Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024
A.
Monitoring
requirements for impingement mortality for existing facilities. The
Department may establish monitoring requirements in addition to those specified
at section 13.C, including, for example, biological monitoring, intake velocity
and flow measurements. If the Department establishes such monitoring, the
specific protocols will be determined by the Department.
B.
Monitoring requirements for
entrainment for existing facilities. Monitoring requirements for
entrainment will be determined by the Department on a site-specific basis, as
appropriate, to meet requirements under section 13.D.
C.
Additional monitoring requirements
for existing facilities. The Department may require additional
monitoring for impingement or entrainment including, but not limited to, the
following:
(1) The Department may require
additional monitoring if there are changes in operating conditions at the
facility or in the source water body that warrant a re-examination of the
operational conditions identified in section 18.
(2) The Department may require additional
monitoring for species not subject to the BTA requirements for impingement
mortality in section 13.C. Such monitoring requirements will be determined by
the Department on a site-specific basis.
D.
Monitoring requirements for new
units at existing facilities. Monitoring is required to demonstrate
compliance with the requirements of section 13.E.
(1) The Department may establish monitoring
requirements for impingement, impingement mortality, and entrainment of the
commercial, recreational, and forage base fish and shellfish species identified
in the Source Water Baseline Biological Characterization data required by
section 18.D. Monitoring methods used must be consistent with those used for
the Source Water Baseline Biological Characterization described in section
18.D. If the Department establishes such monitoring requirements, the frequency
of monitoring and specific protocols will be determined by the
Department.
(2) If the facility is
subject to the requirements of section 13.E(1) or (2), the frequency of flow
monitoring and velocity monitoring must be daily and must be representative of
normal operating conditions. Flow monitoring must include measuring cooling
water withdrawals, make-up water, and blowdown volume. The Department may
require additional monitoring necessary to demonstrate compliance with section
13.E.
(3) If the facility is
subject to the requirements of section 13.E(2), the Owner or Operator must
monitor to demonstrate achievement of reductions commensurate with a
closed-cycle recirculating system. The Owner or Operator must monitor
entrainable organisms at a proximity to the intake that is representative of
the entrainable organisms in the absence of the intake structure. The Owner or
Operator must also monitor the latent entrainment mortality in front of the
intake structure. Mortality after passing the cooling water intake structure
must be counted as 100 percent mortality unless the Owner or Operator has
demonstrated to the approval of the Department that the mortality for each
species is less than 100 percent. Monitoring must be representative of the
cooling water intake when the structure is in operation. In addition,
sufficient samples must be collected to allow for calculation of annual average
entrainment levels of all life stages of fish and shellfish. Specific
monitoring protocols and frequency of monitoring will be determined by the
Department. The Owner or Operator must follow the monitoring frequencies
identified by the Department for at least two years after the initial permit
issuance. After that time, the Department may approve a request for less
frequent monitoring in the remaining years of the permit term and when a
subsequent permit is reissued. The monitoring must measure the total count of
entrainable organisms or density of organisms, unless the Department approves
of a different metric for such measurements. In addition, the Owner or Operator
must monitor the AIF for each intake. The AIF must be measured at the same time
as the samples of entrainable organisms are collected. The Department may
require additional monitoring necessary to demonstrate compliance with section
13.E.
(4) The Department may
require additional monitoring for impingement or entrainment at the cooling
water intake structure used by a new unit including, but not limited to, the
following:
(i) The Department may require
additional monitoring if there are changes in operating conditions at the
facility or in the source water body that warrant a re-examination of the
operational conditions identified in section 18.
(ii) The Department may require additional
monitoring for species not subject to the BTA requirements for impingement
mortality in section 13.C. Such monitoring requirements will be determined by
the Department on a site-specific basis.
E.
Visual or remote inspections.
The Owner or Operator must either conduct visual inspections or employ remote
monitoring devices during the period the cooling water intake structure is in
operation. The Owner or Operator must conduct such inspections at least weekly
to ensure that any technologies operated to comply with section 13 are
maintained and operated to function as designed, including those installed to
protect State or Federally listed threatened or endangered species or
designated critical habitat. The Department may establish alternative
procedures if this requirement is not feasible (e.g., an offshore intake,
velocity cap, or during periods of inclement weather).
F.
Request for reduced
monitoring. For facilities that are subject to section 13.C(7) and where
the facility's cooling water intake structure does not directly or indirectly
affect State or Federally listed threatened and endangered species, or
designated critical habitat, the Owner or Operator of the facility may request
the Department to reduce monitoring requirements after the first full permit
term in which these monitoring requirements are implemented, on the condition
that the results of the monitoring to date demonstrate that the Owner or
Operator of the facility has consistently operated the intake as designed and
is meeting the requirements of section 13.C.
G.
Additional monitoring related to
State or Federally listed threatened and endangered species and designated
critical habitat at existing facilities. Where the Department requires
additional measures to protect State or Federally listed threatened or
endangered species or designated critical habitat pursuant to section 13.G, the
Department will require monitoring associated with those measures.
