Compliance of Australian threatened species recovery plans with legislative requirements

Recovery plans are the main documents supporting management decision-making for threatened species. We evaluated Australian recovery plans to assess their appropriateness as conservation and management planning instruments. Six legislative requirements (species information and general requirements, species distribution and location, known and potential threats, objectives, performance criteria and actions, duration of the plan, and estimated costs of plan implementation) were used to assess the degree of compliance of recovery plans with the relevant legislation. We assessed all 236 official recovery plans which had been adopted as at January 2006. The results showed that plans were most compliant regarding the setting of objectives, performance criteria, recovery actions, and duration of plan. Most plans included a single performance criterion that was generally related to the population status of target species. Improvement is required in relation to identification of current threats and critical habitats, and the establishment of basic elements of monitoring and evaluation for measuring recovery progress. Gaps in ecological information are the main factors affecting adequate compliance with legislative requirements as opposed to managerial information (e.g. clarity in establishing the implementation schedule, costs and resource allocation). Planning deficiencies could be addressed by improving the recovery planning guidelines and more carefully reviewing the drafting and adoption of new plans.     

The meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act within the U.S. Forest Service

We conducted a survey of 3321 Forest Service employees involved in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) followed by five focus groups to investigate agency views of the purpose of agency NEPA processes and their appropriate measures of success. Results suggest the lack of a unified critical task for Forest Service NEPA processes and that employees' functions relevant to NEPA influence their views of its meaning. Compared to other agency personnel, members of interdisciplinary teams who carry out most day-to-day NEPA-related tasks placed greater emphasis on minimizing negative environmental and social impacts, satisfying multiple stakeholders and avoiding litigation and appeals. Line officers, who typically serve as the decision makers following NEPA processes, placed greatest emphasis on efficient implementation and least emphasis on minimizing impacts. Advisory personnel placed greatest emphasis on effective disclosure of analyses and decision-making. We discuss the structural origins of these differences as well as their implications.     

GAME-THEORETIC ANALYSES OF ENFORCEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS1

ABSTRACT: Game-theoretic models are developed for describing and analyzing the inspection and enforcement process, especially as it relates to environmental laws and regulations in North America. Based on these models, systems using irrevocable control orders can be compared to those relying on court determination of guilt and punishment. The cost-effectiveness of environmental enforcement can be systematically assessed in terms of factors such as the private gains for violators, the costs of inspection, penalties, and the social value of deterring violations. The policy implications of the analysis, especially with reference to environmental protection, are emphasized.     

Persistence of the fluoroquinolone antibiotic difloxacin in soil and lacking effects on nitrogen turnover

The environmental risks caused by the use of fluoroquinolone antibiotics in human therapeutics and animal husbandry are associated with their persistence and (bio)accessibility in soil. To assess these aspects, we administered difloxacin to pigs and applied the contaminated manure to soil. We then evaluated the dissipation and sequestration of difloxacin in soil in the absence and presence of plants within a laboratory trial, a mesocosm trial, and a field trial. A sequential extraction yielded antibiotic fractions of differing binding strength. We also assessed the antibiotic's effects on nitrogen turnover in soil (potential nitrification and denitrification). Difloxacin was hardly (bio)accessible and was very persistent under all conditions studied (dissipation half-life in bulk soil, >217 d), rapidly forming nonextractable residues. Although varying environmental conditions did not affect persistence, dissipation was accelerated in soil surrounding plant roots. Effects on nitrogen turnover were limited due to the compound's strong binding and small (bio)accessibility despite its persistence.     

Showering in Flint, MI: Is there a DBP problem?

Lead contamination in the City of Flint, MI has been well documented over the past two years, with lead levels above the EPA Action Level until summer 2016. This resulted from an ill-fated decision to switch from Detroit water (Lake Huron) with corrosion control, to Flint River water without corrosion control. Although lead levels are now closer to normal, reports of skin rashes have sparked questions surrounding tap water in some Flint homes. This study investigated the presence of contaminants, including disinfection by-products (DBPs), in the hot tap water used for showering in the homes of residents in Flint. Extensive quantitative analysis of 61 regulated and priority unregulated DBPs was conducted in Flint hot and cold tap water, along with the analysis of 50 volatile organic compounds and a nontarget comprehensive, broadscreen analysis, to identify a possible source for the reported skin rashes. For comparison, chlorinated hot and cold waters from three other cities were also sampled, including Detroit, which also uses Lake Huron as its source water. Results showed that hot water samples generally contained elevated levels of regulated and priority unregulated DBPs compared to cold water samples, but trihalomethanes were still within regulatory limits. Overall, hot shower water from Flint was similar to waters sampled from the three other cities and did not have unusually high levels of DBPs or other organic chemicals that could be responsible for the skin rashes observed by residents. It is possible that an inorganic chemical or microbial contaminant may be responsible.     

Seasonal dynamics of Vibrio cholerae and its phages in riverine ecosystem of Gangetic West Bengal: cholera paradigm

The Gangetic delta is a century-old cholera endemic belt where the role of riverine–estuarine ecosystem in cholera transmission has never been elucidated. Seasonality, distribution, and abundance of environmental Vibrio cholerae O1/O139 and vibriophage in Hooghly riverine–estuarine environment and their correlation with cholera incidence pattern in West Bengal, India, have been analyzed for the first time across summer, monsoon, and winter months. A total of 146 water samples collected from two sites of the Hooghly River (Howrah and Diamond Harbour) were analyzed physicochemically along with cultivable Vibrio count (CVC), V. cholerae O1/O139, and vibriophages. V. cholerae O1 was detected in 56 (38.3 %) samples, while 66 (45.2 %) were positive for V. cholerae O1 phages. Flood tide, water temperature (31?±?1.6 °C), and turbidity (≥250 nephelometric turbidity unit (NTU)) significantly stimulated V. cholerae and vibriophage abundance in riverine ecosystem. Solitary existence of V. cholerae O1 and phages (p?V. cholerae O1 or V. cholerae O1 Φ) on the other. Significant association (p?V. cholerae O1 in aquatic environment implies the role of riverine–estuarine ecosystem in cholera transmission. A “biomonitoring tool” of physicochemical stimulants, tidal, and climatic variants has been proposed collating V. cholerae and phage dynamics that can forewarn any impending cholera outbreak.