River Herring and other fish getting 'nuked'

On March 8th JRWA filed a legal challenge against Entergy's operations at Pilgrim Nuclear Plant.  One of the significant issues at hand is the number of fish that get sucked into the plant's cooling system.  Those of us who follow the annual Jones River herring run are well aware of how imperiled river herring are in the Jones and beyond.  River herring are the third most impinged (sucked into the grates) species at Pilgrim.  In fact, based on Pilgrim's monitoring data, river herring have been impinged at Pilgrim every year from 1980 to 2010.  The total number of river herring impinged in this time period was estimated at 92,001 (68,489 alewife + 23,512 blueback herring).  Peak impingement years included:

• 1995 when alewife alone was the greatest single species impinged at the plant and total river herring impinged was 41,128 individuals (39,884 alewife + 1,244 blueback herring)
• 2010 when alewives were the second most impinged species (after Atlantic silversides) at an extrapolated total of 12,680 fish plus an additional 271 blueback herring. This is more than three times greater than the total number of fish estimated for the entire 2010 Jones River river herring population.

You can read more about the legal filing, including testimony from JRWA's Exectutive Director and Ecology Program Director, by clicking here: Cape Cod Bay Watch

GROUPS SAY ENDANGERED SPECIES AT RISK FROM ENTERGY’S PILGRIM STATION

GROUPS SAY ENDANGERED SPECIES AT RISK FROM ENTERGY’S PILGRIM STATION

Ask federal agency to assess impact on fish, whale habitat, and rare turtles

Contacts:

Jones River Watershed Association             Pilgrim Watch

          Pine duBois, 781-424-0353               Mary Lampert

          Meg Sheehan, 508-259-9154             www.pilgrimwatch.org

          www.jonesriver.org

          Entergy’s Pilgrim nuclear power station on the shores of Cape Cod Bay in Plymouth, Massachusetts may be impacting endangered species like the fin whale, loggerhead turtles, the critical habitat for the endangered Northern right whale, and river herring.  In a letter to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Jones River Watershed Association and Pilgrim Watch say the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) likely violated the federal Endangered Species Act in the relicensing process by ignoring potential impacts to the endangered species and their habitat.  Letter available at: http://www.jonesriver.blogspot.com/

            Entergy, a Louisiana based corporation, has a license to operate the Plymouth nuclear plant but it expires in June 2012.   Entergy has asked the NRC to extend the license for another 20 years.  The groups say Entergy’s license should not be extended until it upgrades the cooling water system that takes water from Cape Cod Bay and discharges harmful pollution, potentially impacting the endangered species and their habitat.

            “Since 1972, Pilgrim has been taking a half billion gallons a day of sea water from Cape Cod Bay, running it through the nuclear reactor system to cool it down, and dumping it back into the Bay.  This water is super heated and polluted.  For decades, Entergy has been sucking in and killing hundreds of thousands of fish and larvae, and millions of fish eggs and plankton every year with this process.  This is an outdated and destructive method and has created a killing zone in Cape Cod Bay,” said Pine duBois of the Jones River Watershed Association in Kingston.  “Local groups, towns, and the state are putting time and money into preserving and restoring our rivers and bays. Entergy is undermining this work with its destructive operating methods.   If Entergy wants to keeping running Pilgrim for another 20 years, it must upgrade the cooling water system to stop this unnecessary destruction of marine life and properly assess endangered species impacts.” she added. 

            "Cape Cod Bay is a national treasure.  It is critical habitat for endangered whales and some of the planet's most endangered turtles migrate through.  This year we've seen unprecedented numbers of dolphins stranded in Cape Cod Bay.  Our laws that protect these species should be rigorously upheld and actions that jeopardize these species should be thoroughly reviewed,” said Mary Lampert of Pilgrim Watch. “This is just one more way that Entergy, with the complicity of the NRC, is evading public scrutiny and federal and state requirements today, and planning to continue to do so over the next 20 years,” she added.

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Final Feasibility Study

This post backtracks a little bit. But since I didn't post much over the winter I thought it would be worthwhile to give a brief summary of some activities. I'll try to get a few more of these out over the next few weeks....

Throughout 2008 JRWA worked closely with a team of partners to conduct a feasibility study for restoration options at the Wapping Road. The project involved a big group of private, local, state, and federal partners. This included Jones River Realty Trust (the property owner), the Town of Kingston (Cons. Comm.), Division of Marine Fisheries, the Riverways Program, and NOAA Marine Fisheries. The bulk of the technical work was conducted by Milone & MacBroom Inc, a well known river restoration firm. Our study was guided by a specific set of goals for the river:

1. Restore the river habitat back to a more natural environment.
2. Reduce operation and maintenance requirements of the Wapping Road Dam.
3. Promote long-term sustainability at the dam and of the river system.
4. Avoid or mitigate impacts to the Wapping Road Bridge relative to scour and stability.
5. Create a condition that is compatible with the adjacent mill buildings, considering
structural stability as well as ongoing and future operations.
6. Pass target fish species, including alewife, blueback herring, American eel, and sea lamprey.
7. Improve the upstream water quality in the Jones River.
8. Maintain or enhance habitat for rare species that may occur in the project area.
9. Promote recreational use of the river (i.e., canoeing and kayaking).

The study assessed the engineering, biological, ecological, economic, and logistical issues surrounding a variety of alternatives for the site. The alternatives considered included doing nothing, installing a fish ladder, installing a bypass channel, installing a roughened ramp, removing portions of the dam, and removing the entire dam. After weighing the pros and cons of each alternative, it was determined that full removal of the dam would best meet the project goals.

If you want some more detail, please take a look at the Final Feasibility Study Report.