NRC STAFF ANSWER SUPPORTING DOMINION'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY DISPOSITION OF CONTENTION EC 3.3.2 EXHIBITS TO THE AFFIDAVIT OF DUANE A. NEITZEL DUANE A. NEITZEL Staff Scientist, Ecology Group, Environmental Technology Division Battelle's Pacific Northwest Division EDUCATION B.A., Zoology, University of Washington, 1968 M.S., Biology, Washington State University, 1982 EXPERIENCE Mr. Neitzel is a Staff Scientist with the Ecology Group at the Battelle Pacific Northwest Division. He is the Deputy to the Manager of the Laboratory's Resource and Ecosystems Management Product Line for Natural Resource Management. He joined Battelle in 1972. His research efforts have focused on the assessment of impacts to aquatic ecosystems from the development and production of energy, and the management of hazardous wastes. Mr. Neitzel's research efforts include: * Fisheries Biology > Studying the impacts of shear and turbulence on juvenile fish to develop biological specifications for hydropower turbine design > Studying prespawning mortality in Columbia River Basin adult salmonids > Studying entrainment and impingement impacts to fish, shellfish, and plankton communities > Studying thermal tolerances of Columbia River fishes > Nuclear Power Plant Fouling Studies > Hydrogeneration Studies * Environmental Assessment > Assessing nuclear powered, fossil powered, and hydro generating electrical facilities, siting and operation > Evaluating threats to protected and endangered animals > Preparation of Biological Assessments for nuclear power plants and uranium mill tailings operations > Preparation of 316(a) demonstrations at Columbia River nuclear power plants > Providing technical (primarily aquatic) guidance for the preparation of NEPA documents for nuclear power plants, Hanford Site operations, fish hatcheries in Washington State, and fish restoration programs in California > Snake River Salmon Recovery Plan > Editing an annual Hanford Site Characterization NEPA document to provide economy to NEPA activities at Hanford > Baseline studies of the Columbia River at Hanford * Planning, assessments of, and auditing of salmon hatcheries in the Columbia River Basin > Integrated Hatchery Operations > Yakima Fisheries Project * Climate Change Studies * Preparing field guides for hazardous waste managers Mr. Neitzel has reported his work in over 100 journal articles, symposium proceedings, and technical reports. Some of his major assignments are summarized below: Fisheries Biology Impacts of Shear and Turbulence - Mr. Neitzel recently completed a study of the effects of fluid strain that occurs in shear environments on juvenile fish. The thrust of this study was to provide biological specifications that can be used in designing hydroelectric turbines. This work has been presented at meetings of the American Fisheries Society and HydroVision. It has been published in the Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. The work provides a quantified exposure strain rate that describes potential injurious effects and mortality for steelhead, rainbow trout, Chinook salmon, and American shad. Prespawning Mortality - Mr. Neitzel Managed a project for the Army Corps of Engineers to assess head injuries on returning adult salmon and steelhead that have been observed at Columbia Basin fish passage facilities. The assessment was accomplished during laboratory tests exposing juvenile salmonids to pressure regimes encountered during turbine passage and rearing the exposed fish for up to 2 years. Adult fish with headbums were collected at adult collection facilities throughout the Columbia Basin and fish were examined to identify the fungi, bacteria, and pathologies that result in mortality. The results identified a procedure for treating adults with headburns that could reduce or eliminate prespawning mortalities. Entrainment and Impingement Studies - Mr. Neitzel managed an evaluation of fish screening facilities that are being constructed in the Yakima River basin, Washington and Lemhi River basin, Idaho. The facilities are being built in irrigation canals and are designed to divert fish in the irrigation canals back to the Yakima River. The evaluation is being conducted for the Bonneville Power Administration as part of their salmonid enhancement efforts in the Columbia River basin. Mr. Neitzel participated in a 5-year study of entrainment and impingement at two water intakes on the Columbia River. Studies included estimates of impacts to phytoplankton, zooplankton, and fish. These studies were used to support the Washington Public Power Supply System's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit application. The fish studies concluded with an assessment of engineering and operational changes that eliminated significant entrainment and impingement