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.     

Energy use and transport correlation linking personal and travel related energy uses to the urban structure

This paper considers relationships between sustainability objectives, transport, spatial design of the built environment and rational use of energy. Conventional transport modelling, housing supply and energy assessment tools are drawn together to provide a common platform for appraisal of city-wide energy use by stationary and mobile sources. The paper outlines methodologies developed for the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The paper concludes by briefly reviewing the effect in terms of mobile and stationary energy consumption and travel behaviour of implementing sustainable policy measures in current and future years within the study area.     

Book reviews

Earth Politics. Ernst Ulrich von Weizsacker, 1994, London, Zed Books, 234 pp. ISBN 1 85649 174 9, pb £14.95; hb £36.95

Greening Your Local Authority. Janice Morphet (Ed.), 1994, London, Pitman Publishing (originally Harlow, Longman), 144 pp. ISBN 0582 229 065, pb £32.50

Ecology and Society: an introduction. Luke Martell, 1994 London, Polity Press, 250 pp. ISBN 0 7456 1022 6, hb £39.50, ISBN 0 7456 1023 4, pb £11.95

The Politics of the Environment. Robert E. Goodin, 1994. Cheltenham, Edward Elgar, 599 pp. ISBN 1 85278 872 0, hb £115.00

Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment John Glasson, Riki Therivel & Andrew Chadwick, 1994, London, UCL Press, 352 pp. ISBN 1 85728 117 9, hb £45.00, ISBN 1 85728 118 7, pb £14.95

Planning for the Planet: sustainable development strategies for local and strategic plans. Friends of the Earth, 1994, London, FoE, 104 pp. ISBN 1 85750 224 8, £12.00

Environmental Strategy and Sustainable Development: the corporate challenge for the 21st century. Richard Welford, 1995, London, Routledge, 240 pp. ISBN 0 415 10551 X, hb £40.00, ISBN 0 415 10552 8, pb £12.99

Housing and the Environment: a new agenda. Mark Bhatti, Jane Brooke & Mike Gibson (Eds), 1994, Foreword by Jonathon Porritt, Coventry, Chartered Institute of Housing, 210 pp. ISBN 0 901 607 738, £14.95     

Rural household vulnerability to climate risk in Uganda

Regional Environmental Change - Vulnerability assessment is fundamental for informing adaptation to climate change policy. The aim of this study is to evaluate the vulnerability of rural...     

A Lost Link between a Flightless Parrot and a Parasitic Plant and the Potential Role of Coprolites in Conservation Paleobiology

Late Quaternary extinctions and population fragmentations have severely disrupted animal‐plant interactions globally. Detection of disrupted interactions often relies on anachronistic plant characteristics, such as spines in the absence of large herbivores or large fruit without dispersers. However, obvious anachronisms are relatively uncommon, and it can be difficult to prove a direct link between the anachronism and a particular faunal taxon. Analysis of coprolites (fossil feces) provides a novel way of exposing lost interactions between animals (depositors) and consumed organisms. We analyzed ancient DNA to show that a coprolite from the South Island of New Zealand was deposited by the rare and threatened kakapo (Strigops habroptilus), a large, nocturnal, flightless parrot. When we analyzed the pollen and spore content of the coprolite, we found pollen from the cryptic root‐parasite Dactylanthus taylorii. The relatively high abundance (8.9% of total pollen and spores) of this zoophilous pollen type in the coprolite supports the hypothesis of a former direct feeding interaction between kakapo and D. taylorii. The ranges of both species have contracted substantially since human settlement, and their present distributions no longer overlap. Currently, the lesser short‐tailed bat (Mystacina tuberculata) is the only known native pollinator of D. taylorii, but our finding raises the possibility that birds, and other small fauna, could have once fed on and pollinated the plant. If confirmed, through experimental work and observations, this finding may inform conservation of the plant. For example, it may be possible to translocate D. taylorii to predator‐free offshore islands that lack bats but have thriving populations of endemic nectar‐feeding birds. The study of coprolites of rare or extinct taxonomic groups provides a unique way forward to expand existing knowledge of lost plant and animal interactions and to identify pollination and dispersal syndromes. This approach of linking paleobiology with neoecology offers significant untapped potential to help inform conservation and restoration plans. Un Eslabón Perdido entre un Loro No Volador y una Planta Parásita y el Papel Potencial de Coprolitos en Paleobiología de la Conservación     

Isolation and characterization of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bradyrhizobium</Emphasis> sp. SR1 degrading two β-triketone herbicides

