Document: NRC Regulatory Guide
Document ID: e5306f4f-dc8c-4f60-a71c-af7ad4080384
Document Type: regulatory_guide
Title: Aquatic Environmental Studies for Nuclear Power Stations + HISTORY - HISTORY 12/2014 – DG-4023 -Proposed New Guide
Source: NRC Regulatory Guide Division 4
Source URL: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1318/ML13186A085.pdf
Revision Date: 2023-06
Chapter: 
Section ID: RG-4.24
CFR Part: 
CFR Title: 

Content:
mrose (Ludwigia spp.), water hyacinth, and hydrilla (Hydrilla spp.) as well as jellies (e.g., pink comb jelly (Beroe ovata)), anchovies (e.g., bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchelli)), cownose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus), and other animals; habitat degraders or modifiers, including nutria (Myocastor coypus) and North American beaver (Castor canadensis); and invasive species, including lionfish (Pterois volitans and P. miles), that alter trophic cascades. • Connectivity and biogeography information. A habitat description should indicate whether the habitat serves, served historically, or may serve in the future as a migration corridor for highly migratory, diadromous, potadromous, or oceanodromous species. Additionally, connectivity also is represented on smaller or various spatial scales, including post-settlement adult movement patterns, larval dispersal, or motile host species carrying larvae of invertebrates that have sessile adult stages. Examples include adult reef fish that move within a system of patch reefs, corals that spawn pelagic larvae near oceanic currents, and host fish species that transport mussel larvae within a river system. • Existing natural and anthropogenic effects. Past or ongoing natural and anthropogenic processes have altered many aquatic habitats and populations. An analyst should determine the environmental integrity (i.e., habitat and function) of a site in an ecoregion context. Examples of natural processes include formation of oxbow lakes, flash floods, tide-driven salinity changes, and some harmful algal blooms. Examples of anthropogenic effects include increased eutrophication, overfishing, pollution, dredging, and tidal restrictions. • Recent or ongoing ecological or biological studies or management on and in the vicinity of proposed and alternative sites. The description for aquatic habitat should note whether the habitat is the site of ecological investigations or management actions (and what agency or organization is conducting such