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BEFORE THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION OF MARYLAND IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF MIRANT CHALK POINT DEVELOPMENT, LLC FOR A CERTIFICATE OF PUBLIC CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY ) ) ) ) CASE NO. 8912 DIRECT TESTIMONY OF KARL A. BULLOCK Q. Please state your full name and business address. A. My name is Karl A. Bullock. My business address is 6241 N.W. 23rd Street, Suite 500, Gainesville, Florida, 32653. Q. Please describe your educational background? A. I received a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Conservation in 1993 and a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering Sciences in 1997, both from the University of Florida. Q. What is your occupation and how long have you held this position? A. I am a Staff Ecologist with Golder Associates, Inc. I have worked for Golder Associates since 1997. Q. What are your primary duties and responsibilities in this position? A. My primary duties and responsibilities consist of conducting threatened and endangered species surveys, vegetative and aquatic biological monitoring, wetland delineation and mitigation, and ecotoxicology assessments. Q. A. Please summarize your employment history. Prior to joining Golder Associates, I worked for KBN Engineering and Applied Sciences, Inc. as an ecologist from 1995 until 1997. In that position, I was responsible for field vegetative sampling, wetland monitoring, and plant and animal species identification. From 1994 until 1996, I worked as a research assistant for the University of Florida, Center for Wetlands and Water Resources, conducting field sampling and analyses on wetlands systems and various fish and insect populations. I have also instructed a graduate-level course in Wetland Ecology. Q. Have you ever testified as an expert witness before any court or administrative body? If so, what was the nature of your testimony? A. Yes. I testified before Hearing Examiner Moore of the Public Service Commission of Maryland in the currently-pending Mirant Dickerson Development proceeding. Q. What is the purpose of your testimony in this case? A. The purpose of my testimony is to describe the ecological analyses of the Chalk Point site before and after the proposed Project, as described in Chapters 2, 4 and 7 of the Application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity submitted to the Public Service Commission. Q. Briefly describe the Project at issue in this case. A. Mirant Chalk Point has proposed to install four gas- and oil-fired simple combustion turbines (CTs) at the existing Chalk Point Generating Station. Each new simple cycle unit will have an associated electric generator. The Project will increase the electrical generating capacity of the Chalk Point Generating Station by a nominal 340 MW. 2 Q. Are you familiar with the laws and regulations relating to the ecology at the Chalk Point site? A. Yes. Any threatened or endangered species at the Chalk Point site is protected by the federal Endangered Species Act and the Maryland Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act. These protections extend to both plants and animals. Q. What methods were employed to identify species potentially occurring at and in the vicinity of the Chalk Point site and what were the findings? A. A field assessment of the ecological setting at the Chalk Point site was conducted to determine the presence and abundance of important natural communities, plants, and animals. In addition to field surveys performed in July 2001, a literature search was undertaken to determine plants and animals that could be present in the habitats found in the vicinity of the Chalk Point site. The literature search included review of documents previously prepared for the CPCN applications for the PEPCO and SMECO CT projects. In 1994, the Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Division, a division of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, published “Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Plants of Maryland,” which lists federal and state-protected plant species plus 770 additional species that are considered candidates for state listing. A county-specific list of threatened and endangered species known to occur in prince George’s County was obtained from the Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Division in August 2001. Additionally, forested communities in the vicinity of the Chalk Point site were surveyed several years ago for the preparation of the “Forest Stand Delineation Report for Proposed Combustion Turbine Facility, Transmission Corridor and Tree Conservation Area” when the Chalk Point Generating Station was owned by PEPCO (ESE, 1990). The 3 field survey performed in July 2001 indicated that the vegetative description of the undeveloped forest in this area in 1990 is still accurate today. A list of birds observed within 5 miles of the Chalk Point site was obtained from the National Institute of Urban Wildlife. A total of 237 species have been observed in the region. Bird surveys were conducted in 1989 as part of the Draft Critical Area Conservation Plan (Hunter, 1989). Morning and evening observations were conducted on three consecutive days. A total of 49 species were identified. The literature and field survey were used to produce a detailed list of various species found at the Chalk Point site, including mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and plants. The list is found in Chapter 2 of the Application. Q. Were any other additional studies conducted? A. Yes. