DEFINING AND ASSESSING ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT FROM POWER PLANT IMPINGEMENT AND ENTRAINMENT OF AQUATIC ORGANISMS This page intentionally left blank Defining and Assessing Adverse Environmental Impact from Power Plant Impingement and Entrainment of Aquatic Organisms Editors: Douglas A. Dixon Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Palo Alto, CA, USA John A. Veil Argonne National Laboratory, Washington, DC, USA Joe Wisniewski Wisniewski & Associates, Inc., McLean, VA, USA A.A. BALKEMA PUBLISHERS LISSE / ABINGDON / EXTON (PA) / TOKYO CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300 Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742 © 2003 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business No claim to original U.S. Government works Version Date: 20140702 International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4822-8384-6 (eBook - PDF) This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. 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Schreiner, and D. Fluke Scientific and Societal Considerations in Selecting Assessment 12 Endpoints for Environmental Decision Making E.M. Strange, J. Lipton, D. Beltman, and B.D. Synder Adverse Environmental Impact: 30-year Search for a Definition 21 D.A. Mayhew, P.H. Muessig, and L.D. Jensen Uncertainty and Conservatism in Assessing Environmental 30 Impact under §316(b): Lessons from the Hudson River Case J.R. Young, and W.P. Dey A Holistic Look at Minimizing Adverse Environmental Impact 40 Under Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act J.A. Veil, M. G. Puder, D. J. Littleton, and N. Johnson Modeling Possible Cooling-Water Intake System Impacts on Ohio 56 River Fish Populations E. Perry, G. Seegert, J. Vondruska, T. Lohner, and R. Lewis A Process for Evaluating Adverse Environmental Impact by 79 Cooling-Water System Entrainment at a California Power Plant C.P. Ehrler, J.R. Steinbeck, E.A. Laman, J.B. Hedgepeth, J.R. Skalski, and D.L. Mayer Comparing Clean Water Act Section 316(b) Policy Options 103 J. Kadvany Using Attainment of the Designated Aquatic Life use to Determine 136 Adverse Environmental Impact G. Seegert Defining “Adverse Environmental Impact” and Making §316(b) 143 Decisions: a Fisheries Management Approach D.E. Bailey, and K.A.N. Bulleit Indicators of AEI Applied to the Delaware Estuary 165 L.W. Barnthouse, D.G. Heimbuch, V.C. Anthony, R.W. Hilborn, and R.A. Myers V Adverse Environmental Impact: a Consultant’s Perspective 185 A.W. Wells, and T.L. Englert Proposed Methods and Endpoints for Defining and Assessing 198 Adverse Environmental Impact (AEI) on Fish Communities/ Populations in Tennessee River Reservoirs G.D. Hickman, and M.L. Brown Minimizing Adverse Environmental Impact: How Murky the Waters? 213 R.W. Super, and D.K. Gordon Measurement Error Affects Risk Estimates for Recruitment to the 231 Hudson River Stock of Striped Bass D.J. Dunning, Q. E. Ross, S.B. Munch, and L.R. Ginzburg Use of Equivalent Loss Models under Section 316(b) of the Clean 247 Water Act. W.P. Dey A Blueprint for the Problem Formulation Phase of EPA-Type 264 Ecological Risk Assessments for 316(b) Determinations W. Van Winkle, W.P. Dey, S.M. Jinks, M.S. Bevelhimer, and C.C. Coutant Author index 291 VI VII Preface The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA, is a non-profit energy research consortium for the benefit of the energy industry, its customers, and society. The mission of EPRI’s Environment Sector is to be the pre- mier provider of timely, credible scientific and technical knowledge, tools and services to (1) inform critical policy and regulatory deliberations, (2) support cost-effective compliance, stewardship, strategic issue management and business decision-making, and (3) address longer-term sustainability issues. A current issue of major importance to the U.S. electric power industry is the develop- ment of regulations to address Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act of 1972. Section 316(b) addresses the protection of aquatic life at power plant cooling water intake structures (CWIS). CWIS affect fish and invertebrates via impingement of organisms on intake screens and entrainment of organisms, particularly early life stages (eggs and larvae), into the cooling system where they are exposed to physical, chemical and thermal stress. Historical §316(b) demonstration studies have shown that billions of aquatic organisms are annually exposed to these stresses. In accordance with our mission, EPRI has a program dedicated to providing science and technology-based solutions for aquatic life protection at CWIS. Section 316(b) states: Any standard established pursuant to section 301 or section 306 of this Act and applicable to a point source shall require that the location, design, construction, and capacity of cooling water intake structures reflect the best technology avail- able for minimizing adverse environmental impact. Over the 30 years since its enactment, there has been considerable discussion and debate among stakeholders regarding the definition of terms and implementation proc- ess for this section. Neither the legislation, nor its legislative history, defines “adverse environmental impact (AEI).” In 1976, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) proposed regulations for implementing §316(b). However, these regulations were challenged on procedural grounds and, subsequently, were formally withdrawn by USEPA. Nevertheless, in the absence of formal regulations, permit applicants, scientists, and regulators continued to rely on USEPA draft guidance publications, and also on administrative decisions in several permit proceedings, to define the §316(b) requirements for permitting CWIS during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. In the early 1990s, a coalition of U.S. environmental groups sued USEPA for failing to promulgate §316(b) regulations. In 1995, the parties entered into a Consent Decree directing USEPA to issue final regulations. USEPA divided the rulemaking process into three phases. Regulations for new facilities were issued in November 2001; regu- lations for power plants with intakes exceeding 50 MGD will be finalized in February VI VII of 2004; and regulations for CWIS at non-power plants with intake flows exceeding a volume yet to be determined will be issued in June of 2006. The proposed regulations are intended to minimize the potential AEI associated with CWIS. Minimizing AEI may include requirements affecting the design, construction, location, and capacity of CWIS that are determined to reflect the “best technology available” (BTA). One central issue in the rule-making process is the definition of AEI, including how it is assessed, endpoints for decision-making, and how it can be minimized. EPA has not defined AEI, nor have they proposed an approach for assessing environmental impact. Several alternative definitions and assessment approaches have been offered for public consideration and comment. To facilitate an exchange of information among all stakeholders in the §316(b) issue, EPRI organized a national symposium to discuss the meaning of AEI and methods for its assessment. The symposium was held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society, August 23, 2001 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Techni- cal experts in federal and state resource agencies, academia, industry, and non-govern- mental organizations attended and made presentations on AEI issues including: • Definition of AEI (including consideration of the full range of options such as indi- vidual losses, population-level impacts, fishery opportunity foregone, and disruption of aquatic community structure and function). • AEI assessment endpoints and thresholds. •