characteristically associated with environmental stress. These changes 

 include reductions in the numbers of species or individuals, shifts in 

 community trophic structure, or changes in the overall community composi- 

 tion. Stressed communities generally contain a few species often with 

 one or two occurring in very high density. Additionally, the types of 

 species that flourish under these conditions are well known and further 

 enhance our ability to identify any plant induced changes in benthic 

 ecology. 



Our program examines within station structural and compositional 

 changes relative to those that occur naturally over time (and thus the 

 need for long term data). Also, potentially impacted and non- impacted 

 stations are sampled to provide spatial comparisons necessary for sepa- 

 rating more short term, i.e. less than one year, natural fluctuations 

 from those potentially caused by plant operations. This evaluation is 

 intended to present a historical overview of the infaunal sand program 

 at Millstone, summarize prior evaluations upon which program changes 

 were based, and evaluate the necessity of the present and any future 

 studies relative to the startup of Unit 3. 



CHRONOLOGY OF PAST EVALUATIONS 

 Over the years, the collection and analysis procedures used to 

 obtain infaunal samples have been modified to improve the quality of 

 data and increase our ability to assess plant impacts. These modifications 

 (Tables 1 and 2) were generally based on evaluations of existing Millstone 

 data or on the results of special studies that addressed specific collec- 

 tion techniques. The freezing of samples as a preservation method 

 (prior to June 1976) most severely affected the quality of data; a 



