ML20039D865

Forwards Addl Info for Environ Review of Application,In Response to NRC 811130 Ltr.Response Includes Info Re 11 Species of Endangered Fresh Water Mussels Possibly Present in Vicinity of Site

ML20039D865
Person / Time
Site:	Clinch River
Issue date:	12/21/1981
From:	Longenecker J ENERGY, DEPT. OF
To:	Check P Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
NUDOCS 8201060282
Download: ML20039D865 (5)

Text

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Department of Energy -

Washington,-D.C. 20545 l Docket No. 50-537 DEC 21 1931 y

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Mr. Paul Check, Director W >d CRBRP Program Office li g gny C Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation ' O r~ , -

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission v i . ,- '

. sOf' Washington, DC 20555  ? ^

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Dear Mr. Check:

REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION - Q290.11R

Reference:

Letter P. S. Check to J. R. Longenecker, " Request for Additional Information for. Envircnmental Review of the CRBR Application,"

dated November 30, 1981 Your letter of November 30, 1981, requested additional information for the environmental review of the CRBRP application. This letter provides response to one of the areas of interest identified in that letter. This response provides information and discussion regarding 11 species of endangered fresh water mussels that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Commission indicated could be present in the vicinity of the CRBRP site.

The enclosure to this letter provides the Project's response to the request' for additional information. This response was infonnally pursued by br.

M. Masnik of NRC's environmental staff on December 10, 1981. As a result, four areas for additional input were identified. One has been satisfied and the remaining three will be fulfilled by December 23, 1981.

Sincerely, JqhnR.Long er, Manager Licensing & Environmental Assessment Office of Nuclear Energy goq .

Enclosure y!/

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'Ihe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has notified the NRC that 11 species of endangered freshwater aussels may be present in the vicinity of the CRBR site. 'Ihe 11 species of missels a .

Plethobasis cooperianus. P. cicatricosus, fusconaia cuneolus, E. f. florentina, Ianpsil_s virescens, L. o. orbiculata, l Drmus dromus, Pleurobema plenum, and Conradilla caelata.

Provide any records of any of these species taken from the Clinch River in the vicinity of the site, or frm Watts Bar Reservoir. Include the date, the location, and the number of specimens collected. Describe the program that resulted in the collection of these species. Provide a discussion on the potential for the presence of any of these species on the shallow subnerged island located in the Clinch River just downstream of the.plac ed discharge structure.

RESPONSE: -

Freshwater missel populations in the lower reach of the Clinch River have not been the specific subject of any investigation in over 50 years; however, several studies have evaluated -

macroinvertebrate fauna in the vicinity of the Clinch River Breeder Reactor Project (CRBRP) site (Project Management Corporation; 1975; Exxon Nuclear Co., Inc.,1976; WA,1979) .

Although several endangered missel species inhabit the Clinch River system, and in time past have occurred near the CRBRP site (Attachment 1), none have recently been recorded in the lower portion of the river. Recent studies by WA (1979) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (1981) identified only two silt tolerant species (Quadrula pustulosa and Anodonta sp.) in the vicinity of the site. WA divers (biologists) working at the Site have reported the benthic substrate as unsuitable for significant mussel populations with the Irajor (channel) part of the river having a bott m of bedrock and localized overbanks being c aposed of sand. Due to the limited amount of suitable substrate and the failure of several surveys to

%, N encounter significant aussel populations, potential for the  ;

occurrence of endangered mussels in the vicinity of the CRBRP

site is remote.

4 REFERENCES Exxon Nuclear Co., Inc., 1976. Nuclear Fuel Recovery and Recycling Center Envircramental Report, Vols.1, II.

Docket No. 50-564, Decenber 16, 1976.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1981. Ecological Studies of

, the Biotic Canunities in the vicinity of the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant. Envirornnental Science Division.

Pub. No. 1744, October 1981.

Project Management Corporation.1975. Clinch River Breeder Reactor Envirorsnental Report. Vols. I-II. Docket No.

50-537, April 10, 1975.

. Tennessee Valley Authority. 1979. Status of the Nonradiological Water Quality and Nonfisheries Biological i

Connunities in the Clinch River Prior to Construction of the Clinch River Breeder Reactor Plant. 1975-1979. 145 h pp.

ATDCHMENT 1 j Records of presently-listed endangered freshwater mussels collected

witnin 40 river miles of the CRBR Site (Clinch River Mile 15-17) .

i Species Stream & Site Date & Reference j

3) Fusconaia cuneolus Clinch River 1914-Ortmann, 1918 f (Solway) Rm 44 Poplar Creek Before 1918-(Roane Co.) Ortmann,1918

, mouth at Rm 12.0

Dnory River 1915-Ortmann, (Harriman) Rm 11 1918 i

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4) Fusconaia edgariana Clinch River Before 1918-(Pattons Ferry) Ortmann,1918 Poplar Creek Before 1918-(Roane Co.) at Ortmann,1918 mouth Rm 12.0 Clinch River 1915, Ortmann, (Edgemoor) Rm 48 1918

7) Plethobasis cooperianus Clinch River Before,1918-(Pattons Ferry) Ortmann,1918 Rm 14 i

'Ibnnessee River 1978-Gooch, et.al.

, Rm 595.0 1979 t Clinch River 1915-Ortmann, (Edgemoor) Rm 48 1918 (1) Drmas dramas Clinch River 1914-Ortmann, (Solway) Rm 44 1918 Clinch River 1915-Ortmann, (Edgemoor) Rm 38 1918 (5) Lampsilis orbiculata Clinch River 1914-Ortmann, (Solway) Rm 44 1918 4

Tennessee River 1978-Gooch, et.al .

Rm 588.4 1979 (6) Lampsilis virescens Emory River 1915-Ortmann, (Harriman) Rm 11 1918

,V (2) Epioblasma turgidula Doory. River 1915-Ortmann, (Harriman) Rn 11 1918 References Ortmann, A.E.,1918. 'Ihe Nayades (Freshwater Mussels) of the Upper Tennessee Drainage. With notes on synonymy and distribution.

Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 57:521-626.

Gooch, C.H., W.J. Pardue and D.C. Wade. 1979. Recent mullusk investigations of the 'Ibnnessee River,1978. Draft report of

the Water Quality and Ecology Branch, Division of Environmental Planning, 'Ibnnessee Valley Authority,126 pp.

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