Office of the Governor 

Robert F. McDonncll 

Governor 

June 14,201 1 

The Honorable Lisa P. Jackson 

United States Environmental Protection Agency 

Ariel Rios Building - Mail Code: 1101 A, Room 3000 

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. 

Washington, DC 20460 

Dear Administrator Jackson: 

I am writing in response to your agency's draft 316B rules, regarding cooling water 

intakes at power plants. I write on behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia to urge you to take 

another look at these regulations with an eye towards better balancing the costs of implementing 

the regulations against available environmental benefits. 

The issues raised in the rules are important from an environmental standpoint. However, 

our DEQ does not believe they rise to the level of affecting human health. Accordingly, it is 

important to protect citizens and businesses from the economic impact of excessive energy costs, 

that do not result in corresponding benefits. 

I know the regulated community is raising a host of issues with you in this regard. I write 

to highlight several that have particular salience for the Commonwealth. Briefly put, these are: 

* The need for a better-balanced provision with regard to nuclear stations, in recognition of 

the importance of these units in producing carbon free, baseload energy, and the 

immense, unnecessary cost of adding cooling towers at nuclear units (estimated in the 

billions per station); 

* The need for an appropriate cost-benefit analysis test for all power stations; the social 

impact model proposed in the rule is a novel application of a very unbalanced test that 

will likely result in the imposition of unnecessary costs unsupported by corresponding 

benefits; 

The need to provide a more flexible and achievable impingement standard for all power 

stations; 

* The need to clarify that man-made lakes built to cool power stations (nuclear and fossil 

fuel) do not constitute waters of the United States for purposes of implementation of this 

rule, as the aquatic life in these lakes only exists as a direct result of the construction of 

the power station and the associated man-made lake; 

Patrick Hcn~ Bu~lilin~ 11 11 Easr Broad Street * Richmond, Virginia 23219 

(304) 736,221 1 * TTY (800) 828-1120 
r The need to clarify that closed cycle cooling, when appropriate, or meeting the regulatory 

flow standard at either a nuclear or a fossil-fuel station, each constitutes compliance with 

the standard without the need for further controls or expensive and burdensome 

monitoring; 

The urgent need for flexibility in phasing in the entrainment studies at nuclear and fossil 

fuel stations and resulting retrofits to allow the regulated community to complete needed 

capital investments in an orderly and cost effective way, that does not undermine 

economic recovery and business growth that creates jobs. 

Safety to citizens and the environment remains our top priority in Virginia. However, we strive 

to make sure that goal is accomplished with the least intrusive means in order that services our 

citizens expect and deserve can be provided at a reasonable cost. I have asked my director of the 

Department of Environmental Quality, Mr. David Paylor, to keep me apprised of the progress of 

this rule. Thank you for considering my comments, and please feel free to contact Mr. Paylor 

with any questions. 

Sincerely. 

Robert F. McDonnell