ML17266A507

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Proposed St Lucie Plant Preoperational & Operational Biological Monitoring Program.
ML17266A507
Person / Time
Site: Saint Lucie  NextEra Energy icon.png
Issue date: 08/31/1981
From:
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
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ML17266A506 List:
References
AB-358, MONITOR1-55, NUDOCS 8110010374
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4q01+>p3lAB-358g8lSTLU1P,f"NONITOR1-55 PROPOSEOST.LUCIEPLANTPREOPERATIONAL ANDOPERATIONAL BIOLOGICAL MONITORING PROGRAMAUGUST19818ii00i03748109TOPDRADOCK05000335P~PDR ATTACHHENT 1

PROPOSEDST.LUCIEPLANTPREOPERATIONAL ANDOPERATIONAL BIOLOGICAL MONITORING PROGRAMI.GENERALTheecological baselinestudyofFloridaPower8LightCompany's (FPL),St.LucieUnitNo.1wasdesignedandimplemented bythestaffoftheFloridaDepartment ofNaturalResources MarineResearchLaboratory.

Fiveoffshoresamplingstationswereestablished (Figure1)andsamplingwasconducted fromJuly1971toAugust1974.TheseresultshavebeenreportedasSt.LuciePlantbaselinedatapreparedbytheFloridaDepartment ofNaturalResources (References 4-12).Thelastportionsofthedataanalysesandreportpreparation forthisbaselinestudyarepresently beingcompleted.

Following thesamplingforthebaselinestudy,theEnvironmental Technical Specifications (ETS)forthe'opera-tionalmonitoring program,contained intheoperating licenseforSt.LucieUnitNo.1issuedbytheNuclearRegulatory Commission (NRC),werewritten.Thesespecifications delineated thebioticcommunities tobestudiedandstatedthatsamplingwastobeconducted atthesamefivestationsestablished forthebaselinestudy.Theobjective oftheopera-tionalmonitoring studywastogatherdataforcomparison withdataobtainedduringthebaselinestudy.InMarch1976,samplingfortheoperational monitoring programwasbegunbyAppliedBiology,Inc.(ABI).Inadditiontothefivestationsestablished forthebaselinestudy,anearshore sitesouthoftheplantwasselectedasacontrolstation.Thiscontrolstationwaslocateddistantfromtheplantandtherefore awayfrompossibleinfluence fromwarmwater discharges.

Inaccordance withtheETS,collections weremade YARDSKILOMETERS 2000100001SCALE~~C~<r-N-\:;r.r'.\~~1~~1t~,\~05V4:.'G..~r,;v'I,;~'~Offshore:~.Discharge "i:::~"St.LuciPlant'-'=-':Q'IIOffshore";:!..~~"':.'..Intake04\I'~\~~4"."0m~'27'.03:"-;Vlr00Figure1,Locationofthefiveoffshoresamplingstations(1-5)established forbaselinestudyandthecontrol(C)stationdesignated fortheoperational monitoring study.

toassessbenthicorganisms,

plankton, nekton,macrophytes, waterqualityandmigratory seaturtles.Theresultsandanalysesofthesecollections havebeenreportedannually(Ref.1,2,3,16).Thefiveoffshorestationswereestablished bytheFloridaDepartment ofNaturalResources (FDNR)beforeacomprehensive evaluation oftheoffshorecurrentswasavailable.

Morerecently, watercurrentdata(Ref.14)havebeenobtainedthatindicates thatifthestationswererelocated theycouldbetterevaluatethebiological communities inareasofpotential plumeimpact.AsshowninFigure2,thepredominant surfacecurrents, andsubsequent plumeorientation fromthepointofdischarge (Station1),aretothenorth.Basedonwatercurrenteval-uationandtheresultsofthebiological monitoring programtodate,FPLbelievesthatcertainrevisions totheprogramprescribed intheETSand/orNPDESPermitareappropriate.

Theprogramdescribed hereinreflectstheserevisions andwouldbeusedbybothSt.LucieUnitNo.1(operational monitoring) andSt.LucieUnitNo.2(preoperational andoperational monitoring)-

Itisproposedthattheprogramcontinuefor2yearsafterSt.LucieUnitNo.2isoperational.

