Documentation of cumulative impacts in environmental impact statements

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations in the United States require federal agencies to apply an environmental impact assessment (EIA) in decision-making related to their actions. One aspect requires an examination of direct, indirect and cumulative impacts (CIs). Historically, cumulative impact assessment (CIA) has been given limited attention in EIA and resultant environmental impact statements (EISs), not because of its lack of importance, but owing to limitations in methodologies and procedures, including documentation consistency. The objectives of this study were to identify deficiencies in the documentation of CIs and CIA in EISs and to formulate appropriate recommendations (potential solutions) related to such deficiencies. The study involved the systematic review of 33 EISs (11 each from the U.S. Department of Agriculture: Forest Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Department of Transportation: Federal Highway Administration). The results indicate that improvements have been made in documentation practices since 1990; however, inconsistencies and inadequacies still exist. Therefore, the following recommendations were developed: (1) CIs should be reported in a separate part of the “Environmental Consequences” section, and they should be addressed for each pertinent environmental resource; (2) a summary of CIs should be included; (3) any CIs considered not significant should be mentioned plus the reason(s) for their non-significance; (4) spatial and temporal boundaries addressed within the CIA process should be defined for pertinent environmental resources; and (5) utilized guidelines and methodologies should be described.     

Signal-transfer modeling for regional assessment of forest responses to environmental changes in the southeastern United States

Stochastic transfer of information in a hierarchy of simulators is offered as a conceptual approach for assessing forest responses to changing climate and air quality across 13 southeastern states of the USA. This assessment approach combines geographic information system and Monte Carlo capabilities with several scales of computer modeling for southern pine species and eastern deciduous forests. Outputs, such as forest production, evapotranspiration and carbon pools, may be compared statistically for alternative equilibrium or transient scenarios providing a statistical basis for decision making in regional assessments. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Assessing cumulative impacts within state environmental review frameworks in the United States

Cumulative impact assessment (CIA) is the process of systematically assessing a proposed action's cumulative environmental effects in the context of past, present, and future actions, regardless of who undertakes such actions. Previous studies have examined CIA efforts at the federal level but little is known about how states assess the cumulative impacts of nonfederal projects. By examining state environmental review statutes, administrative rules, agency-prepared materials, and a national survey of the administrators of state environmental review programs, this study identifies the legal and administrative frameworks for CIA. It examines current CIA practice, discusses the relationship between CIA policy and its implementation, and explores the opportunities for improvement. The results of the study show that twenty-nine state environmental review programs across twenty-six states required the assessment of cumulative environmental impacts. More than half of these programs have adopted specific procedures for implementing their policies. Some programs assessed cumulative impacts using a standard review document, and others have created their own documentations incorporated into applications for state permits or funding. The majority of programs have adopted various scales, baselines, significance criteria, and coordination practices in their CIA processes. Mixed methods were generally used for data collection and analysis; qualitative methods were more prevalent than quantitative methods. The results also suggest that a program with comprehensive and consistent environmental review policies and procedures does not always imply extensive CIA requirements and practices. Finally, this study discusses the potential for improving existing CIA processes and promoting CIA efforts in states without established environmental review programs.     

Fuzzy clustering analysis in environmental impact assessment — A complement tool to environmental quality index

In spite of rapid progress achieved in the methodological research underlying environmental impact assessment (EIA), the problem of weighting various parameters has not yet been solved. This paper presents a new approach, fuzzy clustering analysis, which is illustrated with an EIA case study on Baoshan-Wusong District in Shanghai, China. Fuzzy clustering analysis may be used whenever a composite classification of environmental quality/impact incorporates multiple parameters. In such cases the technique may be used as a complement or an alternative to comprehensive assessment. In fuzzy clustering analysis, the classification is determined by a fuzzy relation. After a fuzzy similarity matrix has been established and the fuzzy relation stabilized, a dynamic clustering chart can be developed. Given a suitable threshold, the appropriate classification can be accomplished. The methodology is relatively simple and the results can be interpreted to provide valuable information to support decision making and improve management of the environment.     

Radioactive fallout in the United States due to the Fukushima nuclear plant accident

The release of radioactivity into the atmosphere from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant started on March 12th, 2011. Among the various radionuclides released, iodine -131 ((131)I) and cesium isotopes ((137)Cs and (134)Cs) were transported across the Pacific Ocean and reached the United States on 17-18 March 2011. Consequently, an elevated level of fission products (131)I, (132)I, (132)Te, (134)Cs and (137)Cs were detected in air, water, and milk samples collected across the United States between March 17 and April 4, 2011. The continuous monitoring of activities over a period of 25 days and spatial variations across more than 100 sampling locations in the United States made it possible to characterize the contaminated air masses. For the entire period, the highest detected activity values ranged from less than 1 m Bq m(-3) to 31 m Bq m(-3) for the particulate (131)I, and up to 96 m Bq m(-3) for the gaseous (131)I fraction.     

