1-16 



Monitoring Studies Program 



Comi.irehcnsive environmental monitoriiuj studii's, tho main 

 suljji^ct of this rc|»ort, were commenced in May l'//() cuid L:ont; inucd l.liroiujli 

 October 1977 in New Haven Harbor. The monitoring program was designed 

 to evaluate the effect of United Illuminating ' s New Haven Harbor Station 

 on the water quality and biota of the Harbor. 



In broad terms, the objective of the monitoring program was to 

 provide a basis for evaluating whether or not the plant was adversely 

 impacting the New Haven Harbor environment. Certain provisions of the 

 NPDES "Permit to Discharge" issued in October 1973 specifically addressed 

 environmental matters that were directly relevant to the monitoring 

 program design: 



1. No effluent may be acutely toxic to any indigenous spe- 

 cies in New Haven Harbor (Special Conditions [General] 

 [4]),- 



2. The discharge shall not interfere with the spawning of 

 fish or invertebrates (Special Conditions [Specific] (1) 



g); 



3. The discharge shall not alter the balanced indigenous 

 population of New Haven Harbor or its tributary waters 



(Special Conditions [Specific] (1) h) ; 



4. The thermal plume shall not block zones of fish passage 

 (Special Conditions [Specific] (1) i) ; and, 



5. The thermal plume shall have minimal contact with the 

 surrounding shoreline (Special Conditions [Specific] (1) 

 J). 



These conditions have all been taken into account through 

 direct studies of the thermal plume, through the detailed monitoring 

 program, or through theoretical considerations. 