Intheregulatory schemeestablished bytheFederalWaterPollution ControlActof1972(FWPCA),33USCA551251et~se.,theEnvironmental Protection Agency(EPA)wasgivenjurisdiction overallwaterqualitymattersrelatingtonon-radiological liquideffluents.

initsYellowCreekdecision(ALAB-515),

theNRC'sAtomicSafetyandLicensing AppealBoardheldthattheNRCmaynotspecifywaterqualityrestrictions in C,ss'"I"~~4%iS~~/r~r~Ishh2fi~',0I-'0;'~h1~15)~h~'t"~~~rI~OOe~)\0%0~~s.r,0)0~bgO.rC.".;=:-F-:='~q):4~jKfO-'rr.~~rJscCI.O3'v>:,0O0I'rl~s:~.00~~-i(i...0St.'Lucre'.',,

~,s0lanI~r~.O.s.AVL'rs~~'s'040(0CPh0I~~~~6.goyFigure2.Frequency distribution ofsurfacecurrentdirection inrelationtooperational monitoring samplingstations.

excessofthoseimposedbytheEPA.OnthebasisofALAB-515andthewaterqualityeffluentlimitations andmonitoring requirements contained intheNationalPollutant Discharge Elimination System(NPDES)permitissuedbyEPApursuanttoFWPCAforSt.LucieUnitNo.1,FPLhaspeti-PtionedtheNRCforthedeletionofthermalandchemicalmonitoring requirements contained intheETSforSt.LucieUnit1.However,thisrequesttotheNRCdidnotaddresstheaquaticbiological monitoring requirements alsocontained intheSt.LucieUnitNo.1ETS.Toremovethisstateofimplicitdualregulation, FPLproposestoincorporate appropriate aquaticbiological monitoring requirements intotheNPDESpermitforSt.LucieUnits1and2andtorequesttheirdeletionfromtheUnit1ETS.(TheNRCoperating licenseandaccompanying ETSforSt.LucieUnitNo.2havenotyetbeenissued.)Theprogramdescribed belowisherewithsubmitted totheEPAforthatpurpose.II.PROPOSEDBIOLOGICAL MONITORING PROGRAM~0bective-Tomonitorthepopulations ofseaturtles,nektonicandbenthicorganisms oftheAtlanticOceanneartheplanttodetermine theextentthatplantoperations maybeinfluencing thenearshore ecosystem.

Thbilv1dii

<<h11b4termsofabundance andcomposition ofthemarinebioticcommunity and2)intermsoftherelationship betweenphysicalproperties ofthewatersandtheabundance andcomposition ofthebiological community.

Communities described belowaretobeevaluated todetermine potential alterations duetoplantoperation.

A.BenthicOranismsBenthicorganisms willbecollected quarterly andinventoried astokindand'abundance.

B.NektonicOranismsSampleswillbecollected bygillnettingoncepermonthduringAprilthroughSeptember andtwicepermonthduringOctoberthroughMarch.Kindandabundance oforganisms presentwillbedetermined.

C.Analysiswillbemadeatthesurfaceatthesametimeasthenektonsamplecollections andnearthebottomatthesametimeasthebenthicsamplecollections.

Parameters measuredwillbetemperature,'alinity; dissolved oxygenandturbidity.

D..HiratorSeaTurtlesSeaturtlenestingsurveyswillbeconducted biannually ontheFPLshoreline propertyandalongselectedcontrolbeaches..

Seaturtlesenteringtheintakewillberemoved,taggedandreleasedbackintotheoceanorracontinual basis.E.'eortinReuirements Resultsoftheaquaticbiological monitoring programshal1bereportedinanAnnualNon-Radiological Environmental Monitoring Reporttobesubmitted totheEPA.~6 14III.IMPLEMENTATION OFPROPOSEDBIOLOGICAL MONITORING PROGRAMA.Introduction Themonitoring programstudydesignoriginated andwasimplemented in1971bytheFloridaDepartment ofNa'turalResources MarineResearchLaboratory.

