Final Environmental Statement Related to the Operation of Virgil C
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Top crop mark Center image left to right Top crop mark NUREG-0719 Final Environmental Statement related to the operation of Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station Unit No. 1 Docket No. 50-395 South Carolina Electric and Gas Company U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation May 1981 F• REGIJ•4 'ao SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS This Environmental Statement was prepared by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (hereafter referred to as the staff). 1. The action is administrative. 2. The proposed action is the issuance of an Operating License to the South Carolina Electric and Gas Company (the applicant) for the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station Unit I (Summer) located in Fairfield County, South Carolina, 42 km (26 miles) northwest of Columbia, South Carolina, and 1.6 km (I mile) east of the Broad River, near Parr, South Carolina. The South Carolina Public Service Authority owns a one-third interest in this generating unit. The facility employs a pressurized-water reactor (PWR) to produce up to 2775 MWt. A steam turbine-generator will use this heat to provide 900 MW (net) of electric power capacity. The plant site is adjacent to Monticello Reservoir, a 2750-ha (6800-acre) reservoir created by the applicant as part of a pumped storage hydroelectric station. 3. The information in this statement represents the second assessment of the environmental impact associated with the Summer station pursuant to the guidelines of.the National Envi- ronmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and 10 CFR Part 51 of the Commission's Code of Federal Regulations. After receiving an application for construction of this plant, the staff carried out a review of impacts that would occur during the construction and operation of this plant. This evaluation was issued as a Final Environmental Statement in January 1973. As a result of this environmental review, a safety review, an evaluation by the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, and public hearings, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (now U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission) issued a permit in March 1973 for the construction of the Summer station. As of March 24, 1981, the plant was approximately 98% complete, with a proposed fuel-loading date of August 1981. The applicant has applied for a license to operate the nuclear unit. The required safety and environmental reports to support this application were submitted in December 1976. The staff has reviewed the activities asso- ciated with the proposed operation of this plant; the potential impacts, both beneficial and adverse, are summarized as follows: a. The increased generating capacity will support the increased load demand of the combined systems and will result in increased system and regional reliability. The increased electric energy production at the Summer station will result in production cost savings in 1981 as consumption of coal or oil at existing fossil-fueled units is reduced (Sect. 7). b. Conversion of 1057 ha (2616 acres) of farmland and forestland for the plant and its transmission lines has been necessary. The area impacted is only about 0.1% of the combined forest and agricultural land use in the counties involved (Sects. 4.2 and 8.2.1). c. Plant operation and employment is not expected to create a significant local social impact. The potential exists for increased economic development and associated popu- lation growth resulting from advantageous county tax income paid by South Carolina Electric and Gas Company to Fairfield County. Increased recreational benefits will accrue from a 120-ha (300-acre) subimpoundment and eventually possibly from all of Monticello .Reservoir (Sects. 4.2 and 4.6). d. The impacts on terrestrial biota from plant operation and transmission corridor maintenance clearing will be acceptable. e. The thermal and chemical effluents from the station will comply with the requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and are not expected to significantly affect potential future recreational use of Monticello Reservoir or downstream water resources of the Broad River (Sects. 4.3 and 4.4). i f. The adverse impacts on aquatic biota of Monticello Reservoir that will occur from impingement on intake screens, entrainment through the cooling system, and imposi- tion of the thermal effluent on portions of Monticello Reservoir near the discharge canal are not expected to be critical to the biological population of the reservoir. Significant effects of the nuclear station operation are not expected to extend to Parr Reservoir or the downstream rivers (Sect. 4.4.2). g. No measurable radiological impact on man or biota is expected to result from routine operation (Sect. 4.5). The environmental risk from radiation exposure is very low. 4. The following Federal, State, and local agencies were asked to comment on this Environmental Statement: Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Department of Agriculture Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers Department of Commerce Department of Energy Department of Health, Education, and Welfare Department of Housing and Urban Development Department of the Interior Department of Transportation Environmental Protection Agency South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control South Carolina Water Resource Commission South Carolina Public Service Commission South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department Fairfield County Administrator, Winnsboro, South Carolina 5. This Final Environmental Statement was made available to the public, to the Environmental Protection Agency, and to other specified agencies in May 1981. The following organizations submitted comments on the Draft Environmental Statement, which was published in June 1979: Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers Department of the Interior Environmental Protection Agency South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control South Carolina Electric and Gas Company The following organizations submitted comments on the supplement to the Draft Environmental Statement, which was published in November 1980: Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards Council on Environmental Quality Department of Commerce Department of the Interior Environmental Protection Agency South Carolina Electric and Gas Company Washington Public Power Supply System 6. On the basis of the analysis and evaluation set forth in this statement and after weighing the environmental, economic, technical, and other benefits against environmental and economic costs, the action called for under NEPA and 10 CFR Part 51 is the issuance of an operating license for the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station Unit 1 subject to the following conditions for the protection of the environment: a. License Conditions Before engaging in operational activities that may result in a significant adverse environmental impact that was not evaluated or that is significantly greater than evaluated in this Environmental Statement, the licensee shall provide written notifi- cation of such activities to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, and receive written approval from that office before proceeding with such activities. ii b. Significant Environmental Technical Specification Requirements (1) The applicant will carry out the environmental (meteorological, radiological, and ecological) monitoring programs outlined in this Statement as modified and approved by the staff and implemented in the Environmental Protection Plan and the Radiological Effluent Technical Specifications incorporated in the operating license for the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Unit 1. Monitoring of the aquatic environment will be as specified in the NDPES permit issued by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC). (2) The applicant shall notify the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, of all cases in which the discharge limits included in the NPDES permit, are exceeded or if an application has been submitted to the permitting authority. requesting revision of the limits. (3) If, during the operating life of the plant, environmental effects or evidence of irreversible environmental damage are detected, the applicant shall provide the staff with an analysis of the problem and a proposed course of action to alleviate the problem. iii CONTENTS Page SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . FOREWORD ............................. ........................................ xv I. INTRODUCTION ......................... ................................. 1-1 1.1 HISTORY ..................... .................................... .. 1-1 1.2 PERMITS AND LICENSES .................. ........... ................... 1-1 2. THE SITE ..................... ....................................... .. 2-1 2.1 INTRODUCTION ........... ................. ......................... 2-1 2.2 REGIONAL DEMOGRAPHY AND LAND USE ........... ........................ .. 2-1 2.2.1 Population changes .............. ........................... .. 2-1 2.2.2 Changes in land use ................. ........................... 2-4 2.2.3 Changes in the local economy .............. ...................... 2-7 2.3 WATER RESOURCES ................... ................................ .. 2-10 2.3.1 Hydrologic engineering description ......... ................ 2-10 2.3.2 Water use ................. ................................ .. 2-13 2.4 METEOROLOGY ..................................... 2-14 2.4.1 Regional climatology ................. .......................... 2-14 2.4.2 Local meteorology. .............. ..........................