ML12073A151

St. Lucie Discharge Headwall Project

ML12073A151
Person / Time
Site:	Saint Lucie
Issue date:	03/06/2012
From:	Gless J Florida Power & Light Co
To:	Logan D Division of License Renewal
References
Download: ML12073A151 (20)

Text

1 NRR-PMDA-ECapture Resource From: Gless, Jodie [Jodie.Gless@fpl.com]

Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2012 2:40 PM To: Logan, Dennis Cc: Foster, Stacy; Hollowell, Ed; Frehafer, Ken; Cocotos, Peter; Orr, Franklin; MORGAN, Gary

Subject:

St. Lucie Discharge Headwall Project Attachments:

10 year nesting totals O_N.xlsx; 2004 to 2011 M onthly Nesting Data.xlsx; Seawall Boundary Figure.pdf; FDEP CCCL Seawall Permit 12-6-11 exp 2014.pdf; PSL Discharge Headwall Project.doc; Nesting segments.pdf Hi Dennis, FPL put together a narrative explaining the need, purpose and description of the project, as well as the proposed conditions for work and the species considered. In the narrative, nesting numbers, a figure and a map are referenced. They are all attached to this email. I have also attached the FDEP CCCL permit.

Jeff Howe, from the Fish and Wildlife Service, has been involved in the project. He is aware that we are sending you the attached information. His contact information is 772-562-3909 X 283 and Jeffrey_Howe@fws.gov. Please contact me if you need any additional information.

Thank you,

Jodie Jodie Gless

Florida Power & Light Company Environmental Services 561-691-2801 office 561-358-0374 cell

Jodie.Gless@fpl.com

Table 1. The total number of sea turtle nests observed and the number marked for productivity analysisin each of the 1km zones "N" and "O" delineated by species for the past ten years.

N O N O N O N O N O N O1.2002220239 3 514 6 4 0 7 2 2 02.2003152202 210 2 7 0 312 8 1 13.2004162167 4 4 8 7 0 0 8 6 2 04.2005206204 4 51314 1 2 8 3 1 05.200692142 2 4 4 5 0 0 6 3 6 26.200714486 2 112 7 0 1 7 4 0 07.2008152172 2 6 711 0 3 7 4 0 08.2009129164 3 110 8 3 11213 1 39.201023316810 3 917 2 4 6 2 0 010.2011242301 7 82642 2 5 7 5 4 0 Cc CmDcTotal Nests ObsNests MarkedTotal Nests ObsNests MarkedTotal Nests ObsNests Marked MarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberZone O N O N O N O N O N O N O NAverage nests per year for each month2004 Cc 0 0 0 03120516550653212 0 0ZoneMarch Cm 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 3 3 2 0 1 O0.125 Dc 0 0 1 2 3 2 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 N0.3752005 Cc 0 0 0 02730759383621821 0 0April Cm 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 810 5 2 0 0 O1.5 Dc 0 0 1 1 1 3 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 N1.8752006 Cc 0 0 0 034194438502914 6 0 0May Cm 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 3 2 0 0 O26.75 Dc 0 0 0 2 1 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 N23.3752007 Cc 0 0 0 01217306029461419 1 0June Cm 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 3 4 7 0 1 O73 Dc 0 2 2 1 1 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 N78.1252008 Cc 0 0 0 02419806552481619 0 0July Cm 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 5 5 2 0 1 0 O66.25 Dc 0 0 1 2 2 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 N61.8752009 Cc 0 0 0 0 915795558451713 1 0August Cm 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 3 2 5 4 1 O25 Dc 0 1 3 3 5 4 5 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 N21.8752010 Cc 0 0 0 011195910370802830 0 1September Cm 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 7 4 6 4 2 1 O1.25 Dc 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 N0.752011 Cc 0 0 1 0502813410990792626 0 0 Cm 0 0 0 0 1 012 918 910 7 1 1 Dc 1 0 2 3 1 1 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0TOTAL NEST=

1 3121521418758462553049520017510 6

St. Lucie Discharge Headwall Project Need for the Project A series of storms and hurricanes

- Frances (2004), Jeanne (2004) and Wilma (2005)

- have caused dune and beach erosion seaward of the discharge canal of the Florida Power and Light Company (FPL) St. Lucie Nuclear Plant on Hutchinson Island in St. Lucie County.

