From: Christian Araguas To: <JTDAVIS@southernco.com> Date: 3/5/2007 12:57:28 PM Subject: Draft RAIs on SSAR Sections 2.4 "Hydrology" and 2.5 "Geology" cc: "Laurel Bauer" <LMB1@nrc.gov>,"Sarah Gonzalez" <SHG1@nrc.gov>,"Stephanie Coffin" <SMC1@nrc.gov>,"Thomas Cheng" <TMC@nrc.gov>,"Zahira Cruz-Perez" <zlc@nrc.gov>,"Clifford Munson" <CGM1@nrc.gov>,"Mark Notich" <mdn@nrc.gov>,"Yong Li" <YXL1@nrc.gov>,"Gerry Stirewalt" <GLS3@nrc.gov>,"Tomeka Terry" <TLT2@nrc.gov>,"Stephen Raul Monarque" <SRM2@nrc.gov>,"Weijun Wang" <WXW2@nrc.gov> Jim, Attached are draft RAIs pertaining to the staff's review of SSAR Sections 2.4 "Hydrology" and 2.5 "Geology". Please take a look and let me know if you would like to have a conference call for the staff to further clarify these draft RAIs. Thanks. Christian Araguas US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Nuclear Reactor Regulation Division of New Reactor Licensing AP1000 Projects Branch 1 Vogtle ESP Safety Project Manager 301-415-3637 (Work) 240-498-7614 (Cell)

Hearing Identifier: Vogtle_Non_Public Email Number: 2187 Mail Envelope Properties (46093966.HQGWDO01.TWGWPO04.200.2000007.1.72370.1) Subject: Draft RAIs on SSAR Sections 2.4 "Hydrology" and 2.5 "Geology" Creation Date: 3/5/2007 12:57:28 PM From: Christian Araguas Created By: CJA2@nrc.gov Recipients "Laurel Bauer" <LMB1@nrc.gov>,"Sarah Gonzalez" <SHG1@nrc.gov>,"Stephanie Coffin" <SMC1@nrc.gov>,"Thomas Cheng" <TMC@nrc.gov>,"Zahira Cruz-Perez" <zlc@nrc.gov>,"Clifford Munson" <CGM1@nrc.gov>,"Mark Notich" <mdn@nrc.gov>,"Yong Li" <YXL1@nrc.gov>,"Gerry Stirewalt" <GLS3@nrc.gov>,"Tomeka Terry" <TLT2@nrc.gov>,"Stephen Raul Monarque" <SRM2@nrc.gov>,"Weijun Wang" <WXW2@nrc.gov> <JTDAVIS@southernco.com> Post Office Route TWGWPO04.HQGWDO01 nrc.gov Files Size Date & Time MESSAGE 481 3/5/2007 12:57:28 PM Draft RAIs for Vogtle Section 3-15-07.pdf 52583 3/27/2007 3:33:58 PM Options Priority: Standard Reply Requested: No Return Notification: None None Concealed Subject: No Security: Standard

Dra

ft R

eque

sts

for A

dditi

onal

Info

rmat

ion

(RA

Is) f

or V

ogtle

ESP

SSA

R S

ectio

ns 2

.4 a

nd 2

.5

RA

IN

umbe

rR

evie

wer

Full

Text

2.4.

4-1

H. A

hn/

G. B

agch

i/P

NN

L

Dur

ing

the

Janu

ary

site

saf

ety

audi

t (1/

10-1

1/20

07) t

he s

taff

requ

este

d an

d th

e ap

plic

ant p

rovi

ded

a na

rrat

ive

(AR

-07-

0302

,2/

13/2

007)

des

crib

ing

the

proc

ess

used

to c

ompu

te th

e m

axim

um s

tage

due

to a

cas

cade

failu

re o

f ups

tream

dam

s,in

clud

ing

the

sens

itivi

ty o

f the

initi

al w

ater

sur

face

ele

vatio

ns in

eac

h re

serv

oir,

and

show

ed h

ow th

e ca

lcul

atio

ns p

rovi

deth

e bo

undi

ng c

ase.

The

nar

rativ

e in

clud

ed a

sum

mar

y of

all

dam

bre

ach

anal

ysis

par

amet

ers.

Ple

ase

upda

te th

e S

SA

R to

inco

rpor

ate

the

info

rmat

ion

and

data

con

tain

ed in

the

narr

ativ

e.

2.4.

7-1

H. A

hn/

G. B

agch

i/ P

NN

L

Ple

ase

revi

se th

e S

SA

R b

y in

clud

ing

a re

fere

nce

to E

R S

ectio

n 2.

3.2,

Tab

les

2.3.

2-12

and

2.3

.2-1

3 w

hich

repo

rt th

e ra

tes

of to

tal w

ell w

ater

dem

and,

pow

er p

lant

mak

eup

wat

er, a

nd s

ervi

ce w

ater

sys

tem

mak

eup

wat

er fo

r the

new

pla

nts.

In

the

text

of t

he S

SA

R p

rovi

de fu

rther

bre

akdo

wn

to c

oolin

g w

ater

, mak

e-up

wat

er, a

nd fi

re p

rote

ctio

n w

ater

requ

ired

by th

e ne

wpl

ants

2.4.

10-1

H. A

hn/

G. B

agch

i/ P

NN

L

To c

larif

y th

e w

ay o

f det

erm

inin

g th

e in

tens

ity o

f sho

rt te

rm ra

infa

ll fo

r roo

f dra

inag

e, p

roba

ble

max

imum

win

ter p

reci

pita

tion

that

com

bine

s w

ith th

e sn

ow a

ccum

ulat

ion

for r

oof l

oadi

ng o

f all

safe

ty-r

elat

ed s

truct

ures

, the

SS

AR

is to

be

revi

sed

bypr

ovid

ing

a re

fere

nce

in S

SA

R S

ectio

n 2.

4.10

to S

SA

R S

ectio

n 2.

3.1.

3.4.

2.4.

12-1

H. A

hn/

G. B

agch

i/ P

NN

L

a.D

iscu

ss th

e re

ason

s w

hy O

W-1

001

wel

l fai

led.

b.P

rovi

de a

n ex

plan

atio

n in

SS

AR

App

endi

x 2.

4A, (

e.g.

, pag

es 2

.4A

-6 a

nd -1

4), a

s w

ell a

s A

ppen

dix

2.5A

, (e.

g., T

able

2of

MA

CTE

C F

ield

Bor

ing

and

CP

T S

umm

ary)

, reg

ardi

ng th

e no

men

clat

ure

used

to d

enot

e an

aba

ndon

ed w

ell,

espe

cial

ly O

W-1

001A

whi

ch is

den

oted

aba

ndon

ed in

App

endi

x 2.

4A, a

nd O

W-1

001A

whi

ch is

app

aren

tly a

func

tioni

ngw

ell i

n A

ppen

dix

2.5A

c.B

ecau

se w

ell O

W-1

001A

dat

a ar

e no

t ind

icat

ive

of h

ydra

ulic

hea

d in

the

wat

er ta

ble

aqui

fer,

data

from

this

wel

l sho

uld

be re

mov

ed fr

om S

SA

R F

igur

es 2

.4.1

2-8

thro

ugh

-11

and

ER

Fig

ures

2.3

.1-1

7 th

roug

h -2

0, a

nd th

ese

cont

our p

lots

shou

ld b

e up

date

d.

2.4.

12-2

H. A

hn/

G. B

agch

i/ P

NN

L

a.Fi

gure

2.4

.12-

4 in

dica

tes

that

wat

er ta

ble

aqui

fer r

ecov

ery

to a

n as

ympt

otic

val

ue fo

llow

ing

cess

atio

n of

dew

ater

ing

requ

ired

1.5

to 2

yea

rs.

How

ever

, the

re is

not

a re

cord

of t

he p

erio

d pr

eced

ing

the

dew

ater

ing

activ

ity in

the

figur

e.

Als

o Fi

gure

s 2.

4.12

-4, -

5 &

-6 s

how

that

the

grou

ndw

ater

leve

ls in

the

Wat

er T

able

Aqu

ifer v

ary

sign

ifica

ntly

from

yea

rto

yea

r or e

ven

from

sea

son

to s

easo

n fo

r som

e pe

riods

of t

ime

and

not f

or o

ther

s. T

hese

fact

s in

dica

te th

at th

e W

ater

Tabl

e A

quife

r is

able

to u

nder

go s

ubst

antia

l cha

nge

in w

ater

tabl

e el

evat

ion

(with

a c

orre

spon

ding

mov

emen

t of w

ater

)w

hile

not

und

ergo

ing

subs

tant

ial l

ocal

stre

ss (p

umpi

ng),

and

bein

g is

olat

ed fr

om th

e un

derly

ing

conf

ined

Ter

tiary

aqui

fer t

hat i

s st

ress

ed b

y U

nit 1

& 2

ope

ratio

ns.

It is

ess

entia

l tha

t the

und

erly

ing

conc

eptu

al m

odel

of t

he u

ncon

fined

aqui

fer a

nd k

ey p

aram

eter

s de

scrib

ing

the

aqui

fer b

e sh

own

to b

e in

agr

eem

ent w

ith th

is k

now

n sy

stem

beh

avio

r, (e

.g.,

that

the

hydr

aulic

con

duct

ivity

, sto

rativ

ity, p

oros

ity, e

tc.,

are

cons

iste

nt w

ith th

e ab

ility

of t

he u

ncon

fined

aqu

ifer t

ore

spon

d to

dew

ater

ing,

sev

ere

drou

ght,

and

the

retu

rn to

a n

orm

al p

reci

pita

tion

leve

l).

b.D

iscu

ss th

e re

ason

s w

hy th

e te

mpo

ral v

aria

bilit

y of

the

wat

er le

vels

in th

e W

ater

Tab

le A

quife

r dur

ing

the

perio

d fro

m20

05 to

200

6 (F

igur

e 2.

4.12

-6) w

ere

redu

ced

subs

tant

ially

com

pare

d to

thos

e be

fore

200

5 (F

igur

es 2

.4.1

2-4&

5).

2.4.

12-3

H. A

hn/

G. B

agch

i/ P

NN

L

a.In

clud

e in

the

SS

AR

all

avai

labl

e in

form

atio

n an

d da

ta, a

nd u

pdat

e th

e co

ntou

r map

s de

pict

ing

the

(i) th

ickn

ess

of th

eU

tley

Lim

esto

ne la

yer,

and

the

(ii) t

op a

nd (i

ii) b

otto

m e

leva

tions

of t

he B

lue

Blu

ff m

embe

r of t

he L

isbo

n Fo

rmat

ion

inth

e E

SP

site

are

a. I

t is

desi

rabl

e to

dep

ict a

s m

uch

of th

e ar

ea a

s po

ssib

le in

the

vici

nity

of t

he E

SP

site

in th

e co

ntou

rm

ap(s

), (i.

e., i

nclu

de a

s m

uch

of th

e ar

ea fr

om th

e so

uthe

rn d

rain

ages

to T

elfa

ir P

ond,

the

north

ern

drai

nage

to M

alla

rdP

ond,

the

east

ern

drai

nage

to S

avan

nah

Riv

er).

b.In

con

junc

tion

with

the

abov

e in

form

atio

n, d

ata

and

plot

s, in

clud

e a

disc

ussi

on o

f the

con

tinui

ty o

f the

Utle

y Li

mes

tone

,th

e co

mpo

sitio

n an

d in

tegr

ity o

f the

Utle

y Li

mes

tone

rela

tive

to H

uddl

estu

n an

d S

umm

erou

r rep

ort (

1996

), an

d th

epr

esen

ce o

r abs

ence

of K

arst

cha

ract

eris

tics.

Inco

rpor

ate

the

disc

ussi

on in

to th

e su

bsur

face

con

cept

ual m

odel

.

2.4.