Assessment of environmental impact on air quality by cement industry and mitigating measures: a case study

In this study, environmental impact on air quality was evaluated for a typical Cement Industry in Nigeria. The air pollutants in the atmosphere around the cement plant and neighbouring settlements were determined using appropriate sampling techniques. Atmospheric dust and CO₂ were prevalent pollutants during the sampling period; their concentrations were recorded to be in the range of 249–3,745 mg/m³ and 2,440–2,600 mg/m³, respectively. Besides atmospheric dust and CO₂, the air pollutants such as NO _x , SO _x and CO were in trace concentrations, below the safe limits approved by FEPA that are 0.0062–0.093 mg/m³ NO _x , 0.026 mg/m³ SO _x and 114.3 mg/m³ CO, respectively. Some cost-effective mitigating measures were recommended that include the utilisation of readily available and low-cost pozzolans material to produce blended cement, not only could energy efficiency be improved, but carbon dioxide emission could also be minimised during clinker production; and the installation of an advance high-pressure grinding rolls (clinker–roller-press process) to maximise energy efficiency to above what is obtainable from the traditional ball mills and to minimise CO₂ emission from the power plant.     

Accounting asymmetries in the long-run nexus between globalization and environmental sustainability in the United States: An aggregated and disaggregated investigation

In recent years, the number of studies on the relationship between globalization and ecological footprint is steadily increasing, yet the literature lacks any formal consensus. Previous studies unveil beneficial as well as harmful effects of globalization on the environment. Furthermore, most of the scholars rely on linear methods to investigate this relationship, which can produce biased outcomes when non-linearities exist in data. Unquestionably, the United States played a leading role in increasing global connectivity; however, the present US administration has demonstrated not only a penchant for isolationism by keeping certain critical resources, technologies, and manufacturing capacities in the US but also the tendency to ignore environmental concerns both domestically and globally. On this backdrop, this study uses asymmetric ARDL, and asymmetric causality methods to investigate the asymmetric relationship between globalization and the ecological footprint of the US. Additionally, the disaggregated asymmetric impacts of social, economic, and political globalization on footprint are also ascertained. The results indicate non-linear cointegration among variables. The long-run estimations reveal that a 1% positive change in overall globalization and in economic globalization increases ecological footprint by 1.32 and 0.72%, respectively, while a similar 1% negative change alleviates footprint by 6.75 and 1.05%, respectively. The outcomes elucidate much more dominant effects associated with negative changes in total and economic globalization. In contrast, positive changes in social globalization improve the environment by mitigating ecological footprint. Interestingly, positive shocks to political globalization stimulate footprint, indicating the validity of the environmental governance failure hypothesis. Further, Granger causality from positive changes in globalization to the footprint is found. Lastly, this study is concluded by comprehensive policy implications, including policy regarding FDI, trade, and enhancing social globalization, among others.     

环境温度对噪声测量仪器性能的影响

针对环境温度给噪声测量仪器性能造成的影响,在常温、高温与低温的测量环境中,对多台仪器的相关性进行了对比测试与研究。为了保证监测数据的准确性,提出了不同环境温度的测量措施。     

Precipitation composition and wet deposition temporal pattern in Central Serbia for the period from 1998 to 2004

Bulk samples collected on a daily basis at three principal meteorological stations in central Serbia were analyzed on chloride (Cl(-)), nitrate [Formula: see text], sulfate [Formula: see text], sodium (Na(+)), ammonium [Formula: see text], potassium (K(+)), calcium (Ca(2+)), and magnesium (Mg(2+)) in addition to precipitation amount, pH and conductivity measurements over the period 1998-2004. The data were subjected to variety of analyses (linear regression, principal component analysis, time series analysis) to characterize precipitation chemistry in the study area. The most abundant ion was [Formula: see text] with annual volume weighted mean concentration of 242 microeq L(-1). Neutralization of precipitation acidity occurs both as a result of the dissolution of alkaline compounds containing Ca(2+), Mg(2+), and K(+) as well as the absorption of ammonia. The ratio of [Formula: see text] was above 5, which indicated that the combustion process of low-grade domestic lignite for electricity generation from coal-fired thermal power plants was the main source of pollution in the investigated area. A considerable mean annual bulk wet deposition of SO(4)-S determined by precipitation amount and concentrations of sulfate in the precipitation was calculated to be 12-35 kg ha(-1).     