The damage eroded a critical area in front of the discharge canal.

To protect the canal, FPL subsequently constructed several dune restoration projects, but storms have repeatedly eroded these repair attempts.

Purpose of the Project FPL proposes to protect the open coast shoreline fronting the discharge canal and northern headwall through construction of a sheet pile seawall.

The seawall will provide an immediate protective barrier against an encroaching shoreline.

In order for the work to be completed prior to the next hurricane season, work needs to be conducted during sea turtle nesting season.

Since work will be conducted on the beach, which is known sea turtle nesting habitat for leatherback, loggerhead and green sea turtles, Jeff Howe from the Fish and Wildlife Service has indicated that the project may affect and is likely to adversely affect sea turtle nesting.

An incidental take statement will be required to perform nesting relocations for construction purposes in the area of the sheet pile installation.

Description of Project A sand dune was placed seaward of the proposed seawall prior to the start of turtle nesting season (March 1). The sand restored the dune profile, which is approximately 45 feet from top to toe, and provides a stable work area for the construction of the seawall, immediately adjacent to the access road. The proposed seawall location will provide a rigid coastal structure to provide hurricane protection for FPL's St. Lucie Nuclear Plant discharge canal.

After March 1 st, an approximately 7 to 10 foot area directly adjacent to the seaward side of the wall will be required for construction of the seawall. This area is required to support the following equipment and work activities.

1. A small drill rig and associated support (wood cribbing) used to drill in the tieback rods for the seawall may encroach, or extend into this area.

2. The sheet pile installer, which rides on top of the installed sheets will extend over this area directly adjacent to the seaward side of the wall but will not be putting pressure on the sand in this area. The initial sheet installation that requires the equipment to be supported on the ground will be started on the wing walls that are west of the rigid coastal structure, i.e. the north south portion of the proposed seawall. This equipment does not use vibration or a hammer to install the sheet pile.

Reference http://www.giken.com/en/press

-in/principle/

for information on the sheet pile installation process. As an additional precaution, FPL has employed an independent engineering company, Dunkelberger Engineering, to perform vibration monitoring during the installation proce ss.

3. Some minor excavation, less than 4

-5 feet in depth along the length of the wall will be required for form work and installation of the concrete tie beam at the top of the sea wall.

4. All other work in this 7

-10 ft area directly adjacent to the seaward side of the wall will be construction foot traffic and hand tools, associated with installation of the tieback rods, and construction of the concrete tie beams.

Other than the work described above, the construction of the seawall will be able to be supported from the west side of the rigid coastal structure, i.e. the north south portion of the proposed seawall.

To provide a safe work area for people that may be walking on the beach and to provide a visible boundary of the work area for the contractor, FP L may install a fence approximately 10 ft east of the proposed location of the seawall. See attached "Seawall Boundary Figure" for location of proposed fence, identified as turtle barrier on the sketch.

The seawall sheet pile and anchor installation is scheduled to be completed prior to May 1 st, with the remainder of the work, i.e.

- concrete cap, anchor tensioning, and sheet pile bracing, scheduled to be complete by the middle of June.

Proposed conditions for work

As of March 1 and not later than April 30, FPL may conduct work on the beach under the following conditions:

o Work activities may occur no farther than 10 ft seaward of the coastal structure.

o No open trenches shall be left unattended.

