Assessment of 316(b) impacts on Ohio River fish populations

Lohner, Timothy W.; Seegert, Greg; Vondruska, Joe; Perry, Elgin S.

doi:10.1016/s1462-9011(00)00064-2

Cited by 6 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Due to this need for water, most power plants are located on rivers, lakes, oceans, and other water bodies and, as a consequence, can impact nearby fish populations. For example, cooling-water intake systems have the potential to impact aquatic organisms through impingement and entrainment (Lohner et al 2000; Perry et al 2002; Barnthouse 2013). Impingement is the entrapment of aquatic organisms on intake screens, while entrainment is the passing of aquatic organisms through these screens into the power plant cooling system.…”

Section: The Ohio River Ecological Research Programmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Descriptions of specific fish sampling techniques can be found in Lohner et al (2000) and EPRI (2007). Fish are sampled at each power plant during three sampling periods, typically in June, August, and October.…”

Section: Fish Sampling On the Ohio Rivermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, the ORERP electrofishing database from 1977 to 2003, the ORSANCO electrofishing database from 1991 through 2003 and the ORSANCO lock chamber rotenone database from 1958 through 2003 have been used to assess the potential impacts of fish impingement on the river’s fish populations (Lohner et al 2000; Perry et al 2002). Several fish species were selected for evaluation and several life history parameters (age, growth, fecundity, and age-specific survival) were used to project the populations in different river pools forward for a 50-year time period with and without fish impingement.…”

Section: Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The value of long-term environmental monitoring programs: an Ohio River case study

Lohner

Dixon

2013

Environ Monit Assess

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As a subset of environmental monitoring, fish sampling programs have been an important part of assessing the potential impacts of water withdrawals and effluent discharges on fish populations for many years. New environmental regulations often require that adverse environmental impacts to fish populations be minimized. Without long-term field data, population evaluations may incorrectly indicate adverse impacts where none exist or no impact where one is likely to occur. Several electric utility companies have funded the Ohio River Ecological Research Program, which has been in existence for over 40 years and consists of fish, habitat, and water quality studies at multiple power plant sites on the mainstem Ohio River. Sampling includes seasonal night-time electrofishing and daytime beach seining at three upstream and three downstream locations near each plant. The long-term nature of the program allows for the establishment of aquatic community indices to support evaluations of technology performance, the collaborative development of compliance metrics, and the assessment of fish population trends. Studies have concluded that the Ohio River fish community has improved in response to better water quality and that power plant fish entrainment and impingement and thermal discharges have had little or no measureable impact. Through collaboration and the use of long-term data, $6.3 million in monitoring costs have been saved during recent fish impingement studies. The ability to access a multiyear fish abundance database, with its associated data on age, growth, and fecundity, improves the quality of such evaluations and reduces the need for extensive field sampling at individual locations.

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Section: The Ohio River Ecological Research Programmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Fish Sampling On the Ohio Rivermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The value of long-term environmental monitoring programs: an Ohio River case study

Lohner

Dixon

2013

Environ Monit Assess

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“…Since 1970, fish data have been collected near several power plants on the upper and middle Ohio River as part of the Ohio River Ecological Research Program (ORERP) [13]. Over this 30-year period, data have been collected primarily near six power plant locations: While the ORERP was designed to gather information on the potential impacts of power plant operation on Ohio River biota, it did not require the collection of specific information on fecundity, recruitment, survival, or age and growth for individual Ohio River species [14]. This information was therefore obtained from the literature as noted in the following discussions.…”

Section: Data Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling Possible Cooling-Water Intake System Impacts on Ohio River Fish Populations