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources Wildlife and Heritage Division (WHD) was asked to perform an environmental review of the Chalk Point site in August 2001. The environmental review process is the State’s primary method to ensure that proposed projects do not jeopardize the continued existences of listed species of plants and wildlife. Q. What were the findings of the Environmental Review requested by the State? A. In a letter dated September 14, 2001, the WHD did not identify any federal or State rare, threatened, or endangered plants or animals within the project site. However, the WHD database indicated that the State rare Spurred Butterfly-pea is known to have existed within the vicinity of the project site. Also, the WHD noted that the forested area on the 4 project site contains potential forest interior dwelling bird habitat and that conservation of this habitat is mandated within the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area. Q. What are the expected impacts of construction and operation activities upon local vegetative resources? A. Siting of the Project has been conducted to minimize impacts to natural areas. The construction of the project will affect about 33 acres on the 1,142-acre Chalk Point site, the majority of which have been affected by previous activities. These 33 acres will be used to locate the CTs, stormwater basin, transmission lines, and fuel storage tanks. About 12 acres of grasslands associated with an existing transmission line right-of-way (ROW) and about 5 acres of upland forest will be affected by the Project. The effect on wetland areas is dependent on the location of the transmission lines. The proposed location places the lines parallel to the creek and thus would avoid any impacts. Should any structure be near the creek, only a very small amount of wetlands could potentially be affected. The affected upland forest habitat is isolated, surrounded by transmission line ROWs and the existing Chalk Point SMECO facilities. This area is not ecologically significant and large areas of higher quality upland forest habitat are found on the Chalk Point property within Tree Conservation Areas. The remaining acreage affected by the Project has been previously disturbed by the location of transmission lines and is currently covered with weeds and grasses. No plant species that are classified as endangered, threatened, or of special concern by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the Maryland Department of Natural Resources were observed on the Chalk Point site during field surveys conducted in 1990 or during the 5 subsequent field survey in July 2001. The terrestrial systems that will be altered by the construction do not contain important wildlife species and are not considered important wildlife habitats because of their disturbed nature. The forested area on the project site contains potential forest interior dwelling bird habitat, although the probability of occurrence is low due to the isolated nature of the forested parcel. To minimize the loss of this potential habitat, guidelines recommended by the WHD in their September letter will be incorporated in the construction plans where feasible. The previously approved Tree Conservation Plan designates significant forested areas that are to remain undisturbed forever. The Project will not encroach upon areas within the Tree Conservation Areas or within the landward boundary of the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area. As a result, clearing and construction will not cause any significant adverse ecological impacts or any significant impact to federal or state listed terrestrial plants. Q. What are the expected impacts of construction and operation activities upon local wildlife resources? A. Impacts to on-site and regional terrestrial wildlife due to plant construction and operation will be limited. No critical habitat will be lost as a result of the project, and significant acreage of natural areas will remain preserved on the Chalk Point site. The small acreage of upland forest to be impacted is not suitable for use by forest interior dwelling bird species, therefore no impacts to important bird species are expected. Since the proposed site is situated in an area of pre-existing industrial activities, the likelihood of migratory birds using the site as a corridor or thoroughfare is limited. Two bald eagle nests were 6 documented on the northern edge of the Chalk Point property in the late 1980s. These nests are currently inactive. A third nest is located near the southwest property boundary, within the floodplain of Stanley Run. This nest is considered active and the construction and operation of the existing Chalk Point facility has produced no adverse effects upon nesting bald eagles. In addition, wildlife that may use the affected grasslands or forest include common species which may easily relocate to other suitable habitat on the Chalk Point site. As a result, no adverse effects on wildlife anticipated. Q. What are the expected impacts of construction and operation activities upon aquatic systems and wetlands? A. The proposed project will not affect any surface waters on the site. No surface water withdrawals are planned for the Project. Neither will there be any thermal discharges or any wastewater discharges. Impacts to wetlands, water bodies, and other aquatic ecological systems from construction are not anticipated. No wetland areas are contained within the area proposed for construction. Erosion, sedimentation, and runoff control measures will mitigate the potential for water quality degradation. Impacts to aquatic biological communities are not expected to be significant. Q. Please summarize your conclusions regarding the impact of the Project upon ecological resources. A. The Project will have minimal, if any, significant impacts on the ecology at the Chalk Point site and the surrounding area. 7 Q. Does this conclude your present testimony? A. Yes, it does. Karl A. Bullock Direct Testimony MD PSC – April 2002 8