Any trenches open at the end of the workday shall be filled in to grade. o The work area will be surveyed in accordance with the sea turtle protection plan prepared for St. Lucie County Development Review Board and provided as part of the permit application package. Night time turtle monitoring will be performed as requested by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

o All nests within the ongoing construction survey area (600 feet) shall be marked with a protective barrier.

o If a nest occurs in zones O or N, specific marking requirements will be determined on a case-by-case basis through consultation with FWC/FWS.

o No nest may be relocated to accommodate construction activity unless an incidental take statement to relocate nest is obtained from FWS. If an incidental take statement is obtained, FPL will coordinate with FWC and FWS prior to nest relocation.

o FWC and FWS shall be contacted if a sea turtle emergence occurs in the project area during the construction period, including final dune planting activities.

o If FPL chooses to construct a fence to limit public access to the work area The fence will include posts imbedded in the sand (including no concrete or other similar post support material) spaced approximately 8 to 10 ft apart. The fence material will comprise orange plastic fencing or chain link fencing.

At sundown the fencing bottom elevation must occur no less than three feet above the surface of the beach/dune. The fence should be removed, rolled up, or otherwise modified to ensure night access to nesting sea turtles.

As of May 1, no work will occur seaward of the seawall except as described below. Work may continue without restriction landward of the seawall.

o As of May 1 and no later than May 30, excavation may occur up to 2 feet seaward of the installed sheetpile to allow for construction of the seawall cap. All excavation shall be done by hand, and all pits/trenches shall be filled to grade by hand no later than sunset each day. o FPL shall instruct the contractor to finish the more seaward sections of cap (those sections of the seawall cap parallel to the shoreline) first, then complete cap work on the wing walls extending landward. All excavation work for cap construction shall be completed by May 30.

o After May 30 only dune planting may occur seaward of the wall.

o The work area will be surveyed in accordance with the sea turtle protection plan prepared for St. Lucie County Development Review Board and provided as part of the permit application package. Night time turtle monitoring will be performed as requested by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

o All nests within the ongoing construction survey area (600 feet) shall be marked with a protective barrier.

o If a nest occurs in zones O or N, specific marking requirements will be determined on a case-by-case basis through consultation with FWC/FWS.

o No nest may be relocated to accommodate construction activity unless an incidental take statement to relocate nest is obtained from FWS. If an incidental take statement is obtained, FPL will coordinate with FWC and FWS prior to nest relocation.

FWC and FWS shall be contacted if a sea turtle emergence occurs in the project area during the construction period, including final dune planting activities.

FPL will send FWC and FDEP permit compliance manager for the project a weekly email updating progress on the project.

Turtle survey will continue through the entire nesting season.

Species Considered

As stated earlier, the project area is known nesting habitat for leatherback, loggerhead and green sea turtles. The beach is separated into 1km segments for monitoring purposes. Since the border between N and O is directly in front of the discharge canal, the proposed project is located in both of the segments (see attached map).

Spreadsheets have been provided with nesting data for all three species in the 1km beach segments N and O. However, it is worth noting that the construction will only take place on 400 ft (North to South) of the beach

. If a sea turtle was to nest in a location within the project area where it could be disturbed, a relocation of the eggs to another area would be recommended.

1. 0#0R-81R-81PROJECTBOUNDARIESST.LUCIENUCLEARPOWERPLANDISCHARGECANALHEADWALLSTABILIZATIONPROJECTST.LUCIECOUNTY,FLTAYLORENGINEERINGINC.10151DEERWOODPARKBLVDBLDG300SUITE300JACKSONVILLE,FL32256C2009-088 RCFEB2012DRAWNBYDATEDISCHARGECANALPERIMETERROADATLANTICOCEANPROJECT ELEGEND#0FDEPR-MONUMENTSWORKLIMITSDUNEPRESERVATIONZONEPERIMETERROADSILTFENCEPROPOSEDSEAWALLTURTLEBARRIER(10'seawardofseawall)PROPOSEDDUNEFILL60060120Feet PROJECT BOUNDARIES:

ST. LUCIE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT DISCHARGE CANAL HEADWALL STABILIZATION PROJECT ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FL