NC0000396_Report_20220209

DUKE
ENERGY®
PROGRESS
FedEx Tracking 774095223740
File: 12520-A, 12520-B
June 28, 2021
Water Sciences Section
Attention: Mr. Chris Johnson
NCDEQ- Division of Water Resources
1621 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1621
Antonio D. Price, PE
Plant General Manager
Asheville Combined Cycle Station
Duke Energy Progress
ASVL PL T 146 Duke Energy Lane
Arden, NC 28704
o: 828-650-0620
f. 828-650-0701
antonio.price @duke-energy.com
Subject: Duke Energy Progress Asheville Steam Electric Plant
NPDES Permit No. NC0000396
2020 Arsenic, Mercury and Selenium Monitoring of Fish in the French Broad River
Dear Mr. Johnson:
Enclosed please find the 2020 report of Monitoring of Fish in the French Broad River as required
by permit NC0000396. If you have any questions, please contact Reid Garrett at [phone]
or Teresa Williams at [phone].
I certify, under penalty of law, that this document and all attachments were prepared under
my direction or supervision in accordance with a system designed to assure that qualified
personnel properly gather and evaluate the information submitted. Based on my inquiry of
the person or persons who manage the system, or those persons directly responsible for
gathering the information, the information submitted is, to the best of my knowledge and
belief, true, accurate, and complete. I am aware that there are significant penalties for
submitting false information, including the possibility of fines and imprisonment for
knowing violations.
Sincerely,
Antonio D. Price, P.E.
Asheville Station Manager
Enclosure
cc: WQ Permitting Section — NPDES
Attention: Dr. Sergei Chernikov
NCDEQ, Division of Water Resources
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1617
Via Email PDF copy

Asheville Combined -Cycle Plant
NPDES Permit No. NC0000396
Arsenic, Mercury, and Selenium Monitoring of Fish in the French Broad River
during 2020
Buncombe County, North Carolina
Duke Energy Progress
June, 2021

Table of Contents
Page
1.0 Introduction 1
2.0 Study Site Description and Sampling Locations 1
3.0 Target Species 1
4.0 Field Sampling Methods 1
5.0 Laboratory Processing and Arsenic, Mercury, and Selenium Analysis 2
6.0 Data Analysis and Reporting 2
7.0 References 3
List of Tables
Table
Page
1 Arsenic, mercury, and selenium concentrations in axial muscle of fish from the
French Broad River during June and September 2020. 5
2 Baseline mercury and selenium concentrations in axial muscle of fish from the
French Broad River, August and November 2004 6
List of Figures
Page
Figure
1 French Broad River arsenic, mercury, and selenium monitoring locations 4

1.0 Introduction
Duke Energy Progress (DEP) owns and operates the Asheville Combined -Cycle Plant (Asheville
Plant) located on the east side of the French Broad River in Buncombe County, Arden, North Carolina.
As required by the Asheville Plant's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
Permit No. NC0000396 (current through November 30, 2023), Special Condition A. (17), monitoring
of arsenic, mercury, and selenium in fish from the French Broad River was conducted. Fish tissue
monitoring (mercury and selenium only) was originally required after Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD)
operations commenced in December of 2005. This data report is submitted to fulfill the annual
monitoring as required by the NPDES permit.
2.0 Study Site Description and Sampling Locations
Fish were collected from three locations within the French Broad River (Figure 1). These
locations were adjacent to the Asheville Plant discharge (Station DI), 6.2 kilometers upstream of
the discharge (Station UP) and 10.8 kilometers downstream of the discharge (Station DN).
3.0 Target Species
The target fish were black bass (preferred Smallmouth Bass) and sunfish (preferred Redbreast
Sunfish). Where the full complement of preferred target species was not available, Largemouth
Bass, Rock I3ass, Bluegill, and Redear Sunfish were also included as necessary (Table 1). An
attempt was made to collect 10 fish per target species during three separate sampling events. As
recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) an attempt was made to
limit the smallest fish to 75% of the largest fish total length by species depending on availability
(USEPA 2000).
4.0 Field Sampling Methods
Fish were collected using electrofishing procedures specified in the Duke Energy Environmental
Science Field Programs Quality Assurance Manual (ESFP-SW-0200, Rev. 0 and ESFP-SW-0600,
Rev. 0) which is approved by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality under the
DEP Biological Laboratory Certification (# 006). Only live fish that showed little or no signs of
deterioration were retained for analysis, put in a labeled bag and placed on ice until frozen.
Ancillary fisheries data including species, total length (mm), and total weight (g) were also
recorded. Fish collected were transferred to a freezer daily and maintained frozen until
processing at the DEP New Hill Trace Element Laboratory. Associated water quality data

