5/21/2014
New regs to prevent fish kills from Susquehanna water intakes could affect local power plants, factory
After years of litigation that climbed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, the federal government has announced new regulations to reduce killing of fish and other organisms at water intake structures at the Peach Bottom and Three Mile Island nuclear plants, PPL’s Brunner Island power plant and Armstrong’s ceiling plant in Marietta.
All four withdraw tens of millions of gallons of water daily from the Susquehanna River.
The new regulations cover 544 power plants around the country and 521 industrial facilities that draw at least 2 million gallons per day from rivers, lakes, estuaries and oceans, and use at least 25 percent of that for cooling.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which determined the rules under the Clean Water Act, estimates 2.1 billion fish, crabs and shrimp, alone, are killed yearly nationwide when they are pinned against water intake structures or after they are sucked inside a plant and are affected by heat, chemicals or physical stress.
The new rules offer a “common sense” and “flexible” approach for facilities, EPA said. Owners can choose among seven “best-available technology” options.
The Riverkeeper environmental group, which first sued EPA in the early 1990s over the issue, claims, “Power plants’ toll on fisheries rivals, and in some cases exceeds, that of the fishing industry.”
Environmental groups have called the large plants “aquatic slaughterhouses.”
In announcing the long-delayed rules, Nancy Stoner of EPA said, “EPA is making it clear that if you have cooling water intakes you have to look at the impact on aquatic life in local waterways and take steps to minimize that impact.”
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission applauded the new standards.
“It’s a good thing and it’s been a long time in coming,” said Mark Hartle, the agency’s aquatic resources section chief.
The PFBC had urged EPA to pass new regulations and noted water-intake mortality was impacting some rare species in the state.
In the Susquehanna, where smallmouth bass game fish have plummeted in recent years, Hartle said more protective measures are welcome.
“In the Susquehanna, any mortality to bass which we’ve worked hard to restore would be undesirable,” he said.
Since 2001, new power plants have had to use “best-available technology” in which water removed from water bodies is recycled and re-used inside the plant.
But older plants, such as Brunner Island and Armstrong, use “once-through” systems in which water is withdrawn, used for cooling, then released back into the Susquehanna River.
TMI uses a closed-cycle system. Peach Bottom has a once-through system but has an option for using the cooling towers and becoming a closed-cycle system.
Power and industrial plants need large amounts of water to produce power and cool machinery.
TMI uses about 19 million gallons of water per day.
What will the new regulations mean for the facilities here?
Officials for all say they are uncertain and are wading through the 500 pages of regulations.
PPL spokesman George Lewis said the new regulations could affect Brunner Island “significantly.”
Four years ago, PPL paid $100 million to build a cooling tower as part of a settlement with the state Department of Environmental Protection to reduce the discharge of hot water from the plant that was killing fish and aquatic life.
Lewis emphasized that the new regulations do not pose an imminent threat to the closure of Brunner Island. But he said the cost of environmental compliance is one factor PPL uses in determining the ability of the utility’s power plants to compete in the generation market in the future.
“As to the plant’s long-term future,” Lewis said, “PPL is evaluating the new regulation, as well as other EPA air, water and solid waste regulations, to determine what they mean for Brunner Island.
“We are looking at other factors, too, such as the cost and availability of natural gas.”
Ralph DeSantis issued this statement from Exelon about its TMI and Peach Bottom nuclear plants: “Exelon has actively engaged with EPA and all stakeholders over the past few years as EPA crafted the new cooling water regulations. The final rule strikes a careful balance between meaningful environmental improvements and the need to maintain electric reliability and reasonably priced power.
“We appreciate that EPA did not mandate a one-size-fits-all solution and that it has granted the states the flexibility to require cost-effective investments to ensure that we protect the ecosystems and communities that are home to our power plants.”
The push for new regulations regarding water intakes has been in and out of the courts for years. At one point, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled EPA could consider a cost-benefits ratio in determining regulations, but did not have to.
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