Role of and challenges to environmental impact assessment proponents in Pakistan

This study identified the role of and challenges faced by Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) proponents in Punjab, Pakistan. Expected roles of proponents in EIA were taken from regulations, legislation and guidelines. The comments of consultants, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) regarding the role played by proponents were extracted from literature and used for evaluation. To identify the challenges of proponents in each step of the EIA, 40 semi-structured interviews were conducted with private and government proponents in Punjab. Oftentimes, projects start prior to obtaining an environmental approval. Proper scoping is seldom conducted. Stakeholder involvement in EIA is limited. Proponents sometimes do not share complete project information with consultants, which compromises the report quality and timely decision making. Moreover, some proponents attempt to influence the review and decision making and do not ensure compliance to approval conditions except for few multinationals. The key challenge highlighted by proponents was the discrimination on part of the EPA between private and government projects. Other challenges included lack of professionalism of some consultants and delayed and non-transparent decision making. Although regional in scope, the results of the study hold importance for EIA systems worldwide particularly in countries with similar economic systems who are facing a trade-off between economic growth and environmental sustainability.     

The Environmental Implications of Soil Erosion in the United States

Soil erosion has both on-farm and off-farm impacts. Reductionof soil depth can impair the lands productivity, and thetransport of sediments can degrade streams, lakes, and estuaries. Since 1933, soil conservation policies have existedin the United States. Originally they focused on the on-farmbenefits of keeping soil on the land and increasing net farmincome. Beginning in the 1980s, however, policy goalsincreasingly included reductions in off-site impacts of erosion.As a consequence of conservation efforts associated withexplicit U.S. government policies, total soil erosion between1982 and 1992 was reduced by 32% and the sheet and rillerosion rate fell from an average of 4.1 tons per acre per yearin 1982 to 3.1 tons per acre in 1992 while the wind erosion ratefell from an average of 3.3 tons per acre per year to 2.4 tonsper acre per year over the same period. Still, soil erosion isimposing substantial social costs. These costs are estimated tobe about $37.6 billion annually. To further reduce soil erosionand thereby mitigate its social costs, there are a number ofpolicy options available to induce farmers to adopt conservationpractices including education and technical assistance, financial assistance, research and development, land retirement, andregulation and taxes.     

Numerical modelling of the environmental impact of landfill leachate leakage on groundwater quality – a field application

Waste disposal facilities are mainly responsible for the gradual quality degradation of subsurface freshwater reservoirs. The main objective of this work is to identify the groundwater contamination risk due to potential leachate leakage and seepage beneath the municipal landfill of the City of Patras in Greece. A groundwater and leachate mass transport model of the underlying aquifer was developed for this purpose. The derived simulation results indicate that, depending on the permeability of the soil at the location of leakage, the contamination risk for the groundwater can be high. In order to quantify the magnitude and the extent of the leakage, a risk assessment model for the leachate contaminant plume was developed. The risk assessment analysis shows that the municipal drinking wells are under high risk of contamination.     

Evaluation of the environmental impact assessment system in Iran

EIA in Iran was formally introduced in 1994, but to date little EIA-related research has been undertaken in the country. In this paper, the authors provide an evaluation of the Iranian EIA system, focusing on EIA legislation, administration and process. Data was collected on the basis of a literature review, document analysis and semi-structured interviews. This involved some translation from Persian into English. Evaluation of the findings indicate that Iran has adopted the democratic tools of EIA and SEA, which considering its political context is encouraging. However, currently the Iranian EIA system does suffer from weaknesses such as inadequate screening and scoping, lack of alternative consideration, public participation, EIA implementation and follow-up. The paper proposes some initial recommendations based on international experiences and sets out the direction for future research.     

An approach to the assessment of the quality of environmental monitoring data

This paper reports an approach to the assessment of the validity of environmental monitoring data--a 'data filter'. The strategy has been developed through the UK National Marine Analytical Quality Control (AQC) Scheme for application to data collected for the UK National Marine Monitoring Plan, although the principles described are applicable more widely. The proposed data filter is divided into three components: Part A, 'QA/QC'--an assessment of the laboratory's practices in Quality Assurance/Quality Control; Part B, 'fitness for purpose'--an evaluation of the standard of accuracy that can be demonstrated by activities in (A), in relation to the intended application of the data; and Part C, the overall assessment on which data will be accepted as usable or rejected as being of suspect quality. A pilot application of the proposed approach is reported. The approach described in this paper is intended to formalise the assessment of environmental monitoring data for fitness for a chosen purpose. The issues important to fitness for purpose are discussed and assigned a relative priority order on which to judge the reliability/usefulness of monitoring data.     