Thesamplingregimewasbasedontheecological information available atthetime.Samplelocations wereselectedinrelationtopredicted plumedirection, predicted plume'real extent(Ref.4)andthemajormacrohabitats knowntoexistoffHutchinson Island.Stations1,2and3werelocatedinthepredicted thermalplumearea,while4and5wereestablished asnorthandsouth'ontrolslocatedinthesamemacrohabitat asStation2(Ref.5).Since1972,extensive dataonthebiological communities neartheSt.LuciePlanthavebeenobtained(Refs.1-3,6-12,16).Additional physicaldatahavebeengatheredonwinds(Ref.-13),currents(Ref.12)andthethermalplume(Ref.15).Thesebiological andphysicalstudiesindicatethateffectsofthePSt.Luciedischarge arelimitedtosurfaceareasnearthepointofdischarge.

Theproposedstudyistherefore designedtoevaluatethebiological conditions inthenear-field areaofpotential plumeimpact.B.BenthicOranismsToassessthepotential thattherearethermaleffectsonthebenthiccommunity, quarterly sampleswillbetakenatcontrolStationBC,StationBl,andatastation(B2)tobelocatedjustnorthofthethermal plume'swarmestspot(Figure3).Fourormorereplicates willbetaken.Station2ofthecurrentprogramwillberetainedasStationC1tohelp/integrate themodifiedprogramwiththeexistingdata.Station5ofthecurrentprogramwillberetainedasStation83foratleastoneortwoyearsafterUnit2goeson-line,todocumenttheprobability thatthereisnoeffectofcbmbinedUnits1and2discharge atthislocation.

Benthicsamplingatotheroffshorestations(3and4)willbeterminated..

C.'ektonThesamplingprogramwillconsistofnearshore gillnetting.Twosamplingstationswillbeestablished neartheintakestructure andthreeinthedischarge area(Figure4).Thedischarge stationsampleswillprovidedataonnear,intermediate anddistanteffectsoftheplumeonfishdistribution.

Stationswillbelocatedinthethermalplume'swarm-estspotandapproximately 200metersand450metersfromthiswarmestspot.Thesestationswillbesampledasfollows:oncepermonthduringAprilthroughSeptember whenthecommercially important migratory speciesaregenerally notpresentoffshoretheSt.LuciePlantandtwicepermonthduringOctoberthroughMarchwhenthesespeciesarepresent.Station2(Cl)willberetainedtohelpintegrate thedatafromthemodifiedprogramwiththeexisiting data.D.MiratorSeaTurtlesSeaturtlenestingsurveyswillbeconducted biannually duringodd-numberedyearstomonitorspecies,numbersandnestingcharacteristics.

Thenestingsurveyswillbeconducted duringthesummernestingseasonon YAOSKILOMETERS VC~'P2000100001SCALE23'leQ4'01';r.'~O~~eo~~~oe'~'.:r'::1~~Vw~~5~I~rOB38~>~a~QGia'B1St.LuciPlant"Oc1.IA~O'.ITl0.'O0BC(CONTROLSTATION)~4Figure3.Locationofbenthicsamplingstations.

NST.LUCIEPOWERPLANTTl!DISCHARGE CANALT-".rLIIIIIIIIIITHERMALPLUMEIIOF5,INOTE:ThesestationswillbeorientedIasneededtomaintaintheirpositions re'lative totheplume.UnittFischarge (submerged multiport diffuser)

Unit1Discharge (submerged 2-portYdiffuser) gal@,cINTAKECANALOF2QSubmerged IntakeStructure FlINDIANRIVERI:iI!\0.5kmFigure4.Locationofgillnetstations.

theFPLshoreline propertyandalongselectedcontrolbeaches.Specifics ofthenestingsurveys,suchassamplingfrequency, andtheamountofbeachsampled,varybetweenstudyyearsandareestablished following inputfromtheappropriate stateandfederalagencies.

