ML18348A763

Environmental Monitoring Fish Count Technical Specification Change

ML18348A763
Person / Time
Site:	Palisades
Issue date:	11/24/1976
From:	Bixel D Consumers Power Co
To:	Schwencer A Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
Download: ML18348A763 (4)

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• e consumers Power company 24, 1976 Director of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Att: Mr Albert Schwencer, Chief Operating Reactor Branch No 1 US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555 DOCKET 50-255 -LICENSE

-PALISADES PLfl..NT -ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING FISH COUNT TECHNICAL SJ.:>ECIFICATIONS CHANGE. Mail Sedion oockol Clerk Upon addition of cooling towers at our Palisades Plant, we agreed to undertake a_monitoring program to determine the number, size and species of fish entrained by the plant intake flow. Upon review of the program res*ults to date, we have concluded the fish.losses are insignificant and that further monitoring is net required.

Enclosed with this le.tter is a proposed change to the. Palisades Technical

• Specifications which deletes the fish monitoring program. David A Bixel Assistant Nuclear Licensing Administrator CC: JQKeppler, USNRC -------------*--*---------

• CONSUMERS POWER COMPANY Docket No 50-255

• Request for to the Technical Specifications License DPR-20 For the reasons hereinafter set forth, it is requested that the Technical Specifications contained in Provisional Operating License DPR-20, Docket 50-255, issued to Consumers Power Company on October 16, 1972, be changed as described in Section I, below. I. Changes: II. Delete Specification 4 .11. 5 ( i) in its entirety.

Discussion:

-In accordance with the requirements of Palisades Technical Specification 4.ll.5(i), a monitoring program was initiated to document the-numbers of fish impinged on the Palisades traveling screen during one 24-hour period of each week. A summary of the fish counts for 1975 and 1976 (through September) is presented in Table 1. During the first part of 1976, January through early May, Palisades was off line and no fish counts were taken. During the 1975 eight-month sampling period, a total of 448 fish ting 9 species was collected.

From May through September of 1976, a total of 236 fish representing 6 species was collected.

Of the 9 fish species collected during the '75-'76 monitoring program, only smelt and yellow perch are considered important as sport fish by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' listing of "Representative important Species" (July 25, 1974) for that zone of Lake Michigan encompassing the Palisades ity. Alewife, sculpin, spottail shiner, smelt and yellow perch are all considered important as forage fish for higher predators.

Of these five forage species, alewife, sculpin and yellow perch were the most frequently impinged species representing 71%, 22% and 3%, respectively, of the 1975 total fish counts and 66%, 23% and 8%, respectively, of the i976 total fish counts through September.

As expected, the significant drop in intake flow resulting from the main condenser cooling system modification has resulted in a very low fish ----------

pingement on the intake screens. We have therefore concluded that the --f1sh-losse*s-are-not--

suf-f-iciently-gr.eat

__ t_o wa_rrant any concern and request that the sampling program be discontinued.

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III. Conclusions:

Based on the foregoing, the Palisades Plant Review Committee has concluded this change does not involve an unreviewed safety question.

CONSUMERS POWER COMPANY Sworn and subscribed to before me this .ot]f-tlday of Not Public* Jackson County, Mi higan My commission expires July 9, 1979 ------------------------------* -* -------------------------------. -\. ------------------------

• * / Table 1. Summary of weekly 24-holir counts of fish impinged at Palisades during 1975 and 1976. 1975 Monthly Totals 1976 Monthly Totals May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec May *June July Aug Sept Species ill* ili_ ill fil_ ill ill ill Total ill fil_ .Qt.1-ill .Qt.1-Total --1. Alewife 69 221 26 1 1 0 0 1 319 33 98 21 4 0 156 2. Black bullhead 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 3. Bur bot 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4. Channel catfish 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 E) 0 6 0 0 0 5. Slimy sculpin 46 24 15 3 2 1 4 2 91 36 11 6 0 1 54 6. Smelt 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 3 4 0 0 0 0 4 7. Spottail Shiner 3 1 Q 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 8. Trout perch 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 3 0 0 0 3 9. Yellow perch 0 _]_ _l_ ....L _o_ 0 0 0 13 1 4 0 4 _2_ 18 --Number of Individuals 124 258 46 8 3 1 4 4 448 74 117 27 8 10 236 Number of Species 5 6 5 4 2 1 i 3 9 4 5 2 2 2 6 I e *Number of weekly 24-hour; fish counts made per month ** Three of the five 24-hofl' fish counts for June were for periods greater than 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br />