12-4

H. A

hn/

G. B

agch

i/ P

NN

L

a.P

rovi

de a

nd in

corp

orat

e in

to th

e S

SA

R a

dis

cuss

ion

of th

e pr

oces

s us

ed to

dev

elop

the

site

hyd

rolo

gic

conc

eptu

alm

odel

. D

iscu

ss th

e va

rious

con

cept

ual m

odel

s co

nsid

ered

in d

evel

opin

g th

e fin

al c

once

ptua

l mod

el, a

nd h

ow y

our

mod

el c

ontra

sts

with

the

conc

eptu

al m

odel

s of

the

VE

GP

UFS

AR

, and

US

GS

stu

dies

(Cla

rk a

nd W

est 1

997;

Che

rry

2006

). D

escr

ibe

the

data

set

s an

d ra

tiona

le u

sed

to e

stab

lish

the

final

con

cept

ual m

odel

. Th

is d

iscu

ssio

n of

the

conc

eptu

al m

odel

sho

uld

cove

r the

con

tinui

ty o

r dis

cont

inui

ty o

f the

hyd

rolo

gic

units

, the

ir co

nnec

tivity

to th

e S

avan

nah

Riv

er a

nd o

ther

sur

face

wat

er fe

atur

es.

b.P

rovi

de a

nd in

corp

orat

e in

to th

e S

SA

R a

dis

cuss

ion

of th

e pr

oces

s us

ed to

est

ablis

h th

at th

e co

ncep

tual

mod

el fo

r the

trans

port

path

way

s an

d tra

vel t

imes

pre

sent

ed in

the

SS

AR

repr

esen

t the

mos

t con

serv

ativ

e (p

essi

mis

tic) p

athw

ay fr

omth

e va

rious

oth

er fe

asib

le a

ltern

ativ

e pa

thw

ays.

c.P

rovi

de a

nd in

corp

orat

e in

to th

e S

SA

R a

dis

cuss

ion

of th

e pr

oces

s us

ed to

con

serv

ativ

ely

boun

d th

e hy

drau

licpr

oper

ties

(gra

dien

t, hy

drau

lic c

ondu

ctiv

ity, p

oros

ity, e

tc.)

used

in s

afet

y re

late

d ca

lcul

atio

ns.

Pro

vide

a s

umm

ary

data

set u

tiliz

ing

data

from

the

ER

and

SS

AR

that

pre

sent

s th

e bo

undi

ng h

ydra

ulic

pro

perti

es o

f soi

l/sed

imen

t ove

rlyin

g th

eB

lue

Blu

ff M

arl o

f the

Lis

bon

Form

atio

n.

d.P

rovi

de a

nd in

corp

orat

e in

to th

e S

SA

R n

ew c

alcu

latio

ns o

f the

acc

iden

tal r

elea

se fr

om th

e ef

fluen

t hol

d-up

tank

that

utili

ze th

e ab

ove

desc

ribed

and

sup

porte

d co

ncep

tual

mod

el a

nd d

ata.

2.4.

13-1

H. A

hn/

G. B

agch

i/ P

NN

L

For t

he n

ew p

lant

s, d

escr

ibe

brie

fly th

e fa

cilit

ies

and

prot

ocol

s to

pre

vent

acc

iden

tal r

elea

ses

from

radw

aste

tank

s, a

uxili

ary

build

ings

, and

pip

ing

syst

ems

to th

e su

rface

and

the

grou

nd w

ater

bod

ies.

Incl

ude

in th

is d

iscu

ssio

n a

desc

riptio

n re

gard

ing

how

was

te is

tran

sfer

red

to th

e ef

fluen

t hol

d-up

tank

iden

tifie

d in

the

safe

ty a

naly

sis.

Wha

t are

the

likel

y lo

catio

ns,

quan

titie

s (in

clud

ing

radi

onuc

lide

sepa

rate

d by

eac

h ty

pe) o

f acc

iden

tal l

iqui

d ra

diol

ogic

al re

leas

e. D

escr

ibe

why

the

boun

ding

failu

re o

ccur

red

in th

e A

uxili

ary

Bui

ldin

g, a

nd w

hy it

cou

ld n

ot o

ccur

in th

e R

adw

aste

Bui

ldin

g.

2.4.

13.2

H. A

hn/

G. B

agch

i/ P

NN

L

Dis

cuss

the

proc

ess

used

to e

valu

ate

the

pote

ntia

l for

and

the

impa

ct o

f che

latio

n an

d co

mpl

exat

ion

agen

ts (e

.g. o

rgan

icac

ids)

to m

ix w

ith ra

diol

ogic

al li

quid

effl

uent

s ei

ther

with

in th

e fa

cilit

y or

alo

ng th

e tra

nspo

rt pa

thw

ay in

the

envi

ronm

ent

outs

ide

the

faci

lity.

In th

is d

iscu

ssio

n, m

ake

a cl

ear s

tate

men

t reg

ardi

ng w

heth

er o

r not

it is

pos

sibl

e fo

r any

che

latio

nag

ents

to b

e m

ixed

with

radi

olog

ical

liqu

id e

fflue

nts

with

in th

e E

SP

faci

lity.

2.4.

13-3

H. A

hn/

G. B

agch

i/ P

NN

L

The

SS

AR

sho

uld

incl

ude

a de

scrip

tion

of (1

) the

pro

cess

follo

wed

to a

rriv

e at

the

met

hod

used

to a

nd (2

) the

bas

is fo

r -bo

th th

e es

timat

e of

gro

undw

ater

out

flow

to M

alla

rd P

ond

from

the

acci

dent

al re

leas

e, a

nd th

e es

timat

e of

the

min

imum

disc

harg

e fro

m M

alla

rd P

ond.

The

typo

grap

hic

erro

r rep

ortin

g a

valu

e of

0.7

gpm

as

the

grou

ndw

ater

out

flow

to th

e po

ndfro

m th

e ac

cide

ntal

rele

ase

will

be

corr

ecte

d in

the

next

revi

sion

of t

he S

SA

R.

A re

dact

ed v

ersi

on o

f the

cal

cula

tion

pack

age

show

ing

all p

aram

eter

s, m

easu

rem

ents

, and

ass

umpt

ions

use

d in

the

calc

ulat

ion

of th

e 0.

07 g

pm ra

te w

ill b

epr

ovid

ed.

A re

dact

ed v

ersi

on o

f the

cal

cula

tion

pack

age

show

ing

all p

aram

eter

s, m

easu

rem

ents

, and

ass

umpt

ions

lead

ing

to th

e m

inim

um d

isch

arge

flow

rate

est

imat

e of

250

gpm

for M

alla

rd P

ond

will

be

prov

ided

. In

bot

h ca

ses,

the

reda

ctio

n w

illsi

mpl

y re

mov

e fin

al c

alcu

late

d va

lues

.

2.5.

1-1

G. S

tirew

alt

S

ectio

n 2.

5.1.

1.3.

5 of

the

SS

AR

, und

er “Q

uate

rnar

y S

urfa

ces

and

Dep

osits

”, id

entif

ies

a se

ries

of fo

ur a

band

oned

fluv

ial

terr

ace

leve

ls (i

.e.,

Qty

, Qtb

, Qte

, and

Qto

from

you

nges

t to

olde

st) t

hat o

ccur

in th

e si

te a

rea

abov

e Q

uate

rnar

y al

luvi

um o

fth

e pr

esen

t-day

floo

d pl

ain

of th

e S

avan

nah

Riv

er (S

SA

R F

igur

e 2.

5.1-

29),

and

ackn

owle

dges

that

suc

h fe

atur

es id

eally

can

be u

sed

to e

valu

ate

Qua

tern

ary

defo

rmat

ion.

a.P

leas

e in

dica

te w

heth

er th

ese

terr

aces

are

regi

onal

in e

xten

t, or

whe

ther

they

onl

y oc

cur l

ocal

ly a

nd m

ainl

y in

the

vici

nity

of t

he P

en B

ranc

h Fa

ult.

b.P

leas

e pr

ovid

e in

form

atio

n on

pro

pose

d or

igin

of t

hese

fluv

ial t

erra

ces.

2.5.

1-2

G. S

tirew

alt

S

ectio

n 2.

5.1.

1.3.

5 of

the

SS

AR

, und

er “Q

uate

rnar

y S

urfa

ces

and

Dep

osits

”, st

ates

that

terr

ace

Qtb

rang

es fr

om 8

-13

m(2

6-43

ft) a

bove

the

Sav

anna

h R

iver

sur

face

at t

he S

avan

nah

Riv

er S

ite, a

nd a

lso

indi

cate

s th

at te

rrac

e Q

te s

how

s a

rang

ein

sur

face

ele

vatio

n fro

m 1

7-25

m (5

6-82

ft) a

bove

the

Sav

anna

h R

iver

sur

face

. S

ectio

n 2.

5.1.

2.4.

3 of

the

SS

AR

indi

cate

sa

dete

ctab

le re

solu

tion

limit

for o

bser

vabl

e de

form

atio

n of

terr

ace

Qte

of a

bout

3 ft

(pg

2.5.

1-79

), su

gges

ting

that

less

than

3 ft

of w

arpi

ng o

r tilt

ing

of th

is te

rrac

e su

rface

wou

ld n

ot b

e de

tect

ed.

a.P

leas

e pr

ovid

e in

form

atio

n to

add

ress

whe

ther

the

elev

atio

n ra

nges

not

ed a

bove

sug

gest

tilti

ng o

f ter

race

sur

face

s.

b.P

leas

e di

scus

s im

plic

atio

ns o

f a d

efor

mat

ion

dete

ctio

n lim

it of

abo

ut 3

ft (1

m) f

or th

ese

fluvi

al te

rrac

es.

2.5.

1-3

G. S

tirew

alt

Sec

tion

2.5.

1.1.

3.5

of th

e S

SA

R d

escr

ibes

terr

ace

Qty

, pos

ition

ed b

etw

een

the

mod

ern-

day

flood

pla

in o

f the

Sav

anna

hR

iver

and

the

next

old

est o

verly

ing

terr

ace

(Qtb

) as

“min

or a

nd n

ot la

tera

lly c

ontin

uous

”. T

erra

ce Q

ty o

ccur

s al

ong

ast

retc

h of

the

Sav

anna

h R

iver

that

is re

lativ

ely

stra

ight

(SS

AR

Fig

ure

2.5.

1-29

) whe

re th

e riv

er is

inci

sed,

and

app

ears

tobe

mai

nly

loca

ted

sout

heas

t of t

he p

ostu

late

d su

rface

trac

e of

the

Pen

Bra

nch

Faul

t. S

ectio

n 2.

5.1.

1.3.

5 re

ports

that

terr

ace

Qtb

, im

med

iate

ly o

verly

ing

Qty

, is

abou

t 90,

000

year

s ol

d (P

leis

toce

ne) b

ased

on

corr

elat

ion,

rela

tive

posi

tion,

and

mor

phol

ogy.

Bro

oks

and

Sas

sam

an (1

990)

sug

gest

ed a

n ag

e of

4,0

00 y

ears

for t

he m

oder

n-da

y flo

od p

lain

. Th

isin

form

atio

n su

gges

ts th

at Q

ty, t

he lo

wes

t and

you

nges

t ter

race

, cou

ld b

e be

twee

n 4,

000

- 90,

000

year

s ol

d an

d th

eref

ore

poss

ibly

Hol

ocen

e in

age

.

Con

side

ring

orig

in, l

ocat

ion,

and

app

roxi

mat

e ag

e of

terr

ace

Qty

, ple

ase

disc

uss

the

impl

icat

ions

for p

ossi

ble

Qua

tern

ary

disp

lace

men

t on

the

Pen

Bra

nch

Faul

t.

2.5.

1-4

G. S

tirew

alt

SS

AR

Fig

ure

2.5.

1-29

sho

ws

the

Sav

anna

h R

iver

to b

e re

lativ

ely

stra

ight

in th

e si

te a

rea

in th

e vi

cini

ty o

f (i.e

., so

uthe

ast o

f)th

e pr

opos

ed s

urfa

ce tr

ace

of th

e P

en B

ranc

h Fa

ult.

