicinity Transmission Status Status Status (S-mile} ROW Insects Epitheca spinosa Robust Baskettail S1 Yes Yes Plants Lindera melissifolia Pond berry E E No No Yes T =Threatened E =Endangered CS = Candidate Species S1 = Critically Imperiled in Mississippi S2 = Imperiled in Mississippi S3 = Rare or uncommon in Mississippi T (S/A) = Threatened by similarity of appearance .

• Interior least terns belong to a subspecies of least terns and are protected Federally, and by the state of Mississippi under the species name.

Sterna antillarum atha/assos is the subspecies endemic to the project region and is therefore specified above.

Figure 1 Location of GGNS, 6-Mile Radius Map J~.

Legend

--,or <i? Heli()opter Pad [ill] Urban Areas -+-- Active Railroads 11 Recreation Area

~=-~ __"!C==!",__.Miles C::J Grand Gulf Nuc lear Station (GGNS) _ La~ec and Ponds -+-- Abandoned Railroads cl Principal Hi'lloriC<l i Sil" D 6-Mile(10km)Vicinily - - HighWays, = NaturalGasLine 8 ;countYBoundary o 2 3 4

_ GGNS Bui ldings - - Other Principal Roads ' State Boundary Prepared by" F. WooIriiIi1e' Fe-bruary4, 2010 _ Existing Transm ission Corridor - - CountylLocal Roads

Figure 2 Location of GGNS, 50-Mile Radius Map "t ,

• • Miles o 5 10 15 20 rs Airports

.-... Existing Transmission Corridor

- Interstate

- U.S. Highway

~ State Highway/Road

- Natchez Trace Parkway

-+- Rail

( ) 6-Mile Radi us

_

o 50-Mil e Radius Surface Water CJ GGNS Property

[J State Wildlife Mgmt Areas I!lllffiI State Parks

~ National Forest l~::J National Wildlife Refuge

[JJ Urban Areas