Seventh Generation Thinking is attributed to Native American lore. Specifically, the Six Nations of the Iroquois (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, Cayuga, and Tuscarora) are given the most credit for developing and codifying the idea here in the North American continent. The idea is that we do not inherit the land from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.

This research addresses a key aspect of federal-local relationships in American federalism. How do Colorado county commissioners react in terms of supporting or restricting the development of renewable energy resource decisions under the control of federal agencies? Do they support the removal of legal obstacles to the construction of renewable energy facilities on federal lands under the jurisdiction of the United States Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)? And to what extent do they favor the prospective use of eminent domain authority by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to site interstate transmission lines across county boundaries? The results presented here suggest that commissioners are less likely to support the exercise of eminent domain authority if they are favorably predisposed toward clean coal or nuclear power and prefer a more gradual transition to the use of renewable energy resources. Commissioner resistance to the development of renewable energy facilities on federal lands is more likely to occur in counties with a greater percentage of BLM or Forest Service lands and with higher PILTs (payments in lieu of taxes) from natural resource uses.

Environmental Practice 13:1–7 (2011)

Many sustainable development goals require collaboration among agencies and stakeholders at the regional scale in order to motivate and enable action. The need for regional-scale institutions to facilitate this collaboration has resulted in innovative activities by the United States Department of Defense (DoD). This article reviews the recent experiences of the DoD in the context of existing literature on collaborative natural resource management and finds many common challenges. Even though collaboration at this scale is difficult and there are few hard and fast rules for success, lessons from the DoD can help advance the state of practice. The question remains whether large public organizations like the DoD can institutionalize these newer collaborative approaches and make the necessary long-term commitments that are necessary for success.

Environmental Practice 13:1–11 (2011)

We present the study results on the noise impact assessment for the proposed 30-MW wind farms in Lake Erie in Ontario, Canada. This report also reviews noise issues of a wind farm, sound propagation, and the major factors that might affect the sound-propagation and the noise-modeling results. The noise guidelines of Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) extensively are referenced in this assessment. The potential noise receptors have been identified in order to predict the noise-reception level at certain setback distances. WindPRO professional software designed for wind farms is used for the noise-modeling prediction. The noise-impact calculation by WindPRO is based on the ISO 9613-2 (General Acoustics: Attenuation of Sound during Propagation Outdoors—Part 2: General Method of Calculation). Additionally, meteorologic conditions, including the wind profile of the wind farm sites and topography as well as acoustic emission data for the selected wind turbine brand, have been coupled into the model. The detailed octave data at the wind-speed range of 6–11 m/s for each point of reception have been predicted. The results of the noise-impact assessment are demonstrated by noise level and noise contours, and the corresponding compliance of wind turbine noise criteria regulated in Ontario are analyzed for the proposed wind farms.

Environmental Practice 13:101–112 (2011)

Like most other United States (US) governmental agencies, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) was established and its purposes defined in US statutory law. Specifically, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) gave the CEQ responsibility for pursuing the development and implementation of policies that support and encourage environmental stewardship and sustainability. In this article, we examine what has happened to CEQ over the 40 years from its birth on January 1, 1970, to January 1, 2010. Among the key findings of the study is that the CEQ energetically and effectively pursued its assigned statutory goals during the 1970s, the first decade of its existence, but its capacity to do so was dramatically reduced during most of its second decade, the 1980s. The CEQ's capacity improved somewhat at the end of the second decade. Then the CEQ's fortunes declined again in the early years of the 1990s, its third decade, before recovering modestly in the middle of the decade. During most of its fourth decade, 2000–2008, the CEQ's energy level was elevated, but its presidentially assigned task seemed to be an inversion of its statutory purposes. These findings illustrate the malleability of statutory law in the American political context, and they illuminate gaps that exist in two prominent agency life-cycle theories.

Environmental Practice 13:1–9 (2011)

The final Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule (40 CFR 98) was published in the Federal Register on October 30, 2009. As the initial reporting due date approaches in the summer of 2011, potentially affected greenhouse gas (GHG) source facilities are in the process of determining applicability to the standard and implementing the required monitoring and record-keeping requirements. Environmental professionals around the United States are focused on researching the details of their specific GHG regulated source category and are attempting to confirm that the regulation is not applicable to their industry and/or operating facilities. These professionals are typically required to provide ongoing regulatory compliance support to their individual company or group of clients. Performing the GHG applicability determination is a critical step to documenting overall compliance with current Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations. Based on the level of analysis and calculations required to determine applicability and the anticipated EPA updates to bring in additional source categories, this article is intended to provide environmental professionals with valuable regulatory information on one of the more significant environmental regulations promulgated in the last 10 years.