Sec

tion

2.5.

1.2.

1 of

the

SS

AR

des

crib

es th

e S

avan

nah

as in

cise

d at

that

loca

tion.

Ple

ase

prov

ide

info

rmat

ion

to a

ddre

ss w

hy th

e S

avan

nah

Riv

er is

stra

ight

and

inci

sed

at a

pos

ition

that

app

ears

toco

rres

pond

with

the

loca

tion

of th

e P

en B

ranc

h Fa

ult “

bloc

k” o

n th

e so

uthe

aste

rn s

ide

of th

e fa

ult.

2.5.

1-5

G. S

tirew

alt/

US

GS

In S

ectio

n 2.

5.1.

1.4.

3, ro

cks

of th

e A

ugus

ta a

nd M

odoc

faul

t zon

es a

re d

escr

ibed

as

cont

aini

ng b

oth

myl

oniti

c (i.

e., d

uctil

e)an

d br

ittle

def

orm

atio

n fa

bric

s. W

hile

the

myl

oniti

c fa

bric

is c

lear

ly o

f Alle

ghan

ian

age,

ther

e is

no

expl

anat

ion

of w

heth

erth

e br

ittle

fabr

ic is

the

resu

lt of

late

-sta

ge A

llegh

ania

n de

form

atio

n al

ong

thes

e zo

nes,

eith

er a

t sha

llow

er d

epth

s or

low

ersl

ip ra

tes;

cro

ss-c

uts

the

myl

oniti

c fa

bric

and

the

prod

uct o

f lat

er-s

tage

fold

ing

or u

nloa

ding

rath

er th

an fa

ult m

ovem

ent;

orth

e re

sult

of a

muc

h yo

unge

r, m

ore

rece

nt e

piso

de o

f fau

lt m

ovem

ent a

long

the

myl

oniti

c zo

nes.

For b

oth

faul

ts, p

leas

e pr

ovid

e in

form

atio

n on

cha

ract

eris

tics

of th

em

ylon

itic

and

britt

le fa

bric

s (in

clud

ing

text

ural

, pet

rolo

gic,

stru

ctur

al, a

nd o

rient

atio

n da

ta o

r oth

er e

vide

nce

that

may

cons

train

age

of t

he b

rittle

def

orm

atio

n) w

hich

dem

onst

rate

s th

at th

e br

ittle

fabr

ic li

kely

did

not

form

dur

ing

a po

st-

Alle

ghan

ian

defo

rmat

ion

even

t, e.

g., d

urin

g th

e Q

uate

rnar

y, o

r at l

east

dur

ing

the

pres

ent-d

ay s

tress

regi

me.

2.5.

1-6

G. S

tirew

alt

For f

aults

list

ed u

nder

“Oth

er P

aleo

zoic

Fau

lts” i

n S

SA

R S

ectio

n 2.

5.1.

1.4.

3, th

e C

entra

l Pie

dmon

t Sut

ure

and

the

Eas

tern

Pie

dmon

t Fau

lt S

yste

m a

re n

ot s

how

n in

Fig

ure

2.5.

1-14

.

Ple

ase

corr

ect F

igur

e 2.

5.1-

14 to

incl

ude

thes

e tw

o fa

ults

sin

ce o

ther

s lis

ted

are

show

n th

erei

n.

2.5.

1-7

G. S

tirew

alt/

US

GS

In S

ectio

n 2.

5.1.

1.4.

3, th

e G

renv

ille

Fron

t is

not d

escr

ibed

und

er “R

egio

nal G

eoph

ysic

al A

nom

alie

s an

d Li

neat

ions

”,al

thou

gh it

is li

sted

am

ong

the

feat

ures

occ

urrin

g w

ithin

200

mi o

f the

VE

GP

site

and

sho

wn

in S

SA

R F

igur

e 2.

5.1-

12.

Ple

ase

desc

ribe

this

regi

onal

feat

ure,

incl

udin

g w

heth

er o

r not

is c

onsi

dere

d to

be

a po

tent

ial s

eism

ic s

ourc

e an

d th

e ba

sis

for t

he c

oncl

usio

n.

2.5.

1-8

G. S

tirew

alt/

US

GS

Of t

he s

ix re

gion

al g

eoph

ysic

al a

nom

alie

s an

d lin

eam

ents

list

ed in

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

1.1.

4.3,

info

rmat

ion

is p

rese

nted

toex

plai

n w

hy o

nly

the

Eas

t Coa

st a

nd B

lake

Spu

r mag

netic

ano

mal

ies

are

not c

onsi

dere

d as

pot

entia

l sei

smic

sou

rces

. D

iscu

ssio

ns o

f the

New

Yor

k-A

laba

ma,

Clin

gman

, and

Oco

ee li

neam

ents

do

not i

ndic

ate

whe

ther

or n

ot th

ey c

ould

be

pote

ntia

l sei

smic

sou

rces

. A

lso,

loca

tions

of t

he C

lingm

an a

nd O

coee

Lin

eam

ents

and

the

Oco

ee B

lock

are

not

illu

stra

ted

in F

igur

e 2.

5.1-

12, a

nd

earth

quak

es in

terp

rete

d by

Whe

eler

(199

6) a

s oc

curr

ing

with

in th

e O

coee

blo

ck in

the

“mod

ern”

tect

onic

set

ting

wer

e no

tqu

antif

ied

in re

gard

to a

ge o

f fau

lting

with

whi

ch th

ese

earth

quak

es w

ere

asso

ciat

ed. (

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

1.1.

4.6

incl

udes

adi

scus

sion

of t

he E

aste

rn T

enne

ssee

Sei

smic

Zon

e in

whi

ch s

eism

ic e

vent

s ar

e re

late

d to

the

Oco

ee b

lock

.)

a.P

leas

e co

rrec

t Fig

ure

2.5.

1-12

to in

clud

e th

e C

lingm

an a

nd O

coee

Lin

eam

ents

and

the

Oco

ee B

lock

.

b.P

leas

e in

dica

te a

ge o

f th

e ”m

oder

n” te

cton

ic s

ettin

g in

rega

rd to

whe

ther

faul

ts in

that

set

ting

are

pote

ntia

l sei

smic

ally

capa

ble

stru

ctur

es to

be

cons

ider

ed fo

r the

VE

GP

site

, and

exp

lain

whe

ther

or n

ot th

ese

thre

e lin

eam

ents

are

spec

ifica

lly c

onsi

dere

d to

be

pote

ntia

l sei

smic

sou

rces

and

the

basi

s fo

r the

con

clus

ion.

2.5.

1-9

US

GS

Sec

tion

2.5.

1.1.

4.3,

S.C

. des

crib

es R

egio

nal M

esoz

oic

Tect

onic

Stru

ctur

es a

nd s

tate

s th

at n

orm

al fa

ults

whi

ch “b

ound

Tria

ssic

bas

ins

may

be

listri

c in

to th

e P

aleo

zoic

det

achm

ents

faul

ts (D

enni

s et

al.,

200

4) o

r may

pen

etra

te th

roug

h th

e cr

ust

as h

igh-

angl

e fa

ults

.” T

he d

istin

ctio

n be

twee

n th

ese

basi

n-bo

undi

ng fa

ults

bei

ng li

stric

or p

enet

ratin

g th

roug

h th

e cr

ust a

shi

gh-a

ngle

faul

ts is

cru

cial

to th

eir p

oten

tial f

or g

ener

atin

g la

rge-

mag

nitu

de e

arth

quak

es.

a.P

leas

e di

scus

s th

e ev

iden

ce re

late

d to

whe

ther

or n

ot th

ese

stru

ctur

es c

ould

ext

end

thro

ugh

the

crus

t to

dept

hs w

here

larg

e-m

agni

tude

ear

thqu

akes

com

mon

ly n

ucle

ate.

b.P

leas

e ex

plai

n ho

w th

e di

stin

ctio

n be

twee

n lis

tric

and

high

-ang

le fa

ult g

eom

etrie

s is

trea

ted

in th

e P

SH

A, a

nd e

xpla

inho

w th

e di

ffere

nce

betw

een

the

two

geom

etrie

s w

ould

affe

ct h

azar

d at

the

site

. A

ltern

ativ

ely,

cro

ss-r

efer

ence

an

SS

AR

sect

ion

that

pro

vide

s th

e ex

plan

atio

n.

2.5.

1-10

US

GS

Sec

tion

2.5.

1.1.

4.3

disc

usse

s th

e B

elai

r Fau

lt an

d in

dica

tes

that

this

stru

ctur

e is

like

ly a

tear

faul

t or l

ater

al ra

mp

in th

eha

ngin

g w

all o

f the

Aug

usta

faul

t zon

e. A

ge c

onst

rain

ts o

n la

st m

ovem

ent o

f the

Bel

air F

ault

are

som

etim

e be

twee

n po

st-

late

Eoc

ene

and

pre-

26,0

00 y

ears

ago

(Pro

wel

l, 20

05).

Thu

s, th

e B

elai

r Fau

lt is

one

of t

he fe

w s

truct

ures

in th

e re

gion

with

inte

rpre

ted

evid

ence

of l

ate

Cen

ozoi

c m

ovem

ent (

SS

AR

Fig

ures

2.5

.1-3

and

2.5

.1-1

3).

If th

e B

elai

r is

a te

ar fa

ult o

r lat

eral

ram

p as

soci

ated

with

the

Aug

usta

faul

t zon

e, th

en m

ovem

ent o

n th

e B

elai

r may

be

rela

ted

to m

ovem

ent o

n th

e la

rger

,re

gion

al-s

cale

Aug

usta

faul

t.

Ple

ase

expl

ain

how

infe

renc

e of

pos

sibl

e C

enoz

oic

mov

emen

t on

the

Bel

air F

ault

and

its p

ossi

ble

asso

ciat

ion

with

the

Aug

usta

faul

t zon

e m

ight

affe

ct s

eism

ic h

azar

d at

the

Vog

tle s

ite.

2.5.

1-11

L. B

auer

Figu

re 2

.5.1

-19

of S

SA

R S

ectio

n 2.

5.1.

1.4.

4 is

impo

rtant

for i

llust

ratin

g w

hat i

s kn

own

or in

ferr

ed a

bout

whi

ch li

quef

actio

nfe

atur

es m

ay b

e re

late

d to

the

1886

Cha

rlest

on e

arth

quak

e vs

oth

er p

ast e

arth

quak

e ev

ents

, and

for e

valu

atin

g pr

oxim

ityof

indi

vidu

al fe

atur

es to

pro

pose

d so

urce

s.

Ple

ase

deve

lop

a ne

w fi

gure

, or r

evis

e Fi

gure

2.5

.1-1

9, to

cle

arly

dis

tingu

ish

lique

fact

ion

feat

ures

rela

ted

to th

e 18

86C

harle

ston

ear

thqu

ake

vs o

ther

pas

t eve

nts

to e

nabl

e ev

alua

tion

of p

roxi

mity

of i

ndiv

idua

l fea

ture

s to

pro

pose

d so

urce

s.

2.5.

1-12

US

GS

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

1.1.

4.4

disc

usse

s C

harle

ston

Tec

toni

c Fe

atur

es a

nd c

ites

Figu

re 2

.5.1

-18.

The

isos

eism

al c

onto

ur li

nes

for t

he 1

886

Cha

rlest

on e

arth

quak

e in

this

figu

re a

re a

ttrib

uted

to B

ollin

ger (

1977

), bu

t thi

s re

fere

nce

is n

ot in

clud

ed in

the

list o

f ref

eren

ces

for S

ectio

n 2.

5.1.

Ple

ase

incl

ude

Bol

linge

r (19

77) i

n th

e lis

t of r

efer

ence

s ci

ted.

2.5.

1-13

G. S

tirew

alt

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

1.1.

