Many factors must be considered by environmental officials tasked with managing pesticides. Several socioeconomic analysis techniques can be used to quantify these issues and help improve management, including the full consideration of alternatives. The most popular and commonly used techniques are Cost-Benefit Analysis and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis, and additional guidance and reference materials are readily available. Another group of methods, known as Rapid Rural Appraisal and Participatory Rural Appraisal, can be more appropriate, faster, and have lower cost to use in developing countries. Finally, qualitative decision making under uncertainty, such as through the use of the Precautionary Principle (not a socioeconomic analysis technique), also can be valuable. The precautionary approach requires that if an action or policy has a suspected risk of causing harm to the public or to the environment, in the absence of scientific consensus that the action or policy is not harmful, the burden of proof that it is not harmful falls on those taking an action. Ideally all of the analytical techniques will need complete and reliable socioeconomic data, though in reality, data are often incomplete and fraught with uncertainties. In these cases, the application of the precautionary principle decision rule may have strong justification. The application of these techniques in several decision contexts for pesticides in developing countries will be discussed.

Environmental Practice 17: 57–68 (2015)

In 2006, Tomas Koontz and Craig Thomas wrote, “If the 20th century was the year of the administration state then the 21st century may be the year of the collaborative state” (Koontz and Thomas, 2006). Koontz and Thomas were correct in one respect—collaborative management has come to be a part of environmental and natural resources decision making at almost every level of government and in almost every subset issue area. The question this essay addresses is: Is this necessarily a good thing? More specifically, are there situations in which collaborative management