An Assessment of U.S. Stream Compensatory Mitigation Policy: Necessary Changes to Protect Ecosystem Functions and Services

Compensatory mitigation of impacted streams and wetlands has increased over the past two decades, with the associated industry spending over US$2.9 billion in aquatic restoration annually. Despite these expenditures, evaluations by the National Research Council and U.S. Government Accountability Office have provided evidence that compensatory mitigation practices are failing to protect aquatic resource functions and services, and vague federal policy and inadequate evaluation of compensatory mitigation projects are to blame. To address these weaknesses, an update to federal regulations on compensatory mitigation was released in 2008. Additionally, the 2012 Reissuance of Nationwide Permits, some of which affects compensatory stream mitigation, was recently published. Current policy, as reflected in these documents, still uses nonspecific language to direct compensatory stream mitigation leaving most implementation decisions to the local U.S. Army Corps of Engineers district. The majority of federal mitigation policy has focused on wetland compensation, with other aquatic resources receiving less attention (e.g., streams). In this article, weaknesses of current policy are discussed, as are suggested policy changes to minimize the loss of stream ecosystem functions and services. Compensatory mitigation policy should clearly define key terms, incorporate adaptive management procedures, and provide guidelines for determining mitigation costs and compensation ratio requirements.     

A general kinetic law for heavy metal vaporization during municipal solid waste incineration

Metal emissions from waste incineration plants become a great environmental concern because of their toxicity for both human health and environment. Metals are not destroyed by high-temperature thermal treatment and some vaporized metals may be emitted. It is thus essential to understand the release mechanism of metals during high-temperature waste treatment, in order to improve the understanding of their behavior and the control of their emission. The objective of this study is to identify the kinetic law for metal release from realistic artificial waste. The vaporization of three metals of most concern (Cd, Pb and Zn) during municipal waste incineration was studied. The vaporization rate at the particle level was determined from the experimental concentration profile in the outlet gas of a fluidized bed reactor, by using the inverse method that was previously developed and validated by our team. As a first step, the kinetic parameters were determined thanks to experiments carried out at several temperatures. Specific laws, for each studied metal, were thus obtained as a function of temperature. Nevertheless, it is very useful to identify all the experimental kinetic curves (all studied metals at all temperatures) to one single mathematical law. Therefore, a general kinetic law, expressing the solid matrix influence on the metal vaporization dynamic, was determined as a second step. It permits to predict the vaporization characteristic time and the time course of the metal concentration in the waste.     

Neue Aspekte in der Behandlung von Siedlungsabflüssen

The surface runoff from urban areas is one of the most important sources of pollutants emitted into surface waters. Suspended solids which act as a transport vehicle for many anthropogenic pollutants (e.?g. heavy metals, PAH) are a key factor in this regard. The development of efficient measures of storm water runoff treatment thus requires a further differentiation of suspended solids in a fine (clay and silt) and coarse (sand and gravel) fraction. Both fractions show distinctly different characteristics in pollutant loading, transport and retention on urban surfaces and sewer systems. The primary aim of storm water runoff treatment is the reduction of the fine particles which are always highly loaded with anthropogenic pollutants. In contrast the coarse particles are almost unpolluted especially if they have a low organic share. The widespread sedimentation tanks with surface loadings between 10 and 2?m/h are very inefficient. A significant, save and lasting reduction of the emitted load of fine particles requires a considerable reduction of the surface loads. That can be achieved with the installation of lamellar settler or the utilization of the very large volumes of flood management tanks frequently present in urban areas. Filtration plants are highly efficient but there application in urban areas is limited due to their high space demands.     

Game theory and environmental disputes

The courts have provided the traditional battleground for conflicts between environmental interest groups and those whose actions in some way have an adverse impact on the environment The judicial process is a time-consuming one in which all sides usually must concede to some points. Environmental disputes involve complex scientific issues which the court system is not set up to comprehend, so that the process gives the parties to a dispute the sense of having lost control of their own destinies. An increasing number of parties to environmental disputes are turning to negotiation, or mediation, as an alternative in which they can be active parties in the settlement-making process rather than the victims of a court-imposed solution When do the parties to a dispute choose a negotiated settlement over a court battle? To what extent does each party make the concessions necessary to reach an agreement? These questions can be answered by the game theory that provides a model for analyzing the negotiation process. This paper will apply game theory to two environmental conflict cases A series of questions pertinent to the analysis of all environmental disputes will be raised     

Monotonic aspects of the mechanical behaviour of bottom ash from municipal solid waste incineration and its potential use for road construction

Municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom ash is an atypical granular material because it may include industrial by-products that result from the incineration of domestic waste. The prospects for the beneficial use of this particular material mainly lie in the field of road construction, as a substitute for the traditional natural aggregates. However, its mechanical properties are still little known, particularly in term of stiffness and deformability, characteristics that are essential to the construction of a durable roadway. The purpose of this paper is to describe better the mechanical behaviour of this recycled material. In order to reach this objective, a large experimental campaign is presented. The first part of this paper presents and comments in detail on the results obtained from static monotonic tests. Oedometric and triaxial shear tests were performed on MSWI bottom ash both before and after treatment with a specific hydraulic binder. These tests allow specification of the mechanical characteristics of the MSWI bottom ash, such as the initial Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio, the compressibility index, the friction angle, and the contracting or dilating behaviour of the material. The results reveal a mechanical behaviour similar to that of initially dense standard materials (sands, unbound granular materials) and a dependence on the applied average pressure, characteristic of the mechanical behaviour of granular media. More laboratory data on other samples of MSWI bottom ash are required to ensure that this comparison is statistically valid.     

Mining and sustainable development: considerations for minerals supply

Sustainable development involves meeting the needs of human societies while maintaining viable biological and physical Earth systems. The needs include minerals: metals, fuels, industrial and construction materials. There will continue to be considerable demand for virgin mineral resources, even if levels of recycling and efficiency of use are optimal, and rates of population growth and globalisation decrease significantly. This article aims to stimulate debate on strategic issues for minerals supply. While the world has considerable stocks of mineral resources overall, international considerations of the environmental and social aspects of sustainable development are beginning to result in limitations on where mining will be conducted and what types of deposits will be mined. Current and emerging trends favour large mines in parts of the world where mining can be conducted within acceptable limits of environmental and social impact. Finding new deposits that meet such criteria will be all the more challenging given a disturbing global decline in the rate of discovery of major economic resources over the last decade, and the decreasing land area available for exploration and mining.
To attract responsible exploration and mining, governments of mining nations will need to provide: regional-scale geo-scientific datasets as required to attract and guide future generations of exploration; resource access through multiple and sequential land use regimes, and frameworks for dealing with indigenous peoples' issues; and arrangements for consideration of mining proposals and regulation of mines that ensure responsible management of environmental and social issues.
The minerals industry will need to continue to pursue advances in technologies for exploration, mining, processing, waste management and rehabilitation, and in public reporting of environmental and social performance.     

Modeling energy facility regulatory compliance with application to multi-scale liquefied natural gas facilities

Negotiation for permitting and regulatory compliance of energy facilities typically involves complex decision making over multiple planning horizons involving several organizations with possibly competing goals. Delays in compliance negotiation have the potential to undermine or deter the ability for countries and agencies to increase energy capacities and improve overall energy security. There is need for a multi-scale modeling framework with recognition of multiple time horizons, geographies, and organizational entities influencing the system. This paper presents a multi-scale analysis of the review and permitting process for repeated stages of interaction between a private energy operator and an energy regulatory agency. The interaction is modeled as a finitely repeated incomplete information game with identification of steady-state equilibrium conditions. The result is a strategy-guiding tool that can be used to identify potential incentives for cooperation among a variety of decision makers including energy policy decision makers, regulatory agencies, and project developers. The tools are described via a simplified demonstration applied to the permitting of liquefied natural gas terminals in various stages of their lifecycle. There is wide applicability for regulation, approval, deployment, and monitoring of infrastructure and environment in the energy industry.