Seaturtleremovalfromtheintakecanalisconducted onacontinual basis.Theturtlesareremovedwithnetsfromthecanal,measuredandweighed,taggedandreleasedbackintotheocean.Theutmostcareistakensoasnottoinjuretheanimals.K.WIIW1Samplesforwaterqualityanalysiswillbecollected.

concurrently withthebiological samples.IV.SIGNIFICANT CHANGESFROtlTHEETSMONITORING PROGRAMTheETScontainaprovision formodification oftheprogrambaseduponthedataaccumulated aftertwoyearsofoperation.

Theprogrampro-posedinSectionIIabovedifferssignificantly fromthatprescribed intheSt.LucieUnitNo.1ETSinseveralrespects.

Thesechanges"andtheirbasesaredescribed below.A.Plankton-Themonthlycollection ofphytoplankton andzooplankton hasbeendeleted.

Justification Interstation comparisons haveshownthatconcentrations ofzooplankton, phytoplankton andchlorophyll agenerally havebeenhigherintheareaoftheStation1discharge thanattheotherstations, suggesting someenhancement ofplanktonconcentrations duetothethermalinput..Itisunlikelythatdifferences inplanktonconcentrations aresignificant inthehighenergy,nearshore locationunderconsideration.

Continued planktonmonitoring doesnotappeartobejustified.

B.NektonicOranisms-Collecting ofsamplesbytrawlingandseininghasbeendeletedandgillnetstationlocations havebeenrevised.Justification TheETSallowedcollection ofsamplesby"trawling, seining,orothersuitablemethod".Trawlingandbeachseiningaresamplingtech-niquesthatarehighlyselective forbottomdwellingandsurfzonedwellingforms.Duringoperational monitoring, neitherofthesecom-munitiesappearedtobeinfluenced bythethermaldischarge (Ref.3).Gillnettingobtainssamplesinthewatercolumnandisaneffective methodforcollecting sportandcommercial fishspecies.Theproposedscheduleemphasizes collections duringtheperiodoftheyearwhenmigra-toryspeciessuchasbluefish, SpanishmackerelandkingmackerelareneartheSt.LuciePlant.Stationsmovedtotheimmediate plumeareawillbetterassesstheinfluence ofthethermaldischarge onthemove-mentsoffishesinthearea.12 IC.~hh-fhqI11Ifdlqtationhasbeendeleted.Justification Thehighestdiversity ofalgae,88species,wascollected duringthethirdyearofthestudy.Thenumberofspeciescollected waslowestinearlyspringandhighestinsummerandearlyfall.Thisseasonalpatternwastypicalforsubtropical marinevegetation.

Diversity washighernearshorebecause,drift(unattached) algaewerethepredominate formsandthesewerecarriedinshorebytheprevailing windsandcurrents(Ref.3).Vegetation distribution andgrowthatallnearshore stationssur-veyedseemstobelimitedbyalackofappropriate substrate forvegeta-tionattachment.

Well-developed macrophyte communities mayoccuronisolatedrockoutcroppings, butthechancesofthecollecting dredgeencountering oneoftheseoutcroppings isremote.Becausetheattachedmacrophyte community issolimited,itisnotconsidered animportant foodsourceorhabitatfororganisms livingintheSt.Luciearea.Becauseoftheabove,thesamplingprovideslittleusefuldataandthereisnoneedforfurthermonitoring ofmacrophytes.

'13 Justification Datafromthecontrolstation,locateddistantfromtheSt.LuciePlant,werecomparedwithresultsfromstation-specific waterparameter analyses.

Datafromtheliterature formarinewatersofnearshore coastalenvironments adjacenttotheplantwerealsocomparedwiththepresentstudy.Datdcomparisons (Ref.3)indicated:

a~b.Nearlyallparameters measuredvariedsignificantly duringdif-ferentmonthsoftheyear;andTherewerenosignificant differences inparameters amongsta-tionsoratdifferent depths.Theseresultsshowthattheoperation oftheSt.LuciePlanthasnosignificant effectontheselectednutrients inthisstudy.Continued nutrientanalysesdoesnotappearwarranted.