4.4

desc

ribes

all

faul

ts th

at o

ccur

with

in th

e m

eizo

seis

mal

are

a fo

r the

188

6 C

harle

ston

ear

thqu

ake,

exce

pt th

e G

ants

and

Dra

yton

Fau

lts.

Ple

ase

prov

ide

a de

scrip

tion

of th

ese

two

faul

ts s

ince

they

are

sho

wn

in S

SA

R F

igur

es 2

.5.1

-19

and

2.5.

1-20

.

2.5.

1-14

G. S

tirew

alt

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

1.1.

4.5

disc

usse

s fa

ults

pos

tula

ted

for t

he S

RS

by

Cum

best

et a

l (19

98) w

hich

are

illu

stra

ted

in S

SA

RFi

gure

2.5

.1-2

2. D

ensi

ty o

f fau

lts s

how

n in

this

figu

re s

ugge

sts

ther

e m

ay b

e fa

ults

at t

he V

EG

P s

ite w

hich

hav

e no

t yet

been

iden

tifie

d.

Ple

ase

addr

ess

the

issu

e of

why

den

sity

of f

aults

on

the

east

ern

side

of t

he S

avan

nah

Riv

er a

roun

d th

e S

RS

is m

uch

grea

ter t

han

that

cur

rent

ly s

how

n fo

r the

VE

GP

site

on

the

wes

tern

sid

e of

the

river

, and

the

impl

icat

ion

for s

eism

ic h

azar

dat

the

ES

P s

ite.

2.5.

1-15

G. S

tirew

alt

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

1.1.

4.5

on S

RS

Tec

toni

c Fe

atur

es d

oes

not s

umm

ariz

e pe

rtine

nt in

form

atio

n co

llect

ed fr

om th

e S

RS

that

was

use

d to

def

ine

faul

t tra

ces

at th

e S

RS

and

dra

w th

e co

nclu

sion

, pre

sent

ed in

SS

AR

Sec

tions

2.5

.1.2

.4 a

nd 2

.5.3

.1.3

,th

at n

o fa

ults

, in

parti

cula

r the

Pen

Bra

nch,

are

cap

able

feat

ures

at t

he V

EG

P s

ite.

a.P

leas

e pr

ovid

e a

conc

ise

sum

mar

y of

def

initi

ve d

ata

colle

cted

at t

he S

RS

, inc

ludi

ng d

irect

evi

denc

e fro

m b

orin

gs a

ndse

ism

ic p

rofil

es, w

hich

dem

onst

rate

that

the

Pen

Bra

nch

Faul

t is

not a

cap

able

stru

ctur

e at

the

SR

S.

b.P

leas

e co

mpa

re d

ata

colle

cted

and

ana

lyse

s pe

rform

ed fo

r the

SR

S to

dem

onst

rate

mos

t rec

ent m

ovem

ent o

n th

e P

enB

ranc

h fa

ult w

ith d

ata

and

anal

yses

em

ploy

ed to

mak

e th

is d

eter

min

atio

n fo

r the

VE

GP

site

, lea

ding

to th

e co

nclu

sion

that

the

Pen

Bra

nch

Faul

t is

not a

cap

able

stru

ctur

e at

the

VE

GP

site

.

2.5.

1-16

US

GS

Sec

tion

2.5.

1.2.

4 di

scus

ses

faul

ts in

the

site

are

a th

at in

volv

e de

form

atio

n of

bas

emen

t roc

ks.

The

Ste

el C

reek

faul

t is

not

cons

ider

ed to

be

a ca

pabl

e te

cton

ic s

ourc

e, b

ut th

is c

oncl

usio

n is

not

sub

stan

tiate

d.

Ple

ase

prov

ide

info

rmat

ion

and

refe

renc

es th

at s

uppo

rt th

e co

nclu

sion

that

the

Ste

el C

reek

Fau

lt is

not

a c

apab

le s

ourc

e.

2.5.

1-17

G. S

tirew

alt

In th

e br

ief h

isto

ry o

f the

Pen

Bra

nch

Faul

t pre

sent

ed in

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

1.2.

4.1,

ther

e is

no

refe

renc

e to

the

sugg

estio

n of

Han

son

et a

l (19

93) t

hat p

ossi

ble

reju

vena

tion

of d

rain

age

alon

gtra

ces

of th

e P

en B

ranc

h an

d S

teel

Cre

ek F

aults

on

the

SR

S m

ay s

ugge

st e

ither

loca

l tec

toni

c up

lift a

long

thes

e fa

ults

or

non-

tect

onic

geo

logi

c or

geo

mor

phic

pro

cess

es.

Ple

ase

disc

uss

this

sug

gest

ion

of p

ossi

ble

disp

lace

men

t alo

ng th

e P

en B

ranc

h Fa

ult i

n re

latio

n to

pot

entia

l im

plic

atio

ns fo

rth

e V

EG

P s

ite.

2.5.

1-18

G. S

tirew

alt

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

1.2.

4.2

stat

es th

at th

e P

en B

ranc

h Fa

ult a

t the

VE

GP

site

is m

ade

up o

f tw

o sp

ecifi

c fa

ult s

egm

ents

trend

ing

N45

E a

nd N

34E

with

a d

ip o

f 45S

E.

Cum

best

et a

l (20

00) r

epor

ted

a N

46-6

6E ra

nge

in s

trike

of t

he P

en B

ranc

hFa

ult a

t the

SR

S.

Ple

ase

disc

uss

whe

ther

or n

ot e

ither

faul

t seg

men

t at t

he V

EG

P s

ite is

favo

rabl

y or

ient

ed to

exp

erie

nce

slip

in re

spon

se to

the

exis

ting

regi

onal

stre

ss fi

eld

defin

ed b

y M

oos

and

Zoba

ch (2

001)

.

2.5.

2-1

S. G

onza

lez/

Y. L

iS

SA

R S

ectio

n 2.

5.2.

2.2.

4 de

scrib

es th

e up

date

d C

harle

ston

sei

smic

sou

rce

mod

el (U

CS

S).

Ple

ase

just

ify y

our r

atio

nale

for u

sing

the

SS

HA

C L

evel

2 m

etho

dolo

gy fo

r the

UC

SS

upd

ate.

In

addi

tion,

ple

ase

desc

ribe

the

impl

emen

tatio

n of

the

SS

HA

C L

evel

2 m

etho

dolo

gy.

Spe

cific

ally

, how

wer

e th

e ex

pert’

s op

inio

ns in

tegr

ated

into

the

deve

lopm

ent o

f the

fina

lU

CS

S m

odel

, how

wer

e an

y co

nflic

ting

opin

ions

bet

wee

n th

e ex

perts

dea

lt w

ith, a

nd h

ow d

oes

the

final

sou

rce

mod

elre

pres

ent t

he in

form

ed c

onse

nsus

of t

he c

omm

unity

bey

ond

thos

e se

lect

ed fo

r the

UC

SS

upd

ate?

In a

dditi

on, p

leas

e pr

ovid

e a

com

paris

on o

f you

r SS

HA

C L

evel

2 U

CS

S u

pdat

e w

ith L

evel

3 a

nd 4

SS

HA

C u

pdat

es.

Wha

tad

ditio

nal b

enef

it w

ould

hav

e be

en g

aine

d by

Lev

el 3

or 4

upd

ates

?

2.5.

2-2

US

GS

SS

AR

Sec

tions

2.5

.1.1

.4.6

and

2.5

.2.2

.1 th

e ra

nge

of M

max

val

ues

deve

lope

d by

eac

h E

ST

are

give

n as

mb.

Ple

ase

prov

ide

a ta

ble

for c

onve

rting

val

ues

of m

b to

Mw b

y th

e eq

uatio

ns u

sed

for t

he S

SA

R.

2.5.

2-3

US

GS

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

2.2.

1 su

mm

ariz

es th

e E

PR

I sou

rce

zone

s th

at in

clud

e th

e si

te, a

nd th

e M

max

val

ues

and

wei

ghts

that

each

EP

RI E

arth

Sci

ence

Tea

m (E

ST)

ass

igne

d to

thes

e so

urce

zon

es.

Mm

ax v

alue

s of

the

zone

s ha

ve a

wei

ghte

d m

ean

ofab

out M

w 6

.0. M

max

val

ues

of M

w 7

.5 a

nd la

rger

wer

e as

sign

ed lo

w p

roba

bilit

ies

that

ave

rage

0.0

8. I

n co

ntra

st, t

he U

SG

Sna

tiona

l sei

smic

-haz

ard

map

s ut

ilize

an

Mm

ax th

at is

bas

ed o

n (1

) A.C

. Joh

nsto

n’s

(199

4, E

PR

I) su

rvey

of l

arge

ear

thqu

akes

wor

ldw

ide

in a

reas

that

are

tect

onic

ally

sim

ilar t

o th

e U

.S. e

ast o

f the

Roc

kies

,and

on

(2) L

. Kan

ter’s

(199

4, E

PR

I) fin

alas

sess

men

ts o

f the

tect

onic

set

ting

of e

ach

earth

quak

e. T

he 1

996,

200

2, a

nd 2

007

US

GS

nat

iona

l haz

ard

map

s us

e M

max

of M

w 7

.5 w

ith h

igh

wei

ghts

for t

he a

rea

that

incl

udes

the

site

.

a.P

leas

e ex

plai

n w

heth

er o

r not

the

John

ston

(199

4) fi

ndin

gs, t

he fi

nal v

ersi

ons

of th

e K

ante

r (19

94) a

sses

smen

ts, a

ndU

SG

S’s

use

of t

hem

as

supp

ort f

or h

igh

Mm

ax, c

onst

itute

new

info

rmat

ion

that

requ

ires

an u

pdat

e of

the

1989

EP

RI

PS

HA

, and

why

.

b.P

leas

e de

mon

stra

te th

e ef

fect

that

usi

ng a

n M

max

of M

w 7

.5 w

ould

hav

e on

the

haza

rd a

t the

Vog

tle s

ite.

2.5.

2-4

US

GS

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

2.2.

2.3

(pag

e 2.

5.2-

16) s

tate

s th

at th

e re

sults

of t

he L

awre

nce

Live

rmor

e N

atio

nal L

abor

ator

y Tr

ial

Impl

emen

tatio

n P

roje

ct (T

IP) s

tudy

are

not

exp

licitl

y in

clud

ed in

the

SS

AR

bec

ause

the

stud

y w

as a

s m

uch

“a te

st o

f the

met

hodo

logy

as

a re

al e

stim

ate

of s

eism

ic h

azar

d”.

Ple

ase

prov

ide

mor

e de

tail

expl

aini

ng w

hy th

e TI

P re

sults

wer

e no

tus

ed.

2.5.

2-5

US

GS

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

2.2.

2.4.

1 st

ates

that

the

char

acte

ristic

s of

the

1886

Cha

rlest

on e

arth

quak

e, a

nd th

e gr

eate

st d

ensi

ty o

fpr

ehis

toric

liqu

efac

tion

feat

ures

, tak

en to

geth

er “s

how

that

futu

re e

arth

quak

es h

avin

g m

agni

tude

s co

mpa

rabl

e to

the

Cha

rlest

on e

arth

quak

e of

188

6 m

ost l

ikel

y w

ill o

ccur

with

in th

e ar

ea d

efin

ed b

y G

eom

etry

A. A

wei

ght o

f 0.7

is a

ssig

ned

toG

eom

etry

A …

” (pa

ge 2

.5.2

-18)

. A

dditi

onal

ly, F

igur

e 2.

