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GP Big Island, LLC INFORMATION FOR VPDES PERMIT RENEWAL APPLICATION CLEAN WATER ACT SECTION 316(B) COMPLIANCE VPDES PERMIT VA0003026 Big Island Mill – Big Island, VA October 2019 Revised November 2019 Information for VPDES Permit Renewal Application - CWA Section 316(b) Compliance GP Big Island, LLC – Big Island, VA VPDES PERMIT RENEWAL APPLICATION INFORMATION FOR 316(B) COMPLIANCE Prepared for: GP Big Island, LLC Todd R. Boykin, PE (VA) 9363 Lee Jackson Highway Principal Engineer Big Island, VA 24526 Prepared by: Arcadis U.S., Inc. 9954 Mayland Drive Suite 2400 Richmond Virginia 23233 Tel 804 740 0181 Fax 804 217 8292 Date: October 2019 Revised November 2019 This document is intended only for the use of the individual or entity for which it was prepared and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. Any dissemination, distribution or copying of this document is strictly prohibited. arcadis.com Information for VPDES Permit Renewal Application - CWA Section 316(b) Compliance GP Big Island, LLC – Big Island, VA CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................................... 1 2 SOURCE WATER PHYSICAL DATA [§122.21(r)(2)] ........................................................................... 3 2.1 Description of the Source Water Body............................................................................................ 3 2.1.1 James River ......................................................................................................................... 3 2.1.2 Water Quality ....................................................................................................................... 3 2.2 Hydrological Features of Source Waterbody .................................................................................. 4 2.2.1 Hydrology ............................................................................................................................ 4 2.2.2 Cooling Water Intake Structure Area of Influence ............................................................... 4 2.3 Locational Maps .............................................................................................................................. 5 3 COOLING WATER INTAKE STRUCTURE DATA [§122.21(r)(3)] ....................................................... 5 3.1 Narrative Description of Cooling Water Intake Structure Configuration and Location in Water Body ........................................................................................................................................................ 5 3.1.1 Cooling Water Intake Structure ........................................................................................... 5 3.2 Cooling Water Intake Structure Geographical Location ................................................................. 7 3.3 Cooling Water Intake Structure Operation ...................................................................................... 7 3.3.1 Design and Actual Intake Flows .......................................................................................... 7 3.3.2 Point of Compliance ............................................................................................................ 8 3.3.3 Design and Actual Through-Slot Velocities ......................................................................... 9 3.4 Water Balance Diagrams .............................................................................................................. 10 3.5 Engineering Drawings ................................................................................................................... 10 4 SOURCE WATER BASELINE BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION DATA [§122.21(r)(4)] ........... 11 4.1 Species in the Vicinity of the Cooling Water Intake Structure ...................................................... 11 4.1.1 Summary of the 1997 Field Study ..................................................................................... 11 4.1.2 FERC Application Commentary of Impingement and Entrainment ................................... 12 4.1.3 Freshwater Habitat Study (2010) ...................................................................................... 12 4.2 Presence of Protected, Threatened, and Endangered Species ................................................... 12 5 COOLING WATER SYSTEM DATA [§122.21(r)(5)] ........................................................................... 13 5.1 Cooling Water System Operation ................................................................................................. 13 arcadis.com i Information for VPDES Permit Renewal Application - CWA Section 316(b) Compliance GP Big Island, LLC – Big Island, VA 5.1.1 Narrative Description of Cooling Water System (CWS) and its Relationship to the Cooling Water Intake Structure (CWIS) ....................................................................................................... 13 5.1.2 Design Intake Flow Uses and Cooling Water System Operational Time .......................... 13 5.1.3 Proportion of Source Waterbody Withdrawn ..................................................................... 14 5.2 Existing Impingement and Entrainment Technologies and Operational Measures ...................... 15 6 CHOSEN METHOD(S) OF COMPLIANCE WITH IMPINGEMENT MORTALITY STANDARD [§122.21(r)(6)]....................................................................................................................................... 16 6.1.1 Design and Actual Intake Through-Screen Velocities Equal or Less Than 0.5 feet per second 16 7 ENTRAINMENT PERFORMANCE STUDY [§122.21(r)(7)] ................................................................ 17 7.1 Pre-Entrainment Mortality Studies ................................................................................................ 17 7.2 Through-Facility Entrainment Survival .......................................................................................... 18 7.2.1 Literature Review ............................................................................................................... 18 7.3 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................. 19 7.4 References .................................................................................................................................... 20 8 OPERATIONAL STATUS [§122.21(r)(8)] ............................................................................................ 21 8.1 Unit Operating Status ................................................................................................................... 21 8.2 Production Processes ................................................................................................................... 21 8.3 Production Schedules ................................................................................................................... 21 8.4 New Units Planned Within Next 5 Years ...................................................................................... 21 arcadis.com ii Information for VPDES Permit Renewal Application - CWA Section 316(b) Compliance GP Big Island, LLC – Big Island, VA 1 INTRODUCTION On August 29, 2014, revisions to Sections 122 and 125 of Chapter I, Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) were promulgated under authority of Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 316(b). This section allows for regulation of the design and operation of “cooling water intake structures” (CWIS) in the interest of protecting all lifecycle stages of fish and shellfish and “minimizing adverse environment impact”. §316(b) has been an enforceable part of the CWA since 1978, and the states have administered it, to varying degrees, through NPDES permits by applying Federal guidance, Best Professional Judgment (BPJ), and state-specific regulations and guidance. With this 2014 rulemaking, prescriptive and uniform Federal standards are now applied by the states to provide national standards to minimize adverse environmental impacts for fish and shellfish against impingement (trapped against the intake screen or within the CWIS system) and entrainment (passing through the facility’s CWIS and cooling system) by requiring states to determine Best Technology Available (BTA) for design and operation of a CWIS. Subpart J of 40 CFR 125 establishes the requirements of §316(b), which apply to any “existing” facility that owns and operates a “cooling water intake structure” (note that “new” facilities are also subject to §316(b) but with requirements different than those for “existing” facilities). To understand these terms, the following abridged definitions are provided from 40 CFR 125.92: 1) Existing facility: any facility that commenced construction on or before January 17, 2002. 2) Cooling water intake structure: the total physical structure and any associated constructed waterways used to withdraw cooling water from waters of the United States. The cooling water intake structure extends from the point at which water is first withdrawn from waters of the United States up to, and including the intake pumps. 3) Cooling water: water used for contact or non-contact cooling, including water used for equipment cooling, evaporative cooling tower makeup, and dilution of effluent heat content. Cooling water that is used in a manufacturing process either before or after it is used for