E.MiratorSeaTurtles-Variousrequirements relatingtotheeffects.ofthedischarge thermalplumeandtemperature stress,hatchingandrearingfactorsformigratory seaturtleshavebeendeleted.Justification Therequirements oftheETShavebeensatisfied.

Areportwaspre-pared(Ref.2)andsubmitted totheNRCbyFPLletterNo.L-78-109, datedI'30March1978,thatdescribed studiesperformed todetermine theeffectsofthedischarge thermalplumeonturtlenestingpatternsandturtlehatchling swimming.

Additionally, controlstudiesontemperature stress,hatchingandrearingfactorsconducted usingturtleeggsfromdisplaced nestswerereported.

Theresu1tsofthestudiesofturtlehatchlings

.14 shownoevidencethatpotential nearshore surfacetemperatures fromtheplantwillcausepermanent impairment ormortality (Ref.2).F.Entrainment ofAvaticOranismsETS4.1-Variousrequirements

,Prelatingtoassessment oftheeffectsonplanktonic organisms ofpassagethroughtheplantcondensers havebeendeleted.Justification Theresultsoftheichthyoplankton andzooplankton samplinghavebeenpresented intheAnnualNon-Radiological Environmental Monitoring Reportsfor1976,1977,1978and1979(Ref.1,2,3,16).ThesestudiesshowthattheinshoreoceanwatersneartheSt.LuciePlantarenottypicalofaproductive fishnurseryarea.Physicalcharacteristics neededinanurseryareaareloworfluctuating salinities, silt-sand-mud bottom,andextensive bedsofrootedaquaticvegetation.

Chemically, thewatersintheSt.LuciePlantareaarehomo-geneouswithlittleseasonalvariations.

Physically, thenearshore areasarecharacterized bythepresenceofrelatively constantsalinities, shell-hash sediments andtheabsenceofsignificant macrophytic grassbeds.

Important migratory sportandcommercial fisheswerenotfoundtobespawningintheareaoftheSt.LuciePlant.Ingeneral,lowcon-centrations offisheggsandlarvaehavebeenrecordedintheintakecanal,whichconfirmsthatentrainment isnotsignificant.

Zooplankton lossesthroughentrainment arenotsignificant.

1S Basedontheabove,therequiredEntrainment Studiesneednotbeincludedintheoperational monitoring program.16 LITERATURE CITED1.ABI.1977.Ecological monitoring attheFloridaPower&LightCompany,St.LuciePlant,annualreport,1976.ReporttoFloridaPower&LightCompany,Miami,Fla.2..1978.Ecological monitoring attheFloridaPower&LightCompany,St.LuciePlant,annualreport,1977.ReporttoFloridaPower&LightCompany,Miami,Fla.3.1979.FloridaPower&LightCompany,St.LuciePlantannualnon-radiological environmental monitoring report,1978.Vol.IIandIII.Bioticmonitoring.

ReporttoFloridaPower&LightCompany,Miami,Fla.-4.FloridaPower&LightCo.1971.Hutchinson IslandplantunitNo.1environmental reportDocketNo.50-335.20May1971.FloridaPower&LightCompany,Miami,Fla..5.FloridaDepartment ofNaturalResources.

.1972.Preliminary environmental studiesofcoastalwatersnearHutchinson Island,Florida.ProgressreporttoFloridaPower&LightCompany,Miami,Fla.6.Gallagher, R.M.1977a.Nearshore marineecologyatHutchinson Island,Florida:1971-1974.

I.Rationale'nd methods.Fla.Mar.Res.Publ.No.23:1-5.7.1977b.Nearshore marineecologyatHutchinson Island,Florida:1971-1974.

II.Sediments.

Fla.Mar.Res.Publ.No.23:6-24.8.Worth,D.F.,andM.L.Hollinger.

1977.Nearshore marineecologyatHutchinson

-Island,Florida:1971-1974.

III.Physicalandchemicalenvironment.

Fla.Mar.Res.Publ.No.23:25-85.

9.Futch,C.R.,andS.E.Dwinell.1977.Nearshore marineecologyatHutchinson Island,Florida:1971-1974.