5.2-

9 in

dica

tes

no li

kelih

ood

that

an

1886

-siz

ed e

arth

quak

e ha

soc

curr

ed in

land

from

the

coas

tal r

egio

n, e

xcep

t alo

ng G

eom

etry

C, a

nd th

en o

nly

with

a p

roba

bilit

y of

0.1

.

a.P

leas

e su

mm

ariz

e th

e ag

e, li

quef

actio

n su

scep

tibili

ty, a

nd g

eogr

aphi

c di

strib

utio

n of

liqu

efia

ble

depo

sits

in th

e zo

ne 5

0-15

0 km

inla

nd fr

om th

e co

ast,

and

expl

ain

whe

ther

this

info

rmat

ion

supp

orts

a n

eglig

ible

pro

babi

lity

of la

rge

inla

ndea

rthqu

akes

.

b.P

leas

e re

conc

ile a

neg

ligib

le p

roba

bilit

y of

larg

e in

land

ear

thqu

akes

, as

indi

cate

d in

Fig

ure

2.5.

2-9,

with

the

disc

over

yof

pre

hist

oric

liqu

efac

tion

feat

ures

as

muc

h as

100

km

inla

nd in

fluv

ial d

epos

its o

f the

Edi

sto

Riv

er (O

berm

eier

, 199

6, in

McC

alpi

n, J

., ed

., “P

aleo

seis

mol

ogy”

, Fig

. 7.6

; sam

e fig

ure

is F

ig. 1

1 in

Eng

inee

ring

Geo

logy

, 199

6, v

. 44,

p. 1

-76)

.

2.5.

2-6

US

GS

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

2.2.

2.4.

3 su

gges

ts th

at th

e liq

uefa

ctio

n fe

atur

es a

ttrib

uted

to a

sin

gle

larg

e, p

rehi

stor

ic e

arth

quak

e m

ight

actu

ally

hav

e be

en p

rodu

ced

by s

ever

al m

oder

ate-

mag

nitu

de e

arth

quak

es th

at a

re c

lose

ly s

pace

d in

tim

e (p

age

2.5.

2-26

). P

leas

e de

term

ine

whe

ther

Tal

wan

i or O

berm

eier

hav

e da

ta o

n si

zes

of p

rehi

stor

ic li

quef

actio

n cr

ater

s, a

nd w

heth

er th

ese

or a

ny re

late

d da

ta m

ight

con

stra

in th

e po

ssib

le m

agni

tude

s of

the

preh

isto

ric e

arth

quak

es.

2.5.

2-7

L. B

auer

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

2.2.

2.4.

3 st

ates

that

liqu

efac

tion

from

the

1886

Cha

rlest

on e

arth

quak

e is

pre

serv

ed in

geo

logi

c de

posi

tsat

num

erou

s lo

catio

ns a

nd th

at li

quef

actio

n de

posi

ts fr

om e

arlie

r ear

thqu

akes

are

pre

serv

ed in

the

regi

on. F

or e

ach

of th

epr

e-18

86 e

vent

s pl

ease

sum

mar

ize

the

num

ber o

f liq

uefa

ctio

n fe

atur

es a

nd s

ites

that

hav

e be

en d

ocum

ente

d, th

e ar

eal

exte

nt o

f liq

uefa

ctio

n, h

ow m

any

date

s ha

ve b

een

colle

cted

, and

how

wel

l the

feat

ures

cor

rela

te fr

om o

ne s

ite to

the

next

.

2.5.

2-8

L. B

auer

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

2.2.

2.4.

3 st

ates

that

pal

eo-li

quef

actio

n E

vent

C is

def

ined

by

feat

ures

nor

th o

f Cha

rlest

on w

hile

Eve

nt D

is d

efin

ed b

y si

tes

sout

h of

Cha

rlest

on.

Eve

nts

C a

nd D

are

com

bine

d as

a s

ingl

e la

rge

even

t C’.

Ple

ase

prov

ide

any

info

rmat

ion

on li

quef

actio

n fe

atur

es, g

eogr

aphi

cally

loca

ted

betw

een

thes

e tw

o ar

ea, t

hat h

ave

sim

ilar r

adio

carb

on a

ges.

Pro

vide

just

ifica

tion

that

alth

ough

the

2-si

gma

calib

rate

d da

tes

over

lap,

ther

e is

eno

ugh

pale

oliq

uefa

ctio

n da

ta to

sup

port

asi

ngle

larg

e ev

ent C

’ for

m a

sin

gle

sour

ce, o

r if i

t is

mor

e lik

ely

to re

flect

sm

alle

r, m

oder

ate-

mag

nitu

de e

arth

quak

es c

lose

lysp

aced

in ti

me?

2.5.

2-9

S. G

onza

lez/

US

GS

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

2.2.

2.4.

3 de

scrib

es th

e ca

lcul

atio

n of

two

aver

age

recu

rren

ce in

terv

als

cove

ring

two

diffe

rent

tim

ein

terv

als,

whi

ch a

re u

sed

as tw

o re

curr

ence

bra

nche

s on

the

logi

c tre

e. P

leas

e ju

stify

in g

reat

er d

etai

l you

r rat

iona

le fo

r the

wei

ghtin

g of

the

two

recu

rren

ce b

ranc

hes

on th

e lo

gic

tree.

In a

dditi

on, p

leas

e di

scus

s th

e po

ssib

ility

of a

third

sce

nario

that

the

geol

ogic

reco

rd is

inco

mpl

ete

and

that

that

550

-yea

rre

curr

ence

inte

rval

for t

he p

ast 2

,000

yea

rs d

oes

appl

y to

the

entir

e 5,

000-

yr-lo

ng g

eolo

gic

reco

rd o

f pal

eoea

rthqu

akes

. In

this

sce

nario

, 10

larg

e-m

agni

tude

ear

thqu

akes

wou

ld h

ave

occu

rred

at a

ppro

xim

atel

y re

gula

r int

erva

ls d

urin

g th

e pa

st5,

000

year

s.P

leas

e al

so d

iscu

ss th

e po

tent

ial i

mpa

cts

of th

is s

cena

rio o

n th

e ha

zard

cal

cula

tion

for t

he V

ogtle

ES

P s

ite.

2.5.

2-10

C. M

unso

n/Y

. Li

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

2.4.

4 st

ates

that

"the

new

inte

rpre

tatio

n of

the

Cha

rlest

on s

ourc

e in

dica

tes

that

a s

ourc

e of

the

larg

eea

rthqu

akes

in th

e C

harle

ston

are

a ex

ists

with

wei

ght 1

.0...

" A

lthou

gh th

e U

CS

S u

pdat

e of

the

Cha

rlest

on s

ourc

e zo

neco

vers

a fa

irly

larg

e ar

ea, t

he w

eigh

ting

and

sour

ce g

eom

etrie

s gi

ve th

e la

rges

t haz

ard

only

insi

de Z

one

A (e

ither

0.9

(A, B

,B

') or

1.0

(A, B

, B',

C))

, whi

ch is

a re

lativ

ely

smal

l zon

e.In

vie

w o

f thi

s re

sult,

pro

vide

just

ifica

tion

for t

he U

CS

S s

ourc

ege

omet

ries

and

wei

ghtin

g sc

hem

e an

d de

fine

wha

t is

mea

nt b

y th

e "C

harle

ston

are

a".

2.5.

2-11

Y. L

iS

SA

R S

ectio

n 2.

5.2.

2.2.

4.1

stat

es th

at th

e w

idth

of G

eom

etry

B is

80

km.

How

ever

, SS

AR

Fig

ure

2.5.

2-9

show

s th

e w

idth

of G

eom

etry

B to

be

appr

oxim

atel

y 10

0 km

. P

leas

e pr

ovid

e th

e ac

tual

dim

ensi

ons

of G

eom

etry

B u

sed

for t

he u

pdat

edC

harle

ston

sei

smic

sou

rce

mod

el (U

CS

S).

2.5.

2-12

Y. L

iA

s st

ated

in S

SA

R S

ectio

n 2.

5.2.

2.2.

4.1

the

offs

hore

Hel

ena

Ban

ks fa

ult z

one

was

det

ecte

d by

mul

tiple

sei

smic

refle

ctio

npr

ofile

s. P

leas

e ex

plai

n w

hy th

e tw

o se

ism

ic e

vent

s (m

b 3.

5 an

d 4.

4) in

200

2, w

hich

occ

urre

d in

the

vici

nity

of t

he H

elen

aB

ank

faul

t sys

tem

, can

not b

e po

sitiv

ely

corr

elat

ed w

ith th

e fa

ult z

one,

and

did

not

dem

onst

rate

rece

nt a

ctiv

ity fo

r the

faul

tzo

ne.

Can

the

seis

mic

ity s

ymbo

lize

the

reac

tivat

ion

of th

e H

elen

a B

ank

faul

t zon

e?

2.5.

2-13

S. G

onza

lez

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

2.2.

2.5

disc

usse

s th

e E

aste

rn T

enne

ssee

Sei

smic

Zon

e (E

TSZ)

. P

leas

e pr

ovid

e, e

lect

roni

cally

, the

geog

raph

ic c

oord

inat

es d

efin

ing

the

geom

etry

of t

he E

aste

rn T

enne

ssee

Sei

smic

Zon

e (E

TSZ)

sei

smic

sou

rce

zone

s an

das

soci

ated

sei

smic

ity p

aram

eter

s (in

clud

ing

Mm

ax m

agni

tude

dis

tribu

tions

) for

eac

h E

PR

I-SO

G E

ST.

2.5.

2-14

S. G

onza

lez/

US

GS

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

2.2.

2.5

disc

usse

s th

e E

aste

rn T

enne

ssee

Sei

smic

Zon

e (E

TSZ)

. P

leas

e ju

stify

in g

reat

er d

etai

l you

rra

tiona

le fo

r not

upd

atin

g th

e E

TSZ

as c

hara

cter

ized

by

the

EP

RI E

STs

. In

add

ition

, ple

ase

disc

uss

how

the

Mm

axm

agni

tude

dis

tribu

tions

dev

elop

ed b

y ea

ch E

ST

com

pare

with

mor

e re

cent

Mm

ax e

stim

ates

by

the

US

GS

haz

ard

mod

el(F

rank

el e

t al 2

002)

and

Bol

linge

r (19

92).

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

2.2.

2.5

stat

es th

at th

e E

TSZ

does

not

con

tribu

te s

igni

fican

tly to

the

haza

rd a

t the

VE

GP

site

. P

leas

eex

plai

n w

heth

er a

nd h

ow th

is w

ould

cha

nge

if th

e E

ST’

s so

urce

zon

es re

pres

entin

g th

e E

TSZ

wer

e as

sign

ed a

sin

gle

Mm

axof

Mw 7

.5.

2.5.

2-15

S. G

onza

lez

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

2.4.

2 de

scrib

es th

e ef

fect

s of

the

new

regi

onal

ear

thqu

ake

cata

log.

Fig

ure

2.5.

2-16

sho

ws

the

two

area

sus

ed to

exa

min

e th

e ef

fect

of t

he n

ew s

eism

icity

info

rmat

ion.

Ple

ase

prov

ide

a ju

stifi

catio

n fo

r the

geo

met

ries

of th

e tw

oar

eas.

2.5.

2-16

S. G

onza

lez

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

2.5.

1 de

scrib

es th

e de

velo

pmen

t of t

he s

ite a

mpl

ifica

tion

func

tions

and

the

soil

unifo

rm h

azar

d re

spon

sesp

ectra

(UH

RS

) for

the

10-4

and

10-5 h

azar

d le

vels

. P

leas

e pr

ovid

e a

deta

iled

step

-by

step

dis

cuss

ion

of th

e m

etho

dolo

gyus

ed to

dev

elop

the

site

am

plifi

catio

n fu

nctio

ns (i

.e. S

teps

1 to

6 in

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

2.5.

1.1)

and

the

10-4 a

nd 1

0-5 s

oil

UH

RS

. If

poss

ible

, ple

ase

illus

trate

eac

h st

ep w

ith re

leva

nt d

ata.

In a

dditi

on, p

leas

e di

scus

s th

e fo

llow

ing:

a.In

Ste

p 5

of S

SA

R S

ectio

n 2.

5.2.

5.1.

1, w

hat d

oes

the

“env

elop

e m

otio

n” re

fer t

o?b.