including water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and specific conductance were recorded daily at
the surface at each sampling location (available on request).
5.0 Laboratory Processing and Arsenic, Mercury, and Selenium Analysis
All fish samples were processed individually and analyzed in the trace element laboratory
according to procedures ESFP-SW.0601, Rev. 0 and ESFP-SW-0602 Rev. 0. Quality control
was achieved utilizing analytical standards, replicates, and certified reference materials.
Following analysis, residual processed samples were archived and will be kept for at least two
years in the event that re -analysis is needed.
6.0 Data Analysis and Reporting
Arsenic, mercury, and selenium concentrations (converted to µg/g wet weight) in the fish muscle
tissue collected during 2020 are shown in Table 1. In addition to the length and weight of each
fish, the dry -to -wet weight ratios are presented on individual fish to convert the arsenic, mercury,
and selenium concentrations wet weight values back to dry weight values as desired. The 2004
baseline data are presented as well for comparison purposes (Table 2).
Arsenic
During 2020, all 46 fish collected at the three sample locations were well below the USEPA
recreational screening value of 1.2 µg/g for arsenic (wet weight) (USEPA 2000).
Mercury
All sunfish species collected were below the USEPA recreational screening value of 0.4 µg/g (wet
weight) for mercury (USEPA 2000). The only two Smallmouth Bass collected at Station UP, two
of the five Smallmouth Bass collected at location Station DI, and one of the six Smallmouth Bass
were above the 0.4 µg/g mercury screening value. All other fish collected were below the
mercury screening value.
Selenium
All fish collected were well below the USEPA recreational fisherman screening of 20 ttg/g (wet
weight) (USEPA 2000).

When considered altogether, it does not appear that any pattern of arsenic, mercury, or selenium
accumulation in fish tissues during 2020 existed attributable to the Asheville Plant operations or
in the French Broad River within the reach sampled (Table 2).
7.0 References
USEPA. 2000. Guidance for assessing chemical contaminant data for use in fish advisories. Vol. 1.
Fish sampling and analysis. Third edition. EPA 823-B-00-007. United States Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of Water, Washington, DC.
3

Figure 1. French Broad River arsenic, mercury, and selenium monitoring locations.
4