Environmental Practice 13:122–129 (2011)

This article discusses redevelopment strategies to resolve complex issues at Brownfield sites and uses case studies to highlight successes at two complicated brownfields. Many less complicated brownfield properties have already been redeveloped and returned to productive uses. While this achievement is commendable, many more difficult brownfields remain vacant and underutilized. This article highlights creative redevelopment strategies for these brownfields and discusses methods that can be used to resolve issues associated with owning and redeveloping a contaminated site, including financing hurdles, cost-recovery actions, liability concerns, and maintaining a vision for the end use. Historical insurance assets, CERCLA cost recovery and RCRA citizen suits, grants and tax incentives, and state voluntary cleanup programs are among the tools discussed. This article also provides practical tips for ensuring that these funding sources are maximized and that costs incurred in remediating Brownfields can be recovered to the greatest extent possible. Two case studies are highlighted: the Evansville Greenway Site in Evansville, Indiana, and the Quanta Resources Site in Long Island City, New York. At the Evansville Greenway Site, the Evansville Greenway and Remediation Trust used creative sources of funding to transform a contaminated former scrap yard into a beautiful bike path and greenway, a key part of a planned 42-mile walking/biking trail encircling Evansville. The Evansville Greenway and Remediation Trust was able to marshal brownfield grants, over $3,500,000 in insurance assets, and $4,375,000 from other responsible parties through cost-recovery litigation. This case study demonstrates how a variety of funding options can be combined for the benefit of municipalities and their residents in restoring brownfield properties to public uses. The Quanta Resources matter involved entry of a notorious abandoned waste oil–processing facility (previously operated by a convicted environmental criminal) into New York State's Voluntary Cleanup Program. Strategic site investigation efforts combined with extensive analysis of historical documents led to the identification of responsible parties and a negotiated resolution that will restore the property and adjacent parcels for future commercial use.

Environmental Practice 13:1–13 (2011)

Waste vegetable oil (WVO) collection from residents and its use in producing biofuel, which has many applications (e.g., as fuel for vehicles), have generated tremendous interest in Japan. Trials in this regard are mainly conducted in the so-called Biomass Town projects proposed by local governments. A Biomass Town project is the concept of establishing a sustainable, recycling-oriented society for recovering biomass, which is a recoverable energy source. In this study, nationwide studies were conducted to investigate the methods used by local governments to collect WVO in Japan; further, other investigations were carried out through circulating questionnaires to determine the best way in which to collect WVO from residents in Imizu City. These investigations found that each local government had exerted considerable effort to establish a system for collecting WVO from its residents, within their cultural and social limitations. Imizu City concluded that emulsion oil was a more profitable choice than biodiesel fuel for business, and that the generation of emulsion oil should be 600, 400, or 300 liters per day for two, three, or four workdays per week, respectively, for a monthly revenue of more than 40,000 yen, under the condition that the emulsion ratio is 80% kerosene and 20% WVO. The answers obtained from questionnaires revealed some basic information for the installation of an WVO ideal collection system, in the opinion of the residents.

Environmental Practice 13:1–12 (2011)

Observed and projected events associated with climate change indicate the need for a paradigm shift from reactive, small-scale, and short-term water resources management to proactive, large-scale, and long-term ecosystem adaptation that enhances ecosystem resilience to climate variability. Adaptation is defined here as “adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities” (IPCC, 2007). Adaptation and resilience to climate change will require new approaches and thoughtful, preventive actions at a broad scale to reduce the vulnerability of watersheds in the Intermountain West United States (US) (US Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force, 2010). The need for a paradigm shift in watershed planning, linking local responses to climate changes across the Intermountain West, is supported by recent observed drought conditions and more intense rainfall and flood events. This article discusses challenges and opportunities associated with linking observed and projected climate changes with local watershed planning and management at one of the most highly visible recreational areas in the Western US—the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area in Colorado.

After the mistakes I discussed in Environmental Practice 12(2), and the gaps I discussed in Environmental Practice 12(3), it may be useful to look at myths that have grown around the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. Myths can be defined, as the title suggests, as things we say and believe about NEPA and the NEPA process that are not necessarily true.