[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 135 (Tuesday, July 14, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42359-42360]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-15140]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XA276]


Endangered Species; File No. 23148

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued an Incidental Take 
Permit (ITP) (No. 23148) to Exelon Generating Company, LLC, pursuant to 
the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended, for the 
incidental take of shortnose (Acipenser brevirostrum) and Atlantic 
(Acipenser oxyrinchus) sturgeon associated with the otherwise lawful 
operation of the Eddystone Generating Station in Eddystone, PA. The 
permit is issued for a duration of 10 years.

ADDRESSES: The incidental take permit, final environmental assessment, 
and other related documents are available on the NMFS Office of 
Protected Resources website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-permit-eddystone-generating-station.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Celeste Stout, phone: (301) 427-8436; 
email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 9 of the ESA and Federal regulations 
prohibits the `taking' of a species listed as endangered or threatened. 
The ESA defines ``take'' to mean harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, 
wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any 
such conduct. NMFS may issue permits, under limited circumstances to 
take listed species when the takes are incidental to, and not the 
purpose of, otherwise lawful activities. Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA 
provides for authorizing incidental take of listed species. The 
regulations for issuing incidental take permits for threatened and 
endangered species are promulgated at 50 CFR 222.307.

Background

    Exelon Generating Company, LLC, owns Eddystone Generating Station 
(the facility), a natural gas/fuel oil-fired electric power generating 
facility that operates as a peaking plant, (i.e., typically running at 
higher levels of generation capacity during the summer and winter 
periods). The facility is located at 1 Industrial Highway Eddystone, PA 
19022. The facility presently consists of two natural gas/fuel oil-
fired electric generating units that are steam-electric generators. 
Cooling water for each unit is withdrawn from the Delaware River 
through a cooling water intake structure (CWIS), which is located along 
the west shore of the River, directly in front of the facility. Exelon 
conducted entrainment sampling at the facility in 2005-2006, 2016, and 
2017. One Atlantic sturgeon yolk-sac larva was collected in May 2017. 
Thus, Exelon determined it was necessary to apply for an ITP in 
accordance with the requirements under Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA.
    NMFS received a draft permit application from Exelon on June 28, 
2018. Based on our review of the draft application, we requested 
further information and clarification. On December 21, 2018, Exelon 
submitted an application. Based on review of the updated application, 
NMFS and Exelon held further discussions regarding what needed to be 
incorporated in the Conservation Plan. On June 21, 2019, Exelon 
submitted a revised application and Conservation Plan. This application 
was considered complete and on July 16, 2019, NMFS published a notice 
of receipt of the Exelon application for the Eddystone facility in the 
Federal Register (84 FR 33924). The comment period ended on August 15, 
2019. No comments were received. An additional notice was published in 
the Federal Register (84 FR 65970) and was published on December 2, 
2019 to allow other agencies and the public the opportunity to review 
and comment on the draft Environmental Assessment (EA). The comment 
period closed on January 2, 2020. Two comments were received on the EA. 
One commenter was opposed to the killing of any sturgeon. This is not 
consistent with the ESA, which allows for the incidental take of listed 
species if certain criteria are met and a permit is issued by NMFS. The 
other commenter seemed confused regarding the requirements of the ITP 
and advised the Agency to select the no action alternative in the draft 
EA, so that Eddystone could continue to monitor interactions with 
sturgeon. However, it is the issuance of the ITP that will require 
Eddystone to monitor interactions with sturgeon, not the no action 
alternative.

Conservation Plan

    Section 10 of the ESA specifies that no permit may be issued unless 
an applicant submits an adequate conservation plan. The conservation 
plan prepared by Exelon Generation Company, LLC, describes measures to 
monitor, minimize and mitigate the impacts of incidental takes of ESA-
listed shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon. To avoid and minimize take of 
sturgeon, Exelon will only operate Eddystone's circulating water pumps 
(CWPs): When the station is generating electricity; for incidental 
maintenance or testing (generally once per month) (referred to 
collectively as ``Essential Station Operations''); or as required by a 
governmental agency or other entity with jurisdiction to require 
operations. Depending on station generation and ambient water 
temperatures, Exelon will also limit operations to one CWP per unit 
when possible. In addition, Exelon will rely on the river water pumps 
(RWPs), which intakes less water than Eddystone's other CWP, to provide 
cooling water for other critical station operations outside of 
Essential Station Operations. These measures will avoid and minimize 
the incidental take of sturgeon due to entrainment or impingement by 
eliminating or reducing water withdrawals at times when such 
withdrawals are not specifically required for Essential Station 
Operations or for governmental agency-mandated use. Additionally, 
Exelon will make all reasonable efforts to schedule fuel oil deliveries 
outside March 15-July 15. Continued monitoring related to the take of 
shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon will be ongoing and funding will be 
provided through the facility's annual operating budget.

Permit 23148

    NMFS authorizes the following lethal incidental takes:

New York Bight DPS Atlantic Sturgeon

    Vessel Strike: 1 sub-adult/adult over 10 years.
    Entrainment: 27,000 larvae per year, which is equivalent to 2 age-1 
equivalents per year.
    Impingement: 5 young of the year (YOY)/sub-adults per year.
    Total: 1 sub-adult/adult, 270,000 larvae, and 50 YOY/sub-adults 
over 10 years.

Shortnose Sturgeon

    Impingement: 5 YOY/sub-adults per year.

[[Page 42360]]

    Total: 50 YOY/sub-adults over 10 years.
    The first 3-years of monitoring data collected under the permit 
will be analyzed to verify the requested total annual incidental take. 
As data are gathered and analyzed through monitoring, NMFS may amend 
the permit to reflect any changes in the take estimate, if appropriate.

National Environmental Policy Act

    Issuing an ESA section 10(a)(1)(B) permit constitutes a Federal 
action requiring NMFS to comply with the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) as implemented by 40 CFR parts 1500-
1508 and NOAA Administrative Order 216-6, Environmental Review 
Procedures for Implementing the National Policy Act (1999). NMFS 
prepared an EA to consider a range of reasonable alternatives and fully 
evaluate the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts likely to result 
from the authorization of this permit. NMFS found that issuing the ITP 
would have no significant impacts on the quality of the environment.

    Dated: July 9, 2020.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-15140 Filed 7-13-20; 8:45 am]
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