Table 1. Arsenic, mercury, and selenium concentrations (wet weight) in axial muscle of fish
from the French Broad River during June, October, and November 2020.
Exceedances of screening values are highlighted.
Fish Species Locations Month Length Weight As (µg/g) Hg (}tg/g) Se (µg/g) Dry -to -Wet'
(mm) (g) Weight Ratio
Redbreast Sunfish UP June 187 138 0.15 0.08 0.41 0.21
Redbreast Sunfish UP June 188 135 0.14 0.1 0.65 0.20
Redbreast Sunfish UP June 190 142 0.14 0.09 0.56 0.20
Redbreast Sunfish UP June 188 143 0.14 0.11 0.39 0.20
Redbreast Sunfish UP June 184 113 0.15 0.11 0.46 0.20
Redbreast Sunfish UP June 193 142 0.13 0.08 0.51 0.19
Redbreast Sunfish UP September 168 86 0.15 0.13 0.48 0.20
Redbreast Sunfish UP September 181 118 0.15 0.09 0.41 0.19
Redbreast Sunfish UP September 169 91 0.15 0.07 0.44 0.21
Redear Sunfish UP September 185 104 0.16 0.12 0.57 0.21
Smallmouth Bass UP June 311 410 0.16 0.72 0.44 0.19
Smallmouth Bass UP June 267 259 0.15 0.93 0.49 0.20
Rock Bass UP June 195 155 0.15 0.09 0.49 0.20
Rock Bass UP June 186 142 0.19 0.16 0.53 0.23
Largemouth Bass UP June 344 568 0.15 0.29 0.44 0.19
Largemouth Bass UP June 378 933 0.15 0.35 0.29 0.19
Largemouth Bass UP September 297 402 0.14 0.21 0.31 0.20
Bluegill DI June 145 61 0.14 0.06 0.40 0.20
Bluegill DI June 140 53 0.13 0.07 0.35 0.19
Bluegili DI September 172 113 0.16 0.10 0.70 0.20
Redbreast Sunfish D1 September 185 128 0.13 0.09 0.48 0.19
Redbreast Sunfish DI September 205 164 0.14 0.16 0.58 0.19
Redbreast Sunfish DI September 150 70 0.13 0.07 0.47 0.19
Smallmouth Bass DI June 170 170 0.15 0.14 0.38 0.20
Smallmouth Bass DI June 215 215 0.15 0.43 0.43 0.20
Smallmouth Bass DI June 237 237 0.15 0.21 0.40 0.20
Smallmouth Bass DI June 230 230 0.15 0.14 0.33 0.20
Smallmouth Bass DI September 365 365 0.19 0.42 0.34 0.22
Largemouth Bass DI June 182 182 0.13 0.15 0.29 0.19
Redbreast Suntish DN June 185 166 0.14 0.16 0.65 0.20
Redbreast Sunfish DN June 196 172 0.15 0.08 0.58 0.21
Redbreast Sunfish DN June 200 193 0.14 0.09 0.54 0.20
Redbreast Sunfish DN June 213 201 0.13 0.08 0.55 0.20
Redbreast Sunfish DN June 206 220 0.14 0.09 0.47 0.20
Redbreast Sunfish DN September 211 130 0.12 0.14 0.51 0.19
Redbreast Sunfish DN September 190 150 0.13 0.14 0.5 0.19
Redbreast Sunfish DN September 196 106 0.15 0.16 0.56 0.20
Redbreast Sunfish DN September 177 93 0.12 0.07 0.34 0.18
Bluegill DN June 164 166 0.14 0.16 0.65 0.20
Smallmouth Bass DN June 228 145 0.20 0.15 0.16 0.46
Smallmouth Bass DN June 241 185 0.19 0.23 0.14 0.48
Smallmouth Bass DN June 239 171 0.20 0.18 0.15 0.48
Smallmouth Bass DN June 219 129 0.19 0.16 0.16 0.46
Smallmouth Bass DN June 252 210 0.20 0.16 0.16 0.54
Largemouth Bass DN June 257 227 0.20 0.26 0.14 0.41
Smallmouth Bass DN September 290 247 0.24 0.42 0.20 0.50
' To convert to a dry weight, divide the wet weight concentrations by the dry -to -wet weight ratio.
5