IV.Lancelets andfishes.Fla.Mar.Res.Publ.No.24:1-23.10.Camp,D.K.,N.H.Whiting,andR.E.Martin.1977.Nearshore marineecologyatHutchinson Island,Florida:1971-1974.

V.Arthropods.

Fla.Mar.Res.Publ.No.25:1-63.ll.Gallagher, R.M.,M.L.Hollinger, R.M.Ingle,andC.R.Futch.1972.MarineturtlenestingonHutchinson Islandin1971.Fla.Dept.Nat.Resour.,Mar.Res.Lab.Spec.Sci.Rept.No.37:1-11.12.Worth,D.F.,andJ.B.Smith.1976.MarineturtlenestingonHutchinson Islandin1973.Fla.Mar.Res.Publ.No.18:1-17.13.Dames&Moore.1977.Graphical andtabularwindroses.St.Lucie,Hutchinson Island,Florida,1973.ReporttoFloridaPower&LightCompany,Miami,Fla..17 LITERATURE CITED(continued) 14.Envirosphere Co.1976.St.LuciePlantsiteoceancurrentanalysis.

ReporttoFloridaPower8LightCompany,Miami,Fla.1977.Thermalevaluation study.St.LucieUnit1oceandiffuser.

ReporttoFloridaPower8LightCompany,Miami,Fla.15.16.ABI.1980.FloridaPower5LightCompany,St.LuciePlantannualnon-radiological environmental monitoring report,1979.Vol.IIandIII.Bioticmonitoring.

ReporttoFloridaPower8LightCompany,Miami,Fla.'18 ATTACHNfNT II ST.LUCIEUNITNO.2BIOLOGICAL MONITORING PROGRAM-OPERATIONAL PHASEADDITIONS Thefollowing additions totheBiological Monitoring Programsub-mittedtoEPAon3April1980arerecommended fortheprogramtoserveSt.LucieUnitNo.2intheoperational mode.d.BI11<<.~Sifts1-TddltionswillbeaddedneartheUnitNo.2discharge.

Thesestationswillbeincloseproximity tothedischarge pipewithonenorthandonesouthofthepipe.Stationswillbesampledquarterly withfourormorereplicates collected toassessthetaxonomic composition andabundanace.

Justification TheUnitNo.2discharge pipewillextend1875feetfurtheroffshorethantheUnitNo.Ipipe.Thereisahabitatandsedi-mentchangefrombeachterracegraysandnearshore(e.g.Unit1discharge area)toashellhashsubstrate intheareaofUnit2discharge.

Theongoingmonitoring programhasshownthesehabitatstosupportsomewhatdifferent communities.

Thesedifferent communities mayreactdifferently toaheateddischarge.

B.Bk.~5ifi1-1ddf1'1ffkBflltionswillbeestablished.

OnestatiopwillbeinthemiddleoftheUnitNo.2thermalplume'swarmestareaandtheother,thecontrol,about200metersupcurrent fromthiswarmestspot.Thestationswillbesamp1edoncepermonthduringAprilthrough20 September whenthecommercially important migratory speciesaregenerally notpresentoffshore.theSt.LuciePlantandtwicepermonthduringOctoberthroughMarchwhenthesespeciesarepresent.Justification Theadultfishcommunity inthedischarge plumefromUnitNo.2shouldbeexaminedtodetermine ifattraction orexclusion isoccurring.

TheSt.LucieNo.2discharge pipewillextendabout1875feetpasttheUnitNo.1pointofdischarge andthedischarged watermayinfluence fishmovementinthearea.C.~1i.~Siftsi-hyidF11bmeasuredatthesamestationsandfrequency asthebiological samples.Justification Waterqualitydeterminations aremadetosupportthebiological programandshouldbetakenconcurrently withbiological sampling.

Thisprogramwillenableanevaluation oftheimpactoftheUnitNo.2discharge tobemade.Theadditionofthesestationsandsamplinghregimestakesintoconsideration theoptionofdirecting theplantdischarge throughtheSt.LucieUnitNo.2diffuserpipeifoneunitisdown~21 A

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