State of the Estuaries in the Mid-Atlantic Region of the United States

The U.S. EPA has prepared a State of the Region Report for Mid-Atlantic Estuaries to increase knowledge of environmental condition for improved environmental management. Sources of information included the National Estuary Programs, the Chesapeake Bay Program, the state monitoring programs in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, Federal programs such as National Status & Trends, National Shellfish Register, National Wetlands Inventory, the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program, and other primary literature sources. The state of the estuarine environment was summarized using indicators for water and sediment quality, habitat change, condition of living resources, and aesthetic quality. Each indicator was briefly discussed relative to its importance in understanding estuarine condition. Wherever possible, data from multiple programs were used to depict condition. Finally, an overall evaluation of estuarine condition in the region was determined. The usefulness of monitoring programs that collect consistent information with a well-defined sampling design cannot be overemphasized.     

Innovative Environmental Education Contributes to Improved Management Practices in the Mid-Atlantic Region of the United States

The Mid-Atlantic Integrated Assessment (MAIA) and its partner, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) have developed a graduate-level course focused on successful application of science by decision-makers to address a particular problem. Students conduct a literature review, interview the decision-makers and scientists, and synthesize and document the management problem, the science that was applied to that problem, and other issues that might constrain or drive the solution (e.g., legalities, social pressures, expense, politics, personalities, etc.). Students also quantify the results, evaluate who the intended audience is and how they most appropriately target them, and determine if there are other management problems that could be addressed with the science. The final products are short publications geared towards other decision-makers who might have a similar problem and might be seeking successful innovative solutions. MAIA is distributing these short publications to decision-makers throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region. The publications have been very positively received by state and local governments and watershed groups.     

An evaluation of a bed instability index as an indicator of habitat quality in mountain streams of the northwestern United States

Managers of aquatic resources benefit from indices of habitat quality that are reproducible and easy to measure, demonstrate a link between habitat quality and biota health, and differ between human-impacted (i.e., managed) and reference (i.e., nonimpacted or minimally impacted) conditions. The instability index (ISI) is an easily measured index that describes the instability of a streambed by relating the tractive force of a stream at bankfull discharge to the median substrate size. Previous studies have linked ISI to biological condition but have been limited to comparisons of sites within a single stream or among a small number of streams. We tested ISI as an indicator of human impact to habitat and biota in mountain streams of the northwestern USA. Among 1428 sites in six northwestern states, ISI was correlated with other habitat measures (e.g., residual pool depth, percent fine sediment) and indices of biotic health (e.g., number of intolerant macroinvertebrate taxa, fine sediment biotic index) and differed between managed and reference sites across a range of stream types and ecoregions. While ISI could be useful in mountain streams throughout the world, this index may be of particular interest to aquatic resource managers in the northwestern USA where a large dataset, from which ISI can be calculated, exists.     

Ozone Indicators Determined at Rural Sites in the Eastern United States by two Monitoring Networks

Ozone levels at Clean Air Status andTrends Network (CASTNet) and nearby rurally-designatedState and Local Air Monitoring Stations (SLAMS) siteslocated in the eastern United States (U.S.) arecompared using daily indicators (i.e., maximum, range,and SUM06) based on hourly O₃ measurements. Comparisons are also made using monthly and summertimethree-month SUM06 determinations aggregated from dailydata. Comparison of O₃ indicators at the pairedCASTNet-SLAMS sites generally shows better agreementfor O₃ maximum than for range or SUM06. Thehighest correlation of daily O₃ indicators occursfor paired sites that are separated by less than 100miles, and the correlation diminishes with increasingseparation distance. Correlation coefficients exceed0.70 in 49% of the comparisons of maximum, in23% of range comparisons and in 5% ofSUM06 comparisons, suggesting that substitution ofSLAMS for CASTNet O₃ measurements would fail tocapture a substantial amount of the variability inO₃ indicators present at the CASTNet sites. Correlations of O₃ indicators at CASTNet andpaired nearby SLAMS sites are 0.80 in a relativelysmall number of cases. Despite the high correlationin even these cases, O₃ behavior at paired sitesis not identical and shows systematic differences thatare reflected in the O₃ minimum, hourly averageconcentrations, and the monthly and three-month SUM06. Ozone measurements at nearby rurally-designated SLAMSsites may not capture the `rural' nature of the airquality being monitored at CASTNet sites and, in mostcases, may not be sufficiently representative of theconcentration at CASTNet sites to permit O₃measurements at SLAMS sites to be used in lieu ofmeasurements at CASTNet sites. As a result, if ruralO₃ concentration data are needed, then O₃monitoring at carefully chosen, rurally representativesites is recommended.