mortalities for fish populations. In 1981, Mr. Neitzel prepared a report for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that outlines procedures for providing biological input to the design, location, and modification of water intake structures. This project concluded with a guidance manual for implementation of the procedures. Mr. Neitzel has presented the results of this regionally, nationally, and internationally, including the American Fisheries Society, an international meeting of fisheries engineers in Japan, and to the U.S. Congressional Office of Technical Assessment. Thermal Tolerance of Fish and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Studies - Mr. Neitzel has prepared 316(a) demonstrations for the Washington Public Supply System's Hanford Generating Project and the U.S. Department of Energy's N Reactor. He has also helped prepare other documents in support of the NPDES permit applications. These documents include: 1) a draft response to 31 questions from the Washington State Department of Ecology concerning the HGP application, 2) a justification for a Representative Important Species List of fish for the Columbia River near HGP, 3) a low impact rationale for all biotic categories except fish, and 4) a justification for redefining the mixing zone for the N Reactor discharge. From 1982 to 1988, Mr. Neitzel managed a project to characterize the thermal discharge from a nuclear reactor. The characterization study includes: 1) a hydrological and mathematical description of the plume for a range of reactor operating conditions and river flows; 2) laboratory studies to define the thermal tolerance of five fish populations near the thermal discharge; 3) characterization of fish distribution near the discharge; and 4) and an assessment of the potential impacts to Columbia River biota. In addition to managing the project, Mr. Neitzel is responsible for the conduct of the laboratory studies. Nuclear Power Plant Fouling Studies - Mr. Neitzel managed a team of Battelle biologists and engineers to assess fouling of nuclear power plant, service-water systems. The team prepared a "Technical Findings" document and a "Value/Impact Analysis" for improving the reliability of service-water systems at nuclear power plants. The project team first studied the correlation between biological characteristics of bivalves that promote biofouling and the engineering characteristics of service-water systems that enhance biofouling potential. Additionally, the team has studied surveillance and control techniques that are being used to prevent bivalve fouling and the interaction between potential power plant incidents and bivalve fouling. The team also studied inorganic fouling of service-water systems at nuclear power plants. The study includes an investigation of fouling and clogging by mud, silt, and corrosion products, a determination of what system components are most likely to be fouled, and an analysis of this information to improve the reliability of open cycle water systems at power plants. Hydroelectric Generation Studies - Mr. Neitzel was responsible for planning and implementing water-level fluctuation studies, a part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Hydroelectric Program. The studies included: 1) monitoring of water-level fluctuations, temperatures, and fish populations in Columbia River sloughs, and 2) laboratory tests to determine the tolerance of intergravel developmental phases of Chinook salmon and rainbow trout to dewatering. He developed a laboratory system to mimic water-level fluctuations in salmon redds that might occur from hydroelectric utilization of water resources. In 1983, Mr. Neitzel used this system to simulate Chinook salmon egg and embryo dewatering on Vemita Bar, Washington. This study was used to negotiate water releases at Priest Rapids Dam as required by Washington State Department of Fisheries and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The studies also included a test of possible mitigation techniques for dewatered chinook salmon redds. Mr. Neitzel also participated in the reservoir impact study for the Bonneville Power Administration. This study included an assessment of impacts in six Pacific Northwest storage reservoirs from water- level fluctuations. Environmental Assessments Environmental Impact Statements - Mr. Neitzel has prepared EISs related to nuclear power operations and relicensing, fish hatcheries, and fish restoration projects. Recent project include the Oconee, Arkansas Nuclear One (Units 1 and 2), North Anna Power Station, Peach Bottom Atomic Plant and St. Lucie relicensing, the Trinity River Division, California, and the Central Valley Project Improvement Act. He prepared the fisheries assessment for the Early Site Permit at the North Anna Power Station in Mineral, Virginia. He