The temperatures outside have finally started to dip, but the waters of Lake Anna are unseasonably warm this time of year. Not from any natural hot springs in the area—instead, the warm waters of the lake, located about 30 miles from Charlottesville, are the result of discharge generated from the nearby nuclear power plant’s cooling system. While the increased temperatures may be ideal for folks on the lake late in the season, they may not be as ideal for the local aquatic life.
 Because it cools the nuclear reactor at North Anna Power Station, water is discharged in Lake Anna that tops 90 degrees. |
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The North Anna Power Station, owned and operated by Dominion Power, recently received a renewed permit to discharge warm water into Lake Anna from the State Water Control Board. Dominion’s permit contains a controversial variance provision that allows the power plant to discharge water well over the 90-degree maximum set by the federal Clean Water Act. Arguing that the Board’s blanket renewal of the warm water discharge permit for the Lake Anna plant does not protect state water quality standards, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL) and the People’s Alliance for Clean Energy (PACE) filed a notice of appeal to the Richmond Circuit Court seeking to review the recent decision.
"Variances are supposed to be given only under circumstances that it will not have an effect on water quality," says BREDL administrator Louis Zeller. "In this case, the variance does not maintain water quality because we’re seeing 106-degree water temperatures out there."
The forthcoming legal action from these two environmental groups marks one of the first formal challenges Dominion has faced concerning the warm water discharge permit at Lake Anna, according to Dominion spokesperson Richard Zuercher. He mentions that the permit has been renewed at every five-year cycle since the initial request for a variance was granted in the early 1980s. Zuercher notes that the lake’s higher-than-normal temperature only potentially becomes a problem for aquatic life when the temperature of the water is already heightened during warm summer months.
"That sounds like the baby bottle test," says Zeller. "In other words, it doesn’t feel hot during the wintertime when temperatures are generally much lower, though many wouldn’t notice it. The organisms who live in that lake year-round notice it."
Noting his company’s constant surveillance and study of the lake’s wildlife, Zuercher says Dominion has always operated within the law. When Dominion was initially offered a variance provision for its water discharge permit in the early 1980s, it had to prove that its future actions would not affect the natural wildlife of the lake. Zuercher says Dominion still follows this initial commitment.
BREDL and PACE will have their opportunity to further question Dominion when they file a formal appeal within the month.
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