In S

tep

6, p

leas

e ex

plai

n w

hy e

ither

the

high

- or l

ow-fr

eque

ncy

mea

n am

plifi

catio

n fa

ctor

was

use

d in

stea

d of

thei

ren

velo

pe?

c.S

tep

6 st

ates

that

“at s

ome

inte

rmed

iate

freq

uenc

ies

betw

een

2 an

d 8

Hz,

the

high

freq

uenc

y (H

F) a

nd lo

w fr

eque

ncy

(LF)

soi

l am

plifi

catio

n fa

ctor

s (A

F) a

re w

eigh

ted

in o

rder

to a

chie

ve a

sm

ooth

tran

sitio

n be

twee

n H

F an

d LF

spe

ctra

”. P

leas

e pr

ovid

e m

ore

info

rmat

ion

rega

rdin

g th

is w

eigh

ting

proc

edur

e.

2.5.

2-17

S. G

onza

lez

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

2.5.

1.3

desc

ribes

the

deve

lopm

ent o

f low

- and

hig

h- fr

eque

ncy

targ

et s

pect

ra u

sing

the

aver

age

of th

esi

ngle

and

dou

ble

corn

er s

ourc

e m

odel

s fro

m N

UR

EG

/CR

-672

8. P

leas

e ex

plai

n w

hy th

e 20

04 E

PR

I (E

PR

I 100

9684

200

4)gr

ound

mot

ion

mod

els

wer

e no

t use

d in

stea

d.

2.5.

2-18

S. G

onza

lez

SS

AR

Tab

le 2

.5.2

-17

prov

ides

the

com

pute

d an

d re

com

men

ded

Mba

r and

Dba

r val

ues

used

for t

he d

evel

opm

ent o

f the

high

- and

low

-freq

uenc

y ta

rget

resp

onse

spe

ctra

. P

leas

e ex

plai

n ho

w th

e “r

ecom

men

ded”

Dba

r and

Mba

r val

ues

wer

eca

lcul

ated

.

2.5.

2-19

S. G

onza

lez

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

2.5.

1.4

desc

ribes

the

spec

tral m

atch

ing

of th

e se

lect

ed s

eed

time

hist

orie

s to

the

targ

et re

spon

sesp

ectra

and

sta

tes

that

the

“spe

ctra

l mat

chin

g cr

iteria

giv

en in

NU

RE

G/C

R-6

728

(McG

uire

et a

l. 20

01) w

ere

used

to c

heck

the

aver

age

spec

trum

from

the

30 ti

me

hist

orie

s fo

r a g

iven

freq

uenc

y ra

nge

(hig

h- o

r low

- fre

quen

cy) a

nd a

nnua

lpr

obab

ility

leve

l. Th

is is

the

reco

mm

ende

d pr

oced

ure

in N

UR

EG

/CR

-672

8 (M

cGui

re e

t al.

2001

) whe

n m

ultip

le ti

me

hist

orie

s ar

e be

ing

gene

rate

d an

d us

ed.”

In a

dditi

on, S

ectio

n 2.

5.2.

5.1.

5 st

ates

that

“Eac

h of

the

60 ra

ndom

ized

soi

lpr

ofile

s w

ere

paire

d w

ith 3

0 se

ed ti

me

hist

orie

s (e

ach

time

hist

ory

was

app

lied

to tw

o of

the

rand

omiz

ed s

oil p

rofil

es)”

.

Ple

ase

prov

ide

a ju

stifi

catio

n fo

r not

usi

ng th

e cr

iteria

pro

vide

d N

UR

EG

/CR

-672

8 to

che

ck e

ach

indi

vidu

al ti

me

hist

ory

agai

nst t

he ta

rget

spe

ctru

m.

2.5.

2-20

S. G

onza

lez

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

2.5.

1.5

desc

ribes

the

resu

lts o

f the

site

resp

onse

cal

cula

tions

for t

he E

SP

site

. P

leas

e di

scus

s th

ere

sults

of s

ite re

spon

se c

alcu

latio

ns in

term

s of

the

follo

win

g:

a.Th

e ef

fect

s of

the

six

alte

rnat

ive

site

resp

onse

pro

files

in te

rms

of th

e di

ffere

nt d

epth

s to

the

top

of th

e P

aleo

zoic

crys

talli

ne ro

cks.

b.Th

e po

ssib

le e

ffect

s of

the

Pen

Bra

nch

faul

t zon

e (i.

e. a

s a

low

vel

ocity

zon

e or

wea

k zo

ne).

c.Th

e ef

fect

s of

the

low

vel

ocity

zon

es w

ithin

the

Blu

e B

luff

Mar

l and

Low

er S

and

Stra

tum

.d.

The

obse

rved

diff

eren

ces

betw

een

the

SR

S a

nd E

PR

I she

ar m

odul

us re

duct

ion

and

dam

ping

cur

ves.

In a

dditi

on, p

leas

e ju

stify

the

adeq

uacy

of u

sing

an

equi

vale

nt-li

near

app

roac

h ra

ther

than

a n

onlin

ear a

ppro

ach

to m

odel

site

resp

onse

at t

he E

SP

site

.

2.5.

2-21

S. G

onza

lez

SS

AR

Sec

tions

2.5

.2.7

.1.1

to 2

.5.2

.7.1

.3 d

escr

ibe

the

deve

lopm

ent o

f ver

tical

-to-h

oriz

onta

l res

pons

e sp

ectra

l (V

/H) r

atio

sba

sed

on th

e re

sults

of N

UR

EG

/CR

-672

8 an

d Le

e (2

001)

.

a.P

leas

e ju

stify

you

r rat

iona

le fo

r ass

igni

ng th

e ap

prox

imat

e w

eigh

ts o

f 1:3

to th

e re

spec

tive

“nea

r” a

nd “f

ar” e

stim

ates

of

V/H

CEU

S,So

il.b.

Ple

ase

disc

uss

the

sim

ilarit

ies

and

diffe

renc

es b

etw

een

the

site

-spe

cific

soi

l pro

file

used

by

Lee

(200

1) a

nd th

e V

ogtle

ES

P s

ite re

spon

se p

rofil

e.c.

Ple

ase

just

ify in

gre

ater

det

ail y

our r

atio

nale

for t

he re

lativ

e w

eigh

ts a

ssig

ned

to th

e N

UR

EG

/CR

-672

8 an

d Le

e (2

001)

resu

lts a

nd th

e fin

al s

moo

thin

g.

In a

dditi

on, S

SA

R S

ectio

n 2.

5.2.

7.1.

3 st

ates

that

“bot

h re

sults

giv

e m

inim

um V

/H v

alue

s, p

artic

ular

ly in

the

low

erfre

quen

cies

, whi

ch a

ppea

r low

er th

an e

ngin

eerin

g ju

dgm

ent m

ay s

ugge

st a

ccep

tabl

e in

the

curr

ent s

tate

-of-k

now

ledg

e”.

Ple

ase

expl

ain

the

mea

ning

of t

his

stat

emen

t in

mor

e de

tail

and

it’s

impl

icat

ion

for t

he fi

nal E

SP

site

V/H

ratio

s.

2.5.

3-1

G. S

tirew

alt

SS

AR

Sec

tions

2.5

.3.1

.2 a

nd 2

.5.3

.1.7

refe

r to

feat

ures

map

ped

by M

cDow

ell a

nd H

ouse

r (19

33) a

nd B

arth

olom

ew e

t al

(200

2), i

nclu

ding

“cla

stic

dik

es”,

that

thes

e au

thor

s in

terp

rete

d as

pos

sibl

y re

late

d to

tect

onis

m d

urin

g la

te E

ocen

e to

late

Mio

cene

. Th

ese

feat

ures

are

attr

ibut

ed to

a n

on-te

cton

ic o

rigin

in S

SA

R S

ectio

ns 2

.5.3

.1.2

, 2.5

.3.1

.7, a

nd 2

.5.3

.8.2

.2w

ithou

t any

dis

cuss

ion

of th

e fie

ld e

vide

nce

for t

his

conc

lusi

on.

Ple

ase

disc

uss

crite

ria u

sed

to d

eter

min

e th

at th

ese

feat

ures

are

non

-tect

onic

in o

rigin

and

rela

ted

to p

edog

enic

soi

l-fo

rmin

g pr

oces

ses,

incl

udin

g a

com

paris

on w

ith c

hara

cter

istic

s of

cla

stic

dik

es m

appe

d in

tren

ches

in th

e si

te a

rea

whi

char

e al

so d

escr

ibed

as

non-

tect

onic

feat

ures

in th

e S

SA

R.

2.5.

3-2

G. S

tirew

alt

& U

SG

SS

SA

R S

ectio

ns 2

.5.3

.8.2

.1 a

nd 2

.5.3

.8.2

.2 d

iscu

ss fe

atur

es in

terp

rete

d to

be

non-

tect

onic

in o

rigin

that

incl

ude

war

ped

bedd

ing,

frac

ture

s, s

mal

l-sca

le fa

ults

, inj

ecte

d sa

nd d

ikes

, and

cla

stic

dik

es.

War

ped

bedd

ing,

frac

ture

s, s

mal

l-sca

le fa

ults

,an

d in

ject

ed s

and

dike

s ar

e in

terp

rete

d to

indi

cate

loca

l dis

solu

tion

of th

e un

derly

ing

Utle

y Li

mes

tone

and

resu

ltant

pla

stic

and

britt

le c

olla

pse

of o

verly

ing

Terti

ary

sedi

men

ts w

hich

occ

urre

d m

ore

than

10,

000

year

s ag

o. N

o fo

rmat

ion

mec

hani

smis

des

crib

ed fo

r the

inje

cted

san

d di

kes.

The

cla

stic

dik

es a

re in

terp

rete

d to

resu

lt fro

m w

eath

erin

g an

d pe

doge

nic

soil-

form

ing

proc

esse

s th

at w

ere

enha

nced

alo

ng o

lder

frac

ture

s in

itial

ly p

rodu

ced

by d

isso

lutio

n of

the

unde

rlyin

g U

tley

Lim

esto

ne.

a.P

leas

e de

scrib

e w

here

thes

e no

n-te

cton

ic fe

atur

es a

re lo

cate

d re

lativ

e to

the

prop

osed

trac

e of

the

Pen

Bra

nch

Faul

t at

the

VE

GP

site

.

b.P

leas

e di

scus

s fie

ld d

ata,

obs

erva

tions

, and

reas

onin

g w

hich

resu

lted

in th

e co

nclu

sion

abo

ut a

dis

solu

tion

orig

in fo

rth

e w

arpe

d be

ddin

g, fr

actu

res,

sm

all-s

cale

faul

ts, a

nd in

ject

ed s

and

dike

s, in

clud

ing

a sp

ecifi

c ex

plan

atio

n of

the

form

atio

n m

echa

nism

for t

he in

ject

ed d

ikes

.

c.P

leas

e di

scus

s fie

ld d

ata,

obs

erva

tions

, and

reas

onin

g w

hich

resu

lted

in th

e co

nclu

sion

that

the

inje

cted

san

d an

dcl

astic

dik

es d

o no

t rep

rese

nt a

resp

onse

to Q

uate

rnar

y or

Hol

ocen

e ea

rthqu

akes

.

2.5.

4-1

T. C

heng

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

4.2.

2 st

ates

that

info

rmat

ion

has

been

take

n fro

m th

e 14

bor

ings

and

10

cone

pen

etro

met

er te

sts

(CP

Ts)

perfo

rmed

dur

ing

the

ES

P s

ubsu

rface

inve

stig

atio

n. H

owev

er, S

ectio

n 2.

2.1

of A

ppen

dix

2.5A

, “G

eote

chni

cal a

ndLa

bora

tory

Tes

ting

Dat

a R

epor

t,” to

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5

stat

es th

at tw

elve

bor

ings

, des

igna

ted

B-1

001

thro

ugh

B-1

011

and

B-1

013,

wer

e dr

illed

at t

he s

ite.

