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:
al, and local nomenclature systems. Analysts also should identify and assess such habitats if they occur within the vicinity of the proposed and alternative sites. Table 1 lists some protected aquatic habitats and statutory bases for protection. In addition to the statutes included in Table 1, analysts should heed Executive Orders that address aquatic habitat protection. When including marine or estuarine waters, the special habitats in Table 1 are Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), per Executive Order 13158 (Ref. 21), dated May 26, 2000. The MPA Executive Order requires federal agencies to “avoid harm to the natural and cultural resources that are protected by an MPA.” Similarly, pursuant to the Coral Reef Protection Executive Order 13089 (Ref. 22), dated June 11, 1998, analysts should identify any impacts on coral reef ecosystems and propose ways to “protect and enhance the conditions of such ecosystems.” For projects that affect coral reef ecosystems, analysts should propose “measures needed to research, monitor, manage, and restore affected ecosystems.” Many aquatic habitats are highly valuable because of existence of protective mechanisms, particularly from an ecosystem rather than species-specific perspective. For example, high productivity areas are integral to the integrity of a local ecosystem’s food web. Executive Order 13158 does not cover some de facto MPAs, such as shipping lanes or the aquatic portion of an exclusion area for a nuclear power station, but these still warrant inclusion in environmental analyses and studies. Analysts should identify, describe, and assess all such valuable aquatic habitats if they occur within the vicinity of the proposed or alternative sites. Typically, analysts identify and describe aquatic habitats according to salinity, bathymetry, rugosity, substrate, flow rate and current patterns, nutrient load, turbidity, SAV, biotic community, biodiversity, tidal influence, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and other