Table 2. Baseline mercury and selenium concentrations (wet weight) in axial muscle of fish
from the French Broad River during August and November 2004.1 Exceedances of
screening values are highlighted.
Fish Species Locations Month Length Weight Hg Se Dry-to-Wet2
(mm) (g) (µg/g) (Ng/g) Weight Ratio
Smallmouth bass UP August 246 201 0.87 0.39 0.22
Smallmouth bass UP August 297 370 0.49 0.36 021
Smallmouth bass UP August 346 620 0.44 0.22 0.22
Smallmouth bass UP August 445 1,300 1.66 0.31 0.24
Smallmouth bass UP August 370 744 1.49 0.30 0.20
Redbreast sunfish UP August 172 106 < 0.18 0.28 0.20
Redbreast sunfish UP August 160 87 0-32 0.24 0.20
Redbreast sunfish UP August 145 72 < 0.27 0.39 0.30
Redbreast sunfish UP August 149 60 < 0.17 0.25 0.21
Redbreast sunfish UP August 190 160 0.12 0.32 0.20
Black redhorse UP August 372 540 <0.15 0.26 0.21
Black redhorse UP August 380 550 <0.17 0.19 0.21
Black redhorse UP August 410 790 0.53 0.26 0.20
Black redhorse UP August 413 843 0.54 0.24 0.19
Black redhorse UP August 415 989 0.40 0.30 020
Black redhorse UP August 405 863 0.46 0.30 0.20
Largemouth bass DI August 475 1,725 0.74 1.23 0.21
Largemouth bass DI August 395 611 < 0.16 1.46 0 20
Largemouth bass DI August 405 795 0.17 0.21 0.21
Smallmouth bass DI August 263 223 0.52 0.32 0.22
Smallmouth bass DI August 355 565 0.54 4.14 0.22
Smaltmouth bass DI August 374 871 0.27 0.47 0.23
Smallmouth bass DI August 368 802 0.74 0.25 0.22
Smallmouth bass DI August 440 1,300 0.99 0.45 0.22
Redbreast sunfish DI August 136 52 <0.19 3.81 0 21
Redbreast sunfish DI August 183 108 <0.17 3.61 0.19
Redbreast sunfish DI August 164 80 0 20 0.57 0.20
Redbreast sunfish DI August 182 128 < 0.15 0.69 0.19
Redbreast sunfish DI August 177 109 0.74 1.23 0.20
Redbreast sunfish DI August 149 58 <0.16 1.46 0.20
Black redhorse DI August 375 < 0.18 0.26 0.30 0.22
Black redhorse DI August 383 0.25 0.25 0.30 0.21
Black redhorse DI August 457 0.52 0.48 0.50 0.20
Black redhorse DI August 465 0.76 021 0.20 0.21
Black redhorse 'DI August 493 0.69 0.21 0.20 0.21
Black redhorse DI August 475 0.43 0.77 0.80 0.20
Black redhorse D1 November 410 <0.18 0.26 0.20 0.20
Smallmouth bass DN November 277 265 0.29 0.57 0.21
Smallmouth bass DN November 295 410 0.32 0.15 0.21
Smallmouth bass DN November 310 460 0.77 0.35 0.22
Smallmouth bass DN November 347 620 0.68 0.33 0.22
Smallmouth bass DN November 345 750 0.40 0.29 0.22
Blucgill DN August 135 59 <0.16 0.33 0.20
Redbreast sunfish DN August 162 66 0.32 0.83 020
Redbreast sunfish DN August 175 96 < 0.18 0.76 0.22
Redbreast sunfish DN August 185 139 0.25 0.31 0.19
Redbreast sunfish DN August 198 156 <0.15 0.27 0.19
Redbreast sunfish DN August 273 324 0.54 0.19 0.21
Redbreast sunfish DN August 126 46 < 0.14 0.41 0.20
Redbreast sunfish DN August 187 170 0.12 0.73 0.20
Redbreast sunfish DN August 198 154 < 0.16 0.93 0.20
Black redhorse DN August 365 509 < 0.2 0.50 0.20
Black redhorse DN August 356 518 0.1 0.30 0.20
Black redhorse DN August 375 651 < 0.2 0.80 0.20
Black redhorse DN August 395 755 < 0.2 0.50 0.20
Black redhorse DN August 388 810 0.5 0.40 0.21
Black redhorse DN August 423 910 < 0.2 0.40 0.19
Arsenic was not required by permit during baseline monitoring.
To convert to a dry weight, divide the wet weight concentrations by the dry -to -wet weight ratio.
6