Ple

ase

clar

ify th

is in

cons

iste

ncy

and

also

des

crib

e ho

w th

e ot

her t

wo

borin

gs w

ere

take

n.

2.5.

4-2

T. C

heng

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

4.2.

1 st

ates

that

the

Upp

er S

and

Stra

tum

(Gro

up 1

soi

ls) w

ill b

e co

mpl

etel

y re

mov

ed a

nd re

plac

ed w

ithco

mpa

cted

stru

ctur

al fi

ll pr

ior t

o th

e co

nstru

ctio

n of

VE

GP

Uni

ts 3

and

4.

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

4.5.

3 de

scrib

es th

e so

urce

san

d qu

ality

con

trol o

f the

stru

ctur

al fi

ll.

1.P

leas

e ex

plai

n w

heth

er th

e ex

cava

tion

and

back

fill w

ill c

over

onl

y th

e fo

ot-p

rint o

f the

pow

er b

lock

or e

xten

d to

certa

in d

ista

nce

from

the

foun

datio

n fo

otpr

int.

2.If

the

site

exc

avat

ions

will

not

ext

end

to s

igni

fican

t dis

tanc

es to

the

side

of t

he p

lant

, sho

uldn

’t th

e se

ism

ic h

azar

dca

lcul

atio

ns b

e al

so c

arrie

d to

the

free-

grou

nd s

urfa

ce in

clud

ing

the

Bar

nwel

l Gro

up in

the

base

-cas

e si

te s

oil

colu

mns

? W

hat i

s ba

sis

for t

his

colu

mn

anal

ysis

whi

ch p

resu

mes

that

the

fill e

xten

ds u

nifo

rmly

in a

ll ho

rizon

tal

dire

ctio

ns, w

hile

the

actu

al e

xcav

atio

n an

d ba

ckfil

l will

ext

end

only

in th

e im

med

iate

vic

inity

of t

he p

lant

? (P

age

2.5.

2-39

)

3.S

SA

R S

ectio

n 2.

5.4.

5.3

stat

es th

at b

ackf

ill w

ill b

e pl

aced

with

as

muc

h as

25%

fine

s. T

his

is s

igni

fican

tly h

ighe

rfin

es c

onte

nt th

an u

sed

for b

uild

ing

foun

datio

ns.

How

will

com

pact

ion

cont

rols

be

impl

emen

ted

for s

uch

mat

eria

ls?

2.5.

4-3

T. C

heng

Acc

ordi

ng to

Tab

le 2

of A

ppen

dix

A to

App

endi

x 2.

5A o

f the

SS

AR

, onl

y fo

ur b

orin

gs (B

-100

2, B

1003

, B10

04 a

nd B

-100

5)w

ent t

hrou

gh th

e B

lue

Blu

ff M

arl m

ater

ial (

Gro

up 2

Zon

e) a

nd re

ache

d th

e Lo

wer

san

d S

tratu

m (G

roup

3 Z

one

- coa

rse-

tofin

e sa

nd w

ith in

terb

edde

d th

in s

eam

s of

silt

and

/or c

lay)

. S

ince

the

top

laye

r of s

oil (

Gro

up 1

soi

l) w

ill b

e re

mov

ed a

ndba

ckfil

led

with

com

pact

ed s

truct

ural

fill

prio

r to

the

cons

truct

ion

of V

EG

P U

nits

3 a

nd 4

, onl

y th

e in

form

atio

n co

llect

ed fr

omth

ese

four

bor

ings

can

be

used

for t

he in

vest

igat

ion

of G

roup

2 a

nd G

roup

3 s

oil w

hich

are

sup

pose

d to

be

the

prim

ary

load

-bea

ring

com

pone

nt o

f saf

ety-

rela

ted

faci

litie

s. P

leas

e pr

ovid

e ju

stifi

catio

n fo

r the

follo

win

g:

a.W

ith th

e da

ta fr

om fo

ur b

orin

gs a

nd n

o si

gnifi

cant

sam

ples

take

n in

Gro

up 3

zon

e, w

hat i

s th

e ba

sis

for t

hede

velo

pmen

t of g

eote

chni

cal p

aram

eter

s of

Gro

ups

2 an

d 3

laye

rs?

b.S

SA

R S

ectio

n 2.

5.2.

5.1.

2 in

dica

tes

that

bas

e ca

se s

oil v

eloc

ity p

rofil

es to

geth

er w

ith th

eir u

ncer

tain

ty w

ere

deve

lope

dfro

m th

e av

aila

ble

data

. If

only

12

borin

gs w

ere

take

n at

the

site

, and

mos

t of t

hese

bor

ings

did

not

ext

end

to d

epth

sbe

low

300

ft, h

ow w

ere

thes

e pa

ram

eter

s de

velo

ped?

c.A

re th

ere

any

indi

catio

ns o

f sof

t zon

es in

the

uppe

r soi

ls o

f the

pro

file

abov

e th

e bl

ue b

luff

mar

l whi

ch m

ay b

eco

llaps

ible

und

er a

sei

smic

eve

nt, a

s en

coun

tere

d at

the

Sav

anna

h si

te?

Eve

n th

ough

soi

ls u

nder

the

foun

datio

nfo

otpr

int a

re to

be

rem

oved

, how

far t

o th

e si

de o

f the

pla

nt d

oes

colla

psib

ility

bec

ome

unim

porta

nt?

d.S

oft s

oils

wer

e in

dica

ted

in th

e lo

wer

soi

ls b

elow

the

blue

blu

ff m

arl.

SP

T bl

ow c

ount

s fo

r the

low

er s

ands

in B

-100

2ar

e in

dica

ted

to b

e as

low

as

10 b

pf (P

age

“4 o

f 6" o

f Soi

l Tes

t Bor

ing

Rec

ord

of A

ppen

dix

A to

Mac

tec’

s re

port)

. P

leas

e ex

plai

n w

hat i

s th

e im

plic

atio

n of

suc

h lo

w v

alue

s ev

en th

ough

the

aver

age

blow

cou

nt th

roug

h th

is m

ater

ial i

sin

dica

ted

to b

e ab

out 6

0 bp

f?

2.5.

4-4

T. C

heng

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

2.5.

1.2

stat

es th

at th

e ba

ckfil

l she

ar w

ave

velo

citie

s w

ere

dete

rmin

ed fr

om m

easu

rem

ents

mad

e on

the

exis

ting

back

fill a

t the

site

und

er U

nits

1 a

nd 2

as

sum

mar

ized

in T

able

s 2.

5.4-

10 a

nd 2

.5.4

-11.

As

indi

cate

d in

thes

eta

bles

, the

she

ar v

eloc

ities

in th

e to

p la

yers

of b

ackf

ill a

re w

ell b

elow

1,0

00 fp

s. H

ow w

ere

shea

r wav

e ve

loci

ty v

alue

sge

nera

ted

at d

epth

s of

50

ft or

mor

e be

low

the

top

of th

e ba

ckfil

l? W

ere

effe

cts

of c

onfin

emen

t con

side

red?

2.5.

4-5

T. C

heng

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

4.7.

2.1

(Pag

e 2.

5.4-

27) i

ndic

ates

that

the

EP

RI 1

993

soil

degr

adat

ion

rela

tions

hips

wer

e us

ed to

per

form

SH

AK

E a

naly

ses

and

deriv

e th

e sh

ear m

odul

us re

duct

ion

fact

ors.

It i

s th

e st

aff’s

und

erst

andi

ng th

at th

e ap

prop

riate

ness

of

usin

g th

e E

PR

I 199

3 cu

rves

for f

ine-

grai

ned

soils

is n

ot o

bvio

us s

ince

they

wer

e ge

nera

lly d

evel

oped

for s

ands

and

but

not

fine

grai

ned

silts

or c

lays

. (T

he d

egra

datio

n m

odel

s at

the

Sav

anna

h R

iver

site

wer

e ge

nera

ted

from

labo

rato

ry te

stin

g of

in-s

itu s

oils

.) T

he s

taff

requ

ests

the

appl

ican

t to

expl

ain

wha

t wou

ld b

e th

e si

gnifi

canc

e of

usi

ng s

uch

mod

els

for f

ine-

grai

ned

soils

on

the

com

pute

d re

sults

?

2.5.

4-6

T. C

heng

Reg

ardi

ng th

e gr

ound

wat

er c

ontro

l, S

SA

R S

ectio

ns 2

.5.4

.5 a

nd 2

.5.4

.6 s

tate

s th

at (1

) the

tota

l dep

th o

f con

stru

ctio

nex

cava

tion

to th

e B

lue

Blu

ff M

arl b

earin

g st

ratu

m w

ill ra

nge

from

app

roxi

mat

ely

80 to

90

ft be

low

gro

und

surfa

ce (S

SA

RS

ectio

n 2.

5.4.

5.1)

, (2)

the

grou

ndw

ater

gen

eral

ly o

ccur

s at

a d

epth

of a

bout

60

ft be

low

the

exis

ting

grou

nd s

urfa

ce (S

SA

RS

ectio

n 2.

5.4.

6.1)

, and

(3) d

ue to

the

rela

tivel

y im

perm

eabl

e na

ture

of t

he U

pper

San

d S

tratu

m, s

ump-

pum

ping

of d

itche

sw

ill b

e ad

equa

te to

dew

ater

the

soil.

Ple

ase

expl

ain

wha

t dew

ater

ing

proc

edur

es a

nd w

hat c

riter

ia w

ill b

e de

velo

ped

to“m

inim

ize

effe

cts

on th

e su

rrou

ndin

g ar

ea a

nd th

e ex

istin

g po

wer

blo

ck”?

(The

impa

ct o

f the

sim

ple

use

of s

umps

and

pum

ps o

n an

y ex

istin

g ar

ea o

f the

site

will

dep

end

on th

e ex

tent

of t

ime

durin

g w

hich

dra

wdo

wn

will

occ

ur.)

2.5.

4-7

T. C

heng

Upd

atin

g Q

uest

ion

to re

flect

ava

ilabl

e gu

idan

ce

2.5.

4-8

Z. C

ruz

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

4.2.

2.2

stat

es th

at 1

5 U

U te

sts

wer

e pe

rform

ed o

n B

lue

Blu

ff M

arl s

ampl

es a

nd th

at th

e m

easu

red

undr

aine

d sh

ear s

treng

th ra

nged

from

150

to 4

,300

psf

. B

oth

of th

ese

valu

es a

re s

igni

fican

tly lo

wer

than

the

10,0

00 p

sfde

sign

val

ue.

Ple

ase

just

ify th

e w

ide

rang

e of

val

ues

and

why

they

diff

er s

ubst

antia

lly fr

om th

e va

lues

mea

sure

dpr

evio

usly

for U

nits

1 a

nd 2

. In

add

ition

, ela

bora

te o

n ho

w th

e S

PT

N-v

alue

s m

easu

red

durin

g th

e E

SP

inve

stig

atio

nssu

ppor

t the

use

of t

he 1

0,00

0 ps

f des

ign

valu

e.

2.5.

4-9

Z. C

ruz

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

4.2.