Perry¹,

Seegert

Vondruska

et al. 2002

The Scientific World JOURNAL

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To assess the possible impacts caused by cooling-water intake system entrainment and impingement losses, populations of six target fish species near power plants on the Ohio River were modeled. A Leslie matrix model was constructed to allow an evaluation of bluegill, freshwater drum, emerald shiner, gizzard shad, sauger, and white bass populations within five river pools. Site-specific information on fish abundance and length-frequency distribution was obtained from long-term Ohio River Ecological Research Program and Ohio River Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) electrofishing monitoring programs. Entrainment and impingement data were obtained from 316(b) demonstrations previously completed at eight Ohio River power plants. The model was first run under a scenario representative of current conditions, which included fish losses due to entrainment and impingement. The model was then rerun with these losses added back into the populations, representative of what would happen if all entrainment and impingement losses were eliminated. The model was run to represent a 50-year time period, which is a typical life span for an Ohio River coal-fired power plant. Percent changes between populations modeled with and without entrainment and impingement losses in each pool were compared to the mean interannual coefficient of variation (CV), a measure of normal fish population variability. In 6 of the 22 scenarios of fish species and river pools that were evaluated (6 species × 5 river pools, minus 8 species/river pool combinations that could not be evaluated due to insufficient fish data), the projected fish population change was greater than the expected variability of the existing fish population, indicating a possible adverse environmental impact. Given the number of other variables affecting fish populations and the conservative modeling approach, which assumed 100% mortality for all entrained fish and eggs, it was concluded that the likelihood of impact was by no means assured, even in these six cases. It was concluded that in most cases, current entrainment and impingement losses at six Ohio River power plants have little or no effect at the population level.

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“…It surely does not matter from the perspective of the fish. 24 These questions are not necessarily that difficult to answer, but some answer should be forthcoming. No obvious social values appear to decide the answer, as many people are likely unaware of the numbers of fish normally impinged and entrained as part of the power production process, and risk perceptions of how fish are killed may, for better or worse, significantly influence judgments of those outside the 316(b) debate.…”

Section: Science or Knowledge Basementioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing Clean Water Act Section 316(b) Policy Options

Kadvany

2002

The Scientific World JOURNAL

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This paper develops a comparative framework for policy proposals involving fish protection and Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Section 316(b) addresses the impingement and entrainment of fish by cooling-water intake structures used principally by steam electric power plants. The framework is motivated by examining the role of adverse environmental impacts (AEIs) in the context of Section 316(b) decision making. AEI is mentioned in Section 316(b), but not defined. While various AEI options have been proposed over the years, none has been formalized through environmental regulations nor universally accepted. Using a multiple values approach from decision analysis, AEIs are characterized as measurement criteria for ecological impacts. Criteria for evaluating AEI options are identified, including modeling and assessment issues, the characterization of ecological value, regulatory implementation, and the treatment of uncertainty. Motivated by the difficulties in defining AEI once and for all, a framework is introduced to compare options for 316(b) decision making. Three simplified policy options are considered, each with a different implicit or explicit AEI approach: (1) a technology-driven rule based on a strict reading of the 316(b) regulatory text, and for which any impingement and entrainment count as AEI, (2) a complementary, open-ended risk-assessment process for estimating population effects with AEI characterized on a site-specific basis, and (3) an intermediate position based on proxy measures such as specially constructed definitions of littoral zone, sensitive habitat, or water body type. The first two proposals correspond roughly to responses provided, respectively, by the Riverkeeper environmental organization and the Utility Water Act Group to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s proposed 316(b) new facilities rule of August 2000; the third example is a simplified form of the EPA’s proposed August 2000 new facilities rule itself. The simplified policy positions are compared using the three dimensions of the comparative policy framework: (1) the role of CWA philosophy or vision, such as the use of technology-forcing rules, (2) regulatory policy implementation, and (3) the role for scientific information and the knowledge base. Strengths and weaknesses of all three 316(b) policy approaches are identified. The U.S. EPA’s final new facilities rule of November 2001 is briefly characterized using the comparative policy framework and used to further illustrate the approach.

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Assessment of 316(b) impacts on Ohio River fish populations

Cited by 6 publications

References 8 publications

The value of long-term environmental monitoring programs: an Ohio River case study

The value of long-term environmental monitoring programs: an Ohio River case study

Modeling Possible Cooling-Water Intake System Impacts on Ohio River Fish Populations

Comparing Clean Water Act Section 316(b) Policy Options

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