In this study, a bacterial strain able to use sulcotrione, a β-triketone herbicide, as sole source of carbon and energy was isolated from soil samples previously treated with this herbicide. Phylogenetic study based on16S rRNA gene sequence showed that the isolate has 100 % of similarity with several Bradyrhizobium and was accordingly designated as Bradyrhizobium sp. SR1. Plasmid profiling revealed the presence of a large plasmid (>50 kb) in SR1 not cured under nonselective conditions. Its transfer to Escherichia coli by electroporation failed to induce β-triketone degrading capacity, suggesting that degrading genes possibly located on this plasmid cannot be expressed in E. coli or that they are not plasmid borne. The evaluation of the SR1 ability to degrade various synthetic (mesotrione and tembotrione) and natural (leptospermone) triketones showed that this strain was also able to degrade mesotrione. Although SR1 was able to entirely dissipate both herbicides, degradation rate of sulcotrione was ten times higher than that of mesotrione, showing a greater affinity of degrading-enzyme system to sulcotrione. Degradation pathway of sulcotrione involved the formation of 2-chloro-4-mesylbenzoic acid (CMBA), previously identified in sulcotrione degradation, and of a new metabolite identified as hydroxy-sulcotrione. Mesotrione degradation pathway leads to the accumulation of 4-methylsulfonyl-2-nitrobenzoic acid (MNBA) and 2-amino-4 methylsulfonylbenzoic acid (AMBA), two well-known metabolites of this herbicide. Along with the dissipation of β-triketones, one could observe the decrease in 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) inhibition, indicating that toxicity was due to parent molecules, and not to the formed metabolites. This is the first report of the isolation of bacterial strain able to transform two β-triketones.     

Assessment of pesticide contamination in three Mississippi Delta oxbow lakes using Hyalella azteca

Three oxbow lakes in northwestern Mississippi, USA, an area of intensive agriculture, were assessed for biological impairment from historic and current-use pesticide contamination using the amphipod, Hyalella azteca. Surface water and sediment samples from three sites in each lake were collected from Deep Hollow, Beasley, and Thighman Lakes from September 2000 to February 2001. Samples were analyzed for 17 historic and current-use pesticides and selected metabolites. Ten-day H. azteca survival and growth (as length and dry weight) were measured to determine the degree of biological impairment. Maximum number of detectable pesticides in surface water from Deep Hollow, Beasley and Thighman Lakes was 10, 11, and 17, respectively. Maximum number of detectable pesticides in lake sediments was 17, 17, and 15, respectively. Bioassay results indicated no observable survival effects on H. azteca exposed to surface water or sediment from any lake examined and no growth impairment in animals exposed to lake sediments. However, growth was significantly impaired in surface water exposures from Deep Hollow Lake (2 sites) and Beasley Lake (1 site). Statistically significant relationships between growth impairment (length) and cyanazine, methyl parathion, λ-cyhalothrin, chlorfenapyr, and pp′DDE surface water concentrations in Deep Hollow Lake as well as trifluralin, atrazine, and methyl parathion in Beasley Lake were observed. Although pesticide frequency and concentrations were typically greater in sediment than surface water, bioassay results indicated decreased availability of these pesticides in sediment due to the presence of clay and organic carbon. Growth impairment observed in surface water exposures was likely due to complex interaction of pesticide mixtures that were present.     

Plant senescence: a mechanism for nutrient release in temperate agricultural wetlands

The beneficial uptake of nutrients by wetland plants is countered to some extent by nutrient release back into the aquatic environment due to vegetative die-back. This current study examined whether Leersia oryzoides, a common wetland plant, exhibits luxury uptake of nutrients from simulated farm runoff. The study also tested whether with subsequent decomposition, these nutrients are released back into the water column. When exposed to elevated (>2mg/L N and P) runoff, L. oryzoides assimilated significantly higher concentrations of nitrogen (p<0.001) and phosphorus (p<0.001) in above-ground biomass as compared to non-enriched treatments (<0.05 mg/L N and P). Subsequently, senescence of enriched above-ground biomass yielded significantly higher concentrations of phosphorus (2.19+/-0.84 mg P/L). Using L. oryzoides as our model, this study demonstrates nitrogen and phosphorus sequestration during the growing season and release of phosphorus in the winter.     

The Mutagenic Activity of Particulate Organic Matter Collected with a Dilution Sampler at Coal-Fired Power Plants

The Deep Creek Lake Study of 1983 provided an opportunity to obtain emission samples from coal-fired power plants with a dilution sampler for mutagenicity testing. Stack and ambient samples of particulate matter were collected with a dilution sampler at three coal-fired power plants in West Virginia. Samples were sequentially extracted with cyclohexane (CX), dichloromethane (DCM) and acetone (ACE) and tested for mutagenicity in the Ames Salmonella/microsome assay using TA98 (-S9). For the stack samples, the CX, DCM and ACE fractions constituted 1.0, 0.7 and 98.1 percent of the total extractable organic material (EOM), respectively, compared to 28.5, 7.4 and 64.1 percent for the ambient samples. In contrast, the mutagenic activity of the organic fractions was concentrated in the CX and DCM fractions.

The cyclohexane- and dichloromethane-soluble fractions of the stack samples from all locations exhibited mutagenicity when tested in the plate incorporation assay. No significant response was observed with the acetone fraction. When tested with Kado's modification of the preincubation assay, the acetone-soluble fraction did exhibit mutagenic activity comparable to that of the other fractions when expressed in units of revertants per milligram of particular matter. Chemical analyses of one of the acetone-soluble fractions indicated that half of the mass was sulfuric acid while the remainder consisted of C, H and O. More than 30 peaks were detected in the high pressure liquid chromatogram of this fraction.

Although little mutagenic activity was detected in the polar ACE fraction of the diluted stack emissions samples with this single bioassay, in view of the large mass of this fraction, further investigation of the chemical composition and genotoxic activity of this fraction would be prudent.