NR 111.40(3)(c)(c) All new units at existing facilities. The owner or operator of a new unit at an existing facility shall also submit with its permit application all information received as a result of any communication with a field office of the U.S. fish and wildlife service.

NR 111.40(3)(d)(d) Reduced information. If the owner or operator of a new unit at an existing facility intends to comply with the BTA standards for entrainment using a closed-cycle recirculating system as defined in s. NR 111.03 (5), the department may reduce or waive some or all of the information required under s. NR 111.41 (8) to (12).

NR 111.40(4)(a)(a) Within the current permit term. If the owner or operator of an existing facility plans to retire the facility before the current permit expires, then the requirements of subs. (2) and (3) do not apply.

NR 111.40(4)(b)(b) Within the subsequent permit term. If the owner or operator of an existing facility plans to retire the facility after the current permit expires but within one permit cycle, then the department may waive the requirements of s. NR 111.41 (6) to (13) upon receiving a signed certification statement from the owner or operator of the facility specifying the last operating date of the facility.

NR 111.41(1)(a)(a) A narrative description and scaled drawings showing the physical configuration of all source waterbodies used by the facility, including areal dimensions, depths, salinity and temperature regimes, and other documentation that supports the facility’s determination of the waterbody type where each cooling water intake structure is located.

NR 111.41(1)(b)(b) Identification and characterization of the source waterbody’s hydrological and geomorphological features, as well as the methods used to conduct any physical studies to determine the intake’s area of influence within the waterbody and the results of such studies.

NR 111.41(2)(c)(c) A narrative description of the operation of each cooling water intake structure, including design intake flows, daily hours of operation, number of days of the year in operation and seasonal changes, if applicable.

NR 111.41(3)(3) Source water baseline biological characterization data. Source water baseline biological characterization information is required to characterize the biological community in the vicinity of the cooling water intake structure and to characterize the operation of the cooling water intake structure. The department may also use this information in subsequent permit renewal proceedings to determine if the facility’s design and construction technology plan as required under sub. (18) should be revised. This supporting information shall include existing data if they are available. However, the owner or operator of the facility may supplement the data using newly conducted field studies if desired. The owner or operator shall comply with all of the following:

NR 111.41(3)(a)1.1. A list of species or relevant taxa for all life stages and their relative abundance in the vicinity of the cooling water intake structure.

NR 111.41(3)(a)2.2. Identification of the species and life stages that would be most susceptible to impingement and entrainment. Species evaluated shall include the forage base as well as those most important in terms of significance to commercial and recreational fisheries.

NR 111.41(3)(a)3.3. Identification and evaluation of the primary period of reproduction, larval recruitment, and period of peak abundance for relevant taxa.

NR 111.41(3)(a)4.4. Data representative of the seasonal and daily activities, such as feeding and water column migration, of biological organisms in the vicinity of the cooling water intake structure.

NR 111.41(3)(a)5.5. Identification of all threatened, endangered, and other protected species and federally critical habitat that are or may be present in the vicinity of the cooling water intake structure, based on readily available information at the time of permit application. In addition, in developing its permit application, the owner or operator of an existing facility or new unit at an existing facility shall, based on readily available information at the time of the permit application, identify all federally listed threatened and endangered species or federally designated critical habitat that are or may be present in the action area. For an existing facility for which the owner or operator has obtained incidental take exemption or authorization for its cooling water intake structure from the U.S. fish and wildlife service, any information submitted in order to obtain that exemption or authorization may be used to satisfy the permit application information requirement under this subdivision.

NR 111.41(3)(b)(b) If the applicant supplements the information requested in par. (a) with data collected using field studies, supporting documentation for the source water baseline biological characterization shall include a description of all methods and quality assurance procedures for sampling. It also shall include data analysis, including a description of the study area; taxonomic identification of sampled and evaluated biological assemblages, including all life stages of fish and shellfish; and sampling and data analysis methods. The sampling and data analysis methods used shall be appropriate for a quantitative survey and based on consideration of methods used in other biological studies performed within the same source waterbody. The study area shall include, at a minimum, the area of influence of the cooling water intake structure.

NR 111.41(3)(c)1.1. Documentation of any public participation or consultation with federal or state agencies undertaken in development of the plan.

NR 111.41(3)(c)2.2. A description of protective measures and stabilization activities that have been implemented, and a description of how these measures and activities affected the baseline water condition in the vicinity of the intake.

NR 111.41(3)(c)3.3. A list of fragile species at the facility. The applicant need only identify those species not already identified as fragile under s. NR 111.03 (18). New units at an existing facility are not required to resubmit this information if the cooling water withdrawals for the operation of the new unit are from an existing intake.