2.2

stat

es, “

Pre

viou

s la

bora

tory

test

resu

lts in

dica

te th

e B

lue

Blu

ff M

arl t

o be

hig

hly

prec

onso

lidat

ed...

the

prec

onso

lidat

ion

pres

sure

of t

he B

lue

Blu

ff M

arl s

tratu

m w

as e

stim

ated

to b

e 80

,000

psf

. S

ettle

men

ts d

ue to

load

ings

from

new

stru

ctur

es w

ould

be

smal

l due

to th

is p

reco

nsol

idat

ion

pres

sure

.”

a) P

rovi

de a

des

crip

tion

of th

e “p

revi

ous”

labo

rato

ry te

stin

g m

etho

ds a

nd re

sults

.

b) J

ustif

y th

e as

sum

ptio

n of

an

undr

aine

d sh

ear s

treng

th o

f 16,

000

psf a

s U

U T

est r

esul

ts ra

nge

from

150

to 4

,300

psf

. W

ere

cons

olid

atio

n te

sts

perfo

rmed

to v

erify

this

ass

umpt

ion?

c) T

he p

reco

nsol

idat

ion

pres

sure

for t

he B

lue

Blu

ff M

arl i

s gi

ven

as 8

0,00

0 ps

f and

is b

ased

on

the

plas

ticity

inde

x va

lues

(whi

ch ra

nged

from

2 to

70

with

an

aver

age

valu

e of

25)

and

a P

I of 2

5, w

hich

resu

lts in

a s

u/p

(und

rain

ed s

hear

stre

ngth

/ef

fect

ive

prec

onso

lidat

ion

pres

sure

) rat

io o

f 0.2

. P

rovi

de a

com

plet

e de

scrip

tion

of th

e S

kem

pton

(195

7) m

etho

d us

ed to

dete

rmin

e th

e ra

tio o

f 0.2

. A

lso,

just

ify th

e us

e of

0.2

for t

he ra

tio in

vie

w o

f the

wid

e ra

nge

of P

I val

ues.

In

addi

tion,

just

ifyth

e es

timat

ed p

reco

nsol

idat

ion

pres

sure

for t

he B

lue

Blu

ff M

arl b

ased

on

the

wid

e ra

nge

of P

I val

ues.

d) J

ustif

y yo

ur c

oncl

usio

n, “s

ettle

men

ts d

ue to

load

ings

from

new

stru

ctur

es w

ould

be

smal

l due

to th

is p

reco

nsol

idat

ion

pres

sure

,” in

vie

w o

f set

tlem

ents

for t

he c

urre

nt U

nits

1 a

nd 2

and

als

o w

ith re

gard

to th

e su

/p ra

tio o

f 0.2

, whi

ch in

dica

tes

that

the

soil

is u

nder

con

solid

ated

(0.2

5 is

an

indi

catio

n of

nor

mal

ly c

onso

lidat

ed s

oil).

2.5.

4-10

Z. C

ruz

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

4.2.

5.2

cite

s B

owle

s (1

982)

as

the

refe

renc

e fo

r det

erm

inin

g th

e ef

fect

ive

angl

e of

inte

rnal

fric

tion

for s

iteso

ils.

It is

not

cle

ar h

ow th

e ef

fect

ive

angl

e of

inte

rnal

fric

tion

was

cal

cula

ted

usin

g th

is re

fere

nce.

Pro

vide

an

exam

ple

of a

calc

ulat

ion

and

just

ify th

e ac

cura

cy o

f the

resu

lts in

vie

w o

f the

rang

e of

N-v

alue

s.

2.5.

4-11

W. W

ang

Pro

vide

rela

tive

dens

ities

for e

ach

of th

e so

il un

its.

2.5.

4-12

W. W

ang

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

4 st

ates

that

hig

h st

rain

ela

stic

mod

ulus

for U

pper

San

d an

d Lo

wer

San

d S

trata

wer

e de

rived

bas

ed o

nth

e D

avie

and

Lew

is (1

988)

rela

tions

hips

. Exp

lain

why

thes

e re

latio

nshi

ps a

re a

pplic

able

to th

e E

SP

soi

l stra

ta. W

hat i

s th

esc

ient

ific

cons

ensu

s on

Dav

ie a

nd L

ewis

’ rel

atio

nshi

p be

twee

n S

PT

valu

es a

nd e

last

ic m

odul

us a

s w

ell a

s th

e re

latio

nshi

pbe

twee

n un

drai

ned

shea

r stre

ngth

and

ela

stic

mod

ulus

? H

ow e

xten

sive

are

thes

e re

latio

nshi

ps u

sed?

2.5.

4-13

Z. C

ruz/

Y. L

iS

SA

R T

able

2.5

.4-1

pre

sent

s av

erag

e st

atic

eng

inee

ring

prop

ertie

s of

the

subs

urfa

ce m

ater

ial.

Exp

lain

how

the

valu

e fo

rth

e un

it w

eigh

ts fo

r the

diff

eren

t soi

ls w

ere

obta

ined

. B

ased

on

the

disc

ussi

on in

the

last

par

agra

ph o

n pa

ge 2

.5.4

-10,

the

aver

age

valu

es a

re h

ighe

r tha

n th

ose

liste

d in

the

tabl

e. A

lso,

exp

lain

why

the

plas

ticity

inde

x, li

quid

lim

it, a

nd p

last

ic li

mit

valu

es a

re d

iffer

ent f

rom

thos

e di

scus

sed

on p

age

2.5.

4-5

for t

he B

lue

Blu

ff M

arl.

2.5.

4-14

Z. C

ruz/

Y. L

iS

SA

R S

ectio

n 2.

5.4.

7 st

ates

that

: “Th

e E

PR

I cur

ves

wer

e ex

tend

ed b

eyon

d th

e 1

perc

ent s

train

val

ues

repo

rted

in E

PR

I(T

R-1

0229

3 19

93) t

o 3.

3 pe

rcen

t usi

ng v

alue

s pr

ovid

ed b

y S

ilva

(200

6).”

Pro

vide

Silv

a’s

valu

es, j

ustif

icat

ion

for u

se o

fth

ese

valu

es, a

nd a

det

aile

d de

scrip

tion

on h

ow th

e sh

ear m

odul

us a

nd d

ampi

ng c

urve

s w

ere

exte

nded

.

2.5.

4-15

Z. C

ruz/

Y. L

iS

ince

the

Blu

e B

luff

Mar

l has

a re

lativ

ely

high

var

iabl

e fin

es c

onte

nt (2

4-77

per

cent

) and

sat

urat

ion

leve

l (14

-67

perc

ent)

and

sinc

e th

ere

is a

lso

a po

tent

ially

hig

h gr

ound

mot

ion

leve

l at t

he s

ite, j

ustif

y w

hy li

quef

actio

n an

alys

es w

ere

not

perfo

rmed

.

2.5.

4-16

Z. C

ruz/

Y. L

iV

EG

P E

SP

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

4.10

.2 s

tate

s th

at: “

For t

he la

rge

mat

foun

datio

ns th

at s

uppo

rt th

e m

ajor

pow

er p

lant

stru

ctur

es, g

ener

al c

onsi

dera

tions

bas

ed o

n ge

otec

hnic

al e

xper

ienc

e in

dica

te th

at to

tal s

ettle

men

t sho

uld

be li

mite

d to

2in

., w

hile

diff

eren

tial s

ettle

men

t sho

uld

be li

mite

d to

¾ in

. (Pe

ck e

t al.

1974

). Fo

r foo

tings

that

sup

port

smal

ler p

lant

com

pone

nts,

the

tota

l set

tlem

ent s

houl

d be

lim

ited

to 1

in.,

whi

le th

e di

ffere

ntia

l set

tlem

ent s

houl

d be

lim

ited

to ½

in. (

Peck

et a

l. 19

74).”

a) P

rovi

de ju

stifi

catio

n fo

r ado

ptin

g th

e P

eck

et a

l. (1

974)

set

tlem

ent a

nd d

iffer

entia

l set

tlem

ent v

alue

s as

gui

delin

es.

b) W

hat a

re th

e m

ain

caus

es fo

r exc

eedi

ng th

ese

settl

emen

t val

ues

at th

e fo

unda

tion

leve

ls fo

r Uni

ts 1

and

2?

Wha

t kin

dof

mea

sure

s w

ill b

e ta

ken

to p

reve

nt s

ettle

men

ts a

nd d

iffer

entia

l set

tlem

ents

for t

he n

ew u

nits

?

c) J

ustif

y us

e of

an

aver

age

bear

ing

pres

sure

of 5

ksf

for t

he s

ettle

men

t ana

lyse

s of

com

pact

ed fi

lls.

2.5.

4-17

T. T

erry

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

4.10

pro

vide

s tw

o ge

nera

l sce

nario

s fo

r bea

ring

capa

city

and

set

tlem

ent a

naly

ses.

How

ever

, in

orde

r to

mee

t the

requ

irem

ents

of 1

0 C

FR, P

art 5

0 an

d 10

0 th

e st

abili

ty o

f all

plan

ned

safe

ty-r

elat

ed fa

cilit

ies

shou

ld b

e an

alyz

edin

clud

ing

bear

ing

capa

city

, reb

ound

, set

tlem

ent,

and

diffe

rent

ial s

ettle

men

ts u

nder

dea

dloa

ds o

f fill

s an

d pl

ant f

acili

ties,

as

wel

l as

late

ral l

oadi

ng c

ondi

tions

. P

leas

e pr

ovid

e ju

stifi

catio

n fo

r not

cov

erin

g th

e ab

ove

info

rmat

ion

for e

ach

plan

ned

safe

ty-r

elat

ed s

truct

ure

or in

dica

te th

at a

com

plet

e st

abili

ty a

naly

sis

will

be

prov

ided

at t

he C

OL

phas

e.

2.5.

4-18

Z. C

ruz

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

4.7

stat

es th

at E

PR

I Pro

cedu

re T

R-1

0229

3 w

as u

sed

to d

evel

op th

e sh

ear m

odul

us a

nd d

ampi

ngcu

rves

bas

ed o

n th

e si

te s

hear

wav

e ve

loci

ties

and

plas

ticity

inde

x va

lues

. P

leas

e pr

ovid

e a

com

plet

e de

scrip

tion,

incl

udin

g sa

mpl

e ca

lcul

atio

ns, t

o sh

ow h

ow th

e sh

ear m

odul

us a

nd d

ampi

ng c

urve

s w

ere

deve

lope

d an

d ho

w u

ncer

tain

ties

in th

e si

te p

aram

eter

s w

ere

inco

rpor

ated

into

thei

r dev

elop

men

t.

2.5.

4-19

T. T

erry

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

4.10

.1 p

rovi

des

a br

ief d

escr

iptio

n of

the

allo

wab

le b

earin

g ca

paci

ty v

alue

, whi

ch is

bas

ed o

n Te

rzag

hi’s

bear

ing

capa

city

equ

atio

ns m

odifi

ed b

y V

esic

(197

5).

Ple

ase

prov

ide

a m

ore

deta

iled

desc

riptio

n of

how

the

allo

wab

lebe

arin

g ca

paci

ty v

alue

was

obt

aine

d th

at in

clud

es th

e ac

tual

cal

cula

tions

.

2.5.

4-20

T. T

erry

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

4.11

doe

s no

t pro

vide

the

com

plet

e de

sign

crit

eria

or a

ctua

l des

ign

met

hods

that

will

be

empl

oyed

.P

leas

e in

dica

te w

heth

er th

ese

will

be

deve

lope

d du

ring

the

CO

L ph

ase.

In

addi

tion,

Sec

tion

2.5.

4.11

pro

vide

s tw

o fa

ctor

sof

saf

ety

for s

lope

sta

bilit

y w

ith re

fere

nces

to S

ectio

n 2.

5.5.

2. N

eith

er o

f the

se fa

ctor

s of

saf

ety

are

liste

d in

Sec

tion

2.5.

5.P

leas

e ex

plai

n th

eir o

mis

sion

.

2.5.

4-21

T. T

erry

SS

AR

Sec

tion

2.5.

4 do

es n

ot p

rovi

de th

e re

latio

nshi

p of

foun

datio

ns to

the

unde

rlyin

g m

ater

ials

in th

e fo

rm o

f plo

t pla

nsan

d pr

ofile

s. I

n ad

ditio

n, fo

unda

tion

stab

ility

with

resp

ect t

o gr

ound

wat

er c

ondi

tions

is n

ot d

escr

ibed

. A

lso

mis

sing

are

deta

iled

dew

ater

ing

plan

s. P

leas

e in

dica

te w

heth

er th

ese

will

be

deve

lope

d du

ring

the

CO

L ph

ase.