HARRISBURG, Pa., March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Three years of negotiation between the state and Allentown-based PPL Brunner Island LLC have ended as the company has agreed to install cooling towers, estimated to cost $120 million, to address high-temperature discharges into the Susquehanna River from its electric generation facility in East Manchester Township, York County.

The company agreed to the installation of the cooling towers as an alternative to facing possible enforcement action by DEP.

The successful resolution addresses the efforts of high temperature cooling water discharge on aquatic life in the river. Additionally, PPL will pay $183,386 for river improvements.

"This is a significant victory for the health of the Susquehanna River in York County," Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty said.

The action is the result of more than three years of negotiations between the company and DEP to address the effects of high- temperature cooling water discharge on aquatic life within the Susquehanna River. PPL also will pay $183,386 for nutrient and sediment reduction projects in the Lower Susquehanna watershed.

The Brunner Island Steam Electric Station (BISES) was constructed in the 1960s and consists of three coal-fired generation units with a total capacity of 1,495 Megawatts. The facility draws water from the Susquehanna River at a design rate of 795 million gallons per day. Following steam condensation, the water is discharged back into the river at a downstream location.

DEP granted a variance to PPL in 1981 that allowed the company to discharge more heat to the river than would be allowed under state water quality standards. The department historically has granted "thermal variances" based on demonstrations that exceeding water quality standards will still provide for a balanced, indigenous aquatic life community in the receiving body of water.

In 2002, the department issued a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to PPL that required further studies to confirm that the variance granted to the company in 1981 should be continued.

PPL conducted the studies in 2002 through 2005. River flows during the summers of 2002 and 2005 were lower than at any previous time during the review of the original thermal variance. This provided the department with an opportunity to evaluate PPL's discharge at low flow conditions.

The results indicated that adverse impact has occurred to aquatic life along some three miles the river's western shore. At that time, DEP began discussions with PPL to modify the thermal variance in its NPDES permit.

PPL has agreed to install mechanical draft-cooling towers to treat all of the once-through cooling water during the period of March 1 through Nov. 30. The cooling system will be designed to remove a minimum of 55 percent of the heat during worst-case, high- humidity summertime conditions.

PPL's $183,386 civil penalty will be used for nutrient and sediment reduction projects in the Lower Susquehanna watershed. The projects will help the commonwealth finance efforts to meet federally established goals for nutrient and sediment reduction to remove the Chesapeake Bay from the U.S. Clean Water Act's list of impaired waters by 2010.

DEP will review and approve PPL's final design of the cooling system through a Water Quality Management permit. Construction of the system must be completed by Dec. 31, 2009, or two years from issuance of the permit. The thermal variance will be modified to allow for temperatures in excess of water quality standards in the winter and be subject to additional verification studies to ensure protection of aquatic life.

CONTACT: John Repetz

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

For more information, visit DEP's Web site at http:// www.depweb.state.pa.us.

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