La. Admin. Code tit. 33 § IX-4709

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024

Section IX-4709 - As an owner or operator of a new facility, what must I do to comply with this Subchapter?

A. The owner or operator of a new facility may be required to comply with Subsection E of this Section, and must comply with the requirements of either:

1. Track I in Subsection B or C of this Section; or

2. Track II in Subsection D of this Section.

B. Track I Requirements for New Facilities That Withdraw Equal to or Greater than 10 MGD. For these facilities, you must comply with all of the following requirements.

1. You must reduce your intake flow, at a minimum, to a level commensurate with that which can be attained by a closed-cycle recirculating cooling water system.

2. You must design and construct each cooling water intake structure at your facility to a maximum through-screen design intake velocity of 0.5 ft/s.

3. You must design and construct your cooling water intake structure so that the total design intake flow from all cooling water intake structures at your facility meets the following requirements.

a. For cooling water intake structures located in a freshwater river or stream, the total design intake flow must be no greater than 5 percent of the source water annual mean flow.

b. For cooling water intake structures located in a lake or reservoir, the total design intake flow must not disrupt the natural thermal stratification or turnover pattern (where present) of the source water, except in cases when the disruption is determined to be beneficial to the management of fisheries for fish and shellfish by any fishery management agency(ies).

c. For cooling water intake structures located in an estuary or tidal river, the total design intake flow over one tidal cycle of ebb and flow must be no greater than 1 percent of the volume of the water column within the area centered about the opening of the intake with a diameter defined by the distance of one tidal excursion at the mean low water level.

4. You must select and implement design and construction technologies or operational measures for minimizing impingement mortality of fish and shellfish if:

a. there are threatened or endangered or otherwise protected federal, state, or tribal species, or critical habitat for these species, within the hydraulic zone of influence of the cooling water intake structure;

b. based on information submitted by any fishery management agency(ies) or other relevant information, there are migratory and/or sport or commercial species of impingement concern to the state administrative authority that pass through the hydraulic zone of influence of the cooling water intake structure; or

c. it is determined by the state administrative authority, based on information submitted by any fishery management agency(ies) or other relevant information, that the proposed facility, after meeting the technology-based performance requirements in Paragraphs B.1, 2, and 3 of this Section, would still contribute unacceptable stress to the protected species, critical habitat of those species, or species of concern.

5. You must select and implement design and construction technologies or operational measures for minimizing entrainment of entrainable life stages of fish and shellfish if:

b. based on information submitted by any fishery management agency(ies) or other relevant information, there are, or would be, undesirable cumulative stressors affecting entrainable life stages of species of concern to the state administrative authority, and it is determined by the state administrative authority that the proposed facility, after meeting the technology-based performance requirements in Paragraphs B.1, 2, and 3 of this Section, would still contribute unacceptable stress to the protected species, critical habitat of those species, or species of concern.

6. You must submit the application information required in LAC 33:IX.2501.R and 4713.B.

7. You must implement the monitoring requirements specified in LAC 33:IX.4715.

8. You must implement the recordkeeping requirements specified in LAC 33:IX.4717.

C. Track I Requirements for New Facilities That Withdraw Equal to or Greater than 2 MGD and Less than 10 MGD and That Choose Not to Comply With Subsection B of This Section. For these facilities you must comply with all the following requirements.

1. You must design and construct each cooling water intake structure at your facility to a maximum through-screen design intake velocity of 0.5 ft/s.

2. You must design and construct your cooling water intake structure so that the total design intake flow from all cooling water intake structures at your facility meets the following requirements.

a. For cooling water intake structures located in a freshwater river or stream, the total design intake flow must be no greater than 5 percent of the source water annual mean flow.

3. You must select and implement design and construction technologies or operational measures for minimizing impingement mortality of fish and shellfish if:

c. it is determined by the state administrative authority, based on information submitted by any fishery management agency(ies) or other relevant information, that the proposed facility, after meeting the technology-based performance requirements in Paragraphs C.1 and 2 of this Section, would still contribute unacceptable stress to the protected species, critical habitat of those species, or species of concern.

4. You must select and implement design and construction technologies or operational measures for minimizing entrainment of entrainable life stages of fish and shellfish.

5. You must submit the application information required in LAC 33:IX.2501.R and 4713.B.2, 3, and 4.

6. You must implement the monitoring requirements specified in LAC 33:IX.4715.

7. You must implement the recordkeeping requirements specified in LAC 33:IX.4717.

D. Track II. The owner or operator of a new facility that chooses to comply under Track II must comply with the following requirements.

1. You must demonstrate to the state administrative authority that the technologies employed will reduce the level of adverse environmental impact from your cooling water intake structures to a comparable level to that which you would achieve were you to implement the requirements of Paragraphs B.1 and 2 of this Section.

a. Except as specified in Subparagraph D.1.b of this Section, this demonstration must include a showing that the impacts to fish and shellfish, including important forage and predator species, within the watershed will be comparable to those that would result if you were to implement the requirements of Paragraphs B.1 and 2 of this Section. This showing may include consideration of impacts other than impingement mortality and entrainment, including measures that will result in increases in fish and shellfish, but it must demonstrate comparable performance for species that the state administrative authority, in consultation with national, state, or tribal fishery management agencies with responsibility for fisheries potentially affected by your cooling water intake structure, identifies as species of concern. In identifying such species, the state administrative authority may consider information provided by any fishery management agency(ies) along with data and information from other sources.

b. In cases where air emissions and/or energy impacts that would result from meeting the requirements of Paragraphs B.1 and 2 of this Section would result in significant adverse impacts on local air quality, significant adverse impact on local water resources not addressed under Subparagraph D.1.a of this Section, or significant adverse impact on local energy markets, you may request alternative requirements under LAC 33:IX.4711.

2. You must design and construct your cooling water intake structure so that the total design intake flow from all cooling water intake structures at your facility meet the following requirements.

a. For cooling water intake structures located in a freshwater river or stream, the total design intake flow must be no greater than 5 percent of the source water annual mean flow.

b. For cooling water intake structures located in a lake or reservoir, the total design intake flow must not disrupt the natural thermal stratification or turnover pattern (where present) of the source water, except in cases where the disruption is determined to be beneficial to the management of fisheries for fish and shellfish by any fishery management agency(ies).

3. You must submit the application information required in LAC 33:IX.2501.R and 4713.C.

4. You must implement the monitoring requirements specified in LAC 33:IX.4715.

5. You must implement the recordkeeping requirements specified in LAC 33:IX.4717.

E. You must comply with any more stringent requirements relating to the location, design, construction, and capacity of a cooling water intake structure or monitoring requirements at a new facility that the state administrative authority deems reasonably necessary to comply with any provision of state law, including compliance with applicable state water quality standards (including designated uses, criteria, and antidegradation requirements).

La. Admin. Code tit. 33, § IX-4709

Promulgated by the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Environmental Assessment, Environmental Planning Division, LR 28:1769 (August 2002), amended LR 29:2375 (November 2003), repromulgated LR 30:231 (February 2004), amended by the Office of Environmental Assessment, LR 31:427 (February 2005).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:2001 et seq., and in particular Section 2074(B)(3) and (B)(4)