Characterising the landscape of state environmental review policies and procedures in the United States: a national assessment

Following the intent of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, many states have adopted policies and procedures directing state agencies and local government units to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of development projects prior to their undertaking. In contrast to a rich literature on federal requirements, current understanding of state environmental review is narrowly focused and outdated. This paper seeks to provide information on the landscape of state environmental review policy frameworks. The paper identifies 37 states with formal environmental review requirements through a document review of state statutes, administrative rules and agency-prepared materials, and confirms this finding through a survey of state administrators. A two-tier classification is used to distinguish states based on the approach taken to address environmental review needs and the scope and depth of relevant policies and procedures implemented. This paper also provides a discussion of policy and programme attributes that may contribute to effective practice, and of the potential for adopting relevant legislation in states where environmental review is currently lacking.     

Environmental Exposure of Aquatic and Terrestrial Biota to Triclosan and Triclocarban1

Abstract: The synthetic biocides triclosan (5‐chloro‐2‐(2,4‐dichlorophenoxy)phenol) and triclocarban (3,4,4′‐trichlorocarbanilide) are routinely added to a wide array of antimicrobial personal care products and consumer articles. Both compounds can persist in the environment and exhibit toxicity toward a number of biological receptors. Recent reports of toxicological effects in wildlife, human cell cultures, and laboratory animals have heightened the interest in the occurrence of these biocide and related toxic effects. The present study aimed to summarize published environmental concentrations of biocides and contrast them with toxicity threshold values of susceptible organisms. Environmental occurrences and toxicity threshold values span more than six orders of magnitude in concentration. The highest biocide levels, measured in the mid parts‐per‐million range, were determined to occur in aquatic sediments and in municipal biosolids destined for land application. Crustacea and algae were identified as the most sensitive species, susceptible to adverse effects from biocide exposures in the parts‐per‐trillion range. An overlap of environmental concentrations and toxicity threshold values was noted for these more sensitive organisms, suggesting potential adverse ecological effects in aquatic environments. Affirmative evidence for this is lacking, however, since studies examining environmental occurrences of biocides vis‐à‐vis the health and diversity of aquatic species have not yet been conducted.     

Incorporating Uncertainty Into the Ranking of SPARROW Model Nutrient Yields From Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin Watersheds1

Abstract: Excessive loads of nutrients transported by tributary rivers have been linked to hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Management efforts to reduce the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico and improve the water quality of rivers and streams could benefit from targeting nutrient reductions toward watersheds with the highest nutrient yields delivered to sensitive downstream waters. One challenge is that most conventional watershed modeling approaches (e.g., mechanistic models) used in these management decisions do not consider uncertainties in the predictions of nutrient yields and their downstream delivery. The increasing use of parameter estimation procedures to statistically estimate model coefficients, however, allows uncertainties in these predictions to be reliably estimated. Here, we use a robust bootstrapping procedure applied to the results of a previous application of the hybrid statistical/mechanistic watershed model SPARROW (Spatially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes) to develop a statistically reliable method for identifying “high priority” areas for management, based on a probabilistic ranking of delivered nutrient yields from watersheds throughout a basin. The method is designed to be used by managers to prioritize watersheds where additional stream monitoring and evaluations of nutrient‐reduction strategies could be undertaken. Our ranking procedure incorporates information on the confidence intervals of model predictions and the corresponding watershed rankings of the delivered nutrient yields. From this quantified uncertainty, we estimate the probability that individual watersheds are among a collection of watersheds that have the highest delivered nutrient yields. We illustrate the application of the procedure to 818 eight‐digit Hydrologic Unit Code watersheds in the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River basin by identifying 150 watersheds having the highest delivered nutrient yields to the Gulf of Mexico. Highest delivered yields were from watersheds in the Central Mississippi, Ohio, and Lower Mississippi River basins. With 90% confidence, only a few watersheds can be reliably placed into the highest 150 category; however, many more watersheds can be removed from consideration as not belonging to the highest 150 category. Results from this ranking procedure provide robust information on watershed nutrient yields that can benefit management efforts to reduce nutrient loadings to downstream coastal waters, such as the Gulf of Mexico, or to local receiving streams and reservoirs.     

Field Evaluation of DRAINMOD 5.1 Under a Cold Climate: Simulation of Daily Midspan Water Table Depths and Drain Outflows1

Abstract: The hydrologic performance of DRAINMOD 5.1 was assessed for the southern Quebec region considering freezing/thawing conditions. A tile drained agricultural field in the Pike River watershed was instrumented to measure tile drainage volumes. The model was calibrated using water table depth and subsurface flow data over a two‐year period, while another two‐year dataset served to validate the model. DRAINMOD 5.1 accurately simulated the timing and magnitude of subsurface drainage events. The model also simulated the pattern of water table fluctuations with a good degree of accuracy. The R² between the observed and simulated daily WTD for calibration was >0.78, and that for validation was 0.93. The corresponding coefficients of efficiency (E) were >0.74 and 0.31. The R² and E values for calibration/validation of subsurface flow were 0.73/0.48 and 0.72/0.40, respectively. DRAINMOD simulated monthly subsurface flow quite accurately (E > 0.82 and R² > 0.84). The model precisely simulated daily/monthly drain flow over the entire year, including the winter months. Thus DRAINMOD 5.1 performed well in simulating the hydrology of a cold region.     

Conversion of a Missouri River Dam and Reservoir to a Sustainable System: Sediment Management1

Abstract: A present and future challenge for water resources engineers is to extend the useful life of our dams and reservoirs. Ongoing reservoir sedimentation in impoundments must be addressed; sedimentation in many reservoirs already limits project benefits and effective project life. Sustainability requires that incoming sediment be moved downstream past the impounding dam. We use Lewis and Clark Lake, the most downstream of the six Missouri River main stem reservoirs, to demonstrate how a reservoir in advanced stages of its project life could be converted to a sustainable system with local benefits exceeding costs by a factor of 1.5. Full consideration of benefits would further enhance project justification. The proposed strategy involves four phases that will take about 50 years to complete. Cost estimates for this potential project range from the quantitative to the plausible, but it is clear that the results justify a full engineering, environmental, and economic study of this model project. If implemented, the project will create scientific knowledge and develop technologies useful for achieving sustainability at many other reservoirs in the Mississippi River basin and beyond.     

Adaptive Management of Stream Channel Maintenance at Bridge Crossings in the Northern Tier Region,Pennsylvania1

Abstract: An adaptive management framework is applied to the problem of identifying mitigation measures for sediment deposition near bridge crossings in small streams in the Northern Tier region of northern Pennsylvania. The presence of the rigid bridge infrastructure introduces a challenge for applying adaptive management practices, because the integrity of the bridge structure itself has to be maintained regardless of the mitigation practices used in the stream channel near the bridge. In an effort to overcome the unacceptable risk that field‐scale adaptive management experiments present to rigid bridge infrastructure, an adaptive management approach for laboratory‐scale experimentation of mitigation methods at bridge crossings in the Northern Tier region is presented as a way to decrease the level of uncertainty about channel response to mitigation measures and increase the rate of learning about the effectiveness of these measures. Four cycles of adaptive management experiments are discussed to demonstrate that this approach results in fast and efficient learning about channel response to mitigation methods for the given conditions. The value of monitoring and of assessment of monitored data in the overall efficiency of the adaptive management approach is highlighted. Assessment of what was learned in the adaptive management experiment cycles presented here leads to new directions to continually improve management policies and practices in stream channels at bridge crossings in the Northern Tier region. The adaptive management process, rather than continuing with a normally risk‐averse management approach, results in opportunities for learning new information about a system’s response.     

Constraints to Watershed Planning: Group Structure and Process1

Floress, Kristin, Jean C. Mangun, Mae A. Davenport, and Karl W.J. Williard, 2009. Constraints to Watershed Planning: Group Structure and Process. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 45(6):1352‐1360. Abstract: The roles that agencies and other partners play in collaborative watershed management are not always clearly identified. Key factors contributing to group‐level outcomes in watershed groups include both structural and procedural elements. Structural elements include membership systems, project partners, and funding, while procedural elements include leadership, shared vision, and mission development. The current research reports on a case study conducted with a Midwestern watershed group that received Clean Water Act Section 319 funds to undertake a watershed planning process. Data come from focus groups, interviews, public comments, and meeting observation, and were analyzed using grounded theory. Findings of this study indicate that homogenous skill set, discord over group and partner roles, and failed problem identification contributed to the organizational inertia experienced by the watershed group. Implications of this research for groups receiving 319 funds are provided.