Client: Electric Power Research Institute (link opens in a new tab)
Location: Ohio River | West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois
Since 1970, various utility companies have sponsored aquatic biological studies on the Ohio River as part of the Ohio River Ecological Research Program (ORERP). These companies have included American Electric Power Company, American Municipal Power-Ohio, Buckeye Power, The Dayton Power & Light Company-AES Corporation, Duke Energy, FirstEnergy Services Company, LG&E and KU Energy-PPL Companies, Ohio Valley Electric Corporation/Indiana-Kentucky Electric Corporation, Owensboro Municipal Utilities, Tennessee Valley Authority, and Vectren Corporation. EA conducted this program in 1991 and 1992, and annually since 2000. Since 2002, the ORERP has been an Electric Power Research Institute Tailored Collaboration Project. EA has conducted studies for 22 power plants, which nearly span the entire length of Ohio, including:
Annual Adult Fish Program
The annual adult fish program consists of adult/juvenile fish, habitat, and water quality field studies. Surveys are conducted seasonally (i.e., June, August, and October) at three electrofishing and three seining locations upstream and downstream of each plant. Electrofishing is conducted at night and seining during the day. The principal research objectives of this study are to evaluate possible effects of thermal effluents on the temporal and spatial distributions of juvenile and adult fish in the Ohio River and investigate any associations with hydrological, water quality, and habitat characteristics. Habitat at each seining location is evaluated using Ohio EPA’s Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index and habitat at each electrofishing location is evaluated using the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission’s Method. For both gears, data are evaluated using abundance, biomass, species richness, and catch rate data. Electrofishing data are also evaluated using the modified Index of Well-Being, the modified Ohio River Fish Index (mORFIn), and Shannon diversity. Because the sponsorship of the program changes somewhat from year to year, the number of plants studied also varies from year to year. The largest participation (6-17 plants per year) occurred from 2004 through 2018; five plants were studied in 2019. During the expanded studies from 2004 through 2018, EA has collected over a million fish representing 135 fish species.
Special Winter Adult Fish Program
During 2007, 2008, and 2009, EA conducted an unprecedented winter monitoring program. This program consisted of night electrofishing and seining (in 2007 and 2008) at eight power plants each year. The study area spanned nearly 700 river miles. The objective of this program was to determine the extent to which fish are attracted to the thermal discharges.
Clean Water Act §316(B) Support
Since 2014, EA has provided a variety of support in response to the final §316(b) Rule that was published on 15 August 2014 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for existing power plants.
122.21(r)(4) – Source Water Baseline Biological Characterization Data Reports
Source Water Baseline Biological Characterization Data reports were prepared for 11 power plants. These reports provided an overview of the final Rule requirements under §122.21(r)(4) and presentation of information required to address species at risk to entrainment and impingement, life stages of susceptible species/taxa, the seasonal and daily activities of those species/taxa, listing of threatened and endangered species that may be at risk, and discussions of methods used for studies that provided the information and data used in the reports.
122.21(r)(9) – Entrainment Characterization Study
Peer-reviewed Entrainment Characterization Study Plans were prepared, and studies implemented in 2015 at seven plants. The 2015 2016 Entrainment Characterization Study consisted of collecting, sorting, and identifying ichthyoplankton and early life stages of amphibians from samples collected within areas of the Ohio River that are influenced by each plant’s cooling water intake structure. Samples were collected using paired, 0.5-meter diameter, 3.0 meters long, 335-µ mesh plankton nets that were mounted in a bongo frame. Depending on configuration, size, safety constraints, and current velocities of a given area of influence, nets were deployed and held stationary or deployed near the face of the cooling water intake structure and towed. Day and night replicate (paired) samples were collected at three depths (near-surface, mid-depth, and near-bottom) during 15 sampling events each year that occurred between March or April and August or September.
Phase II §316(b) Impingement Mortality Study
From 2005 through 2007, EA conducted two-year impingement studies at 15 power plants that span nearly 900 river miles. Each plant was sampled up to 40 times, 20 times per year. Sampling during each of the 40 events was conducted over a 24-hour period and the data were separated by day and night. A first-of-its-kind model-based approach was used in this study, which allowed a lower frequency of sampling than has been employed at many facilities and saved each Sponsor a considerable amount of money. Despite a lower frequency of sampling, the model-based approach yielded annual estimates that were as or more precise than a traditional once-a-week approach. The study was also unique in its collaborative approach (15 different power plants), standardized design, as well as cost- and data-sharing. Sampling at the 15 plants resulted in the collection of 2.9 million fish representing 82 species. Results from this study were published in the North American Journal of Fisheries Management.
Learn more by watching a webinar focused on the project:
