NUCLEAR ENERGY INSTITUTE



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Indian Point Energy Center

The Indian Point study is LWB Environmental Services, Inc. (L.W. Barnthouse), AKRF, Inc. (D. G. Heimbuch), Van Winkle Environmental C onsulting (W. Van Winkle), and ASA Analysis & Communications, Inc. (J. Young), Entrainment and Impingement at IP2 and IP3: A Biological Impact Assessment , January 2008. The study tracked the abun dance of 21 fish species from 1974 to 2005, utilizing studies performe d under the direction and superv ision of the New York State environmental regulatory authority. Accordi ng to the study, “mortality caused by entrainment and impingement at IP2 and IP3 is negligible, pa rticularly compared to fishing mortality, and does not impair the ability of these populations to sustain themselves.” In fact, “species with relatively high susceptibility to entrainment at IP 2 and IP3 are no more likely to have declined in abundance since 1974 than are speci es with relatively low sus ceptibility to entrainment.” Moreover, “the effects of mortality at IP2 and IP3 on the survival and abundance of susceptible populations cannot be detected, ev en after 30 years of intensive monitoring. Those changes that have occurred are more likely attributable to predation by the Hudson Ri ver’s rapidly growing striped bass population.” In conc lusion, studies required by New Yo rk State have demonstrated that “entrainment and impingement associated with cooling-water withdrawals by IP2 and IP3 have not had an adverse impact on Hudson Rive r fish populations and communities.” (p. 79)

North Anna Power Station

The North Anna study is Virginia Power, Impingement and Entrainment Studies for North Anna
Power Station, 1978-1983 , prepared by the Water Quality De partment, Richmond, Virginia, May 1985. The study’s results are repeated in Dominion, North Anna Early Site Permit Application

, Revision 9 , September 2006, submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. For impingement, the study finds that, of the six sp ecies that account for 99 percent of all fish impinged, only 0.02 percent to 1.4 percent by wei ght of the “standing crop”—the localized population of fish of comparable age—of the six species, respectively, in Lake Anna, are impinged per year on average. For entrainment at the North Anna Power Station, the study finds that, among the five species entrained the most at the larval stage of deve lopment, the number of potential adult fish of these five species lost to entrainment ranges from 0.01 percent to 4.13 percent per year on average of their species’ re spective standing crops in Lake Anna. For Lake Anna, “overall, the abundance and quality of th e fishery has remained healthy and balanced despite increased fishing pre ssure and shoreline developmen t” (pp. 3-5-44, 3-5-47-8, 3-5-49-50, 3-5-53).

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Salem Nuclear Ge nerating Station

The Salem study, comprising part of its latest NPDE S water use permit ap plication, is PSEG, Salem Generating Station NJPDES Permit Renewal Application , February 1, 2006, Section 5, Adverse Environmental Impact . A convenient summary of the 14-volume application is Section 1, Memorandum in Support of Renewal Application . “Available data on the composition of the finfish community in the vicin ity of Salem from 1970 through 2004 were analyzed using widelyaccepted techniques for measuring species richness . . . and species density . . . This analysis showed that finfish species richness in the vicin ity of Salem has not changed since the startup of Salem, and that finfish species density has increased. During trawl su rveys conducted from 1999 through 2004, 27 additional finfish sp ecies were collected that had not previously been collected during PSEG’s field surveys . . . The majority of species have increased in abundance since 1998 or have experienced rates of mortality due to Sa lem during this period that are much too low to

have caused measurable reduc tions in abundance” (p. 159).

Brunswick Nuclear Plant

The Brunswick study is Carolina Power & Light, Environmental Services Section, Brunswick Steam Electric Plant 1993 Biological Monitoring Report , March 1994. The report concludes that “Biological monitoring of the Cape Fear Estuar y during 1993 continued to show that species composition, seasonality, abundance, and spatial distribution of fish and shellfish were affected by environmental variables and not operati on of the Brunswick Steam Electric Plant. Additionally, intake modifications continued to effectively redu ce the number of entrained and impinged fish and shellfish during 1993. These resu lts indicate that oper ation of the Brunswick Steam Electric Plant has had no adverse impact on fish and shellfish populations in the Cape Fear Estuary.” (p. viii)

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