More Lake Anna residents question new reactors' impact on water temperatures.

Date published: 8/24/2005

By RUSTY DENNEN

A newly formed group of Lake Anna residents is weighing in on potential environmental effects of Dominion Power's plan to add up to two more nuclear reactors at its power station there.

Friends of Lake Anna, which was organized just last week, missed a March deadline to comment on environmental aspects of the plan. But it is forwarding its concerns about potentially harmful water temperatures to state and federal agencies.

In addition, it has begun a petition drive to underscore those concerns.

In a three-page letter to Ellie Irons, environmental impact review program manager for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, Friends founder Harry Ruth says water temperatures on the warm side already exceed 100 degrees in the summer months. Heat from another reactor, he says, could kill fish, restrict recreational use and ultimately harm property values.

Ruth, who lives on the warm side and serves on the board of Ruth Estates Property Owners Association there, said the group is not opposed to Dominion's plans to add new reactors.

"Dominion has been a good steward of the lake but we want to make sure that water temperature and water flow rate concerns, together with the related impacts, are addressed by our Virginia government representatives," he said.

Ruth wrote that that the reactor plan could "adversely affect our use of the lake and our property. In addition, the proposal would also affect the fish and wildlife that also use the lake. We believe conditions need to be added to Dominion's permit to prevent these adverse affects."

Irons said she forwarded Ruth's letter to other state agencies involved in the review process and is awaiting their responses. DEQ must have its comments on Dominion's plans to the NRC by Sept. 22.

She said there's been no decision yet as to whether Ruth's letter will be forwarded to Dominion as part of the public review.

Ruth also sent a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which last week announced that because of the number of public comments about the draft environmental impact statement, it needed an additional four months to review it to produce the final version. That should be ready sometime in December.

Date published: 8/24/2005