NC0039586_Monitoring Report_20190307

ROY COOPER
Governor
MICHAEL S. REGAN
Secretary
LINDA CULPEPPER
Director
January 1711, 2019
Bentley K. Jones
Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant
5413 Sharon Harris Blvd
New Hill, North Carolina 27562-9300
NORTH CAROLINA
Environmental Quality
Response: Review of Duke Energy Progress, Harris Nuclear Plant (NPDES Permit NC0039586):
2017 Environmental Monitoring Report.
Dear Mrs. Hamilton:
Thank you for your recent submittal of the 2017 Environmental Monitoring Report for this facility. Based
on a review of these data, we note a few matters that require further explanation. These include:
1) The report failed to include any information on phytoplankton monitoring. The only reference to
algae is the observance of Lyngbya during the aquatic plant survey. Per Duke Energy Progress
methods, phytoplankton data are analyzed when corresponding Chl-a concentrations exceed 40
ug/L. Based on the data provided, there were 3 occasions where Chl-a values exceeded 40 ug/L,
however, the report did not include any information on the subsequent phytoplankton analysis.
2) There were several instances in the report where the reported units for Chl-a is listed in mg/L.
Chl-a data should be reported in ug/L.
3) With Harris Lake being a eutrophic system and historically supporting cyanobacterial dominance
in the phytoplankton population, I believe a review of their phytoplankton monitoring data should
be included in this report.
4) In future reports, please add segment NCTSI scores to Appendix 5. This would provide a
synopsis of annual trophic state index by lake segment and would help facilitate future reviews.
5) Page 12, Paragraph 5 should read "Black mat algae" rather than "Blat mat algae".
These matters notwithstanding, we do note that the fisheries data provided suggest that the fish
community structure present is generally comparable to other southeastern piedmont reservoirs of this
size and the limnological data provided general aligns with DEQ's data on this waterbody as well.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Cyndi Karoly
Chief, Water Sciences Section
Cc: Rick Bolich, Raleigh Regional Office
Julie Grzyb, NCDWR Complex Permitting Unit
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources
512 North Salisbury Street 1 1634 Mail Service Center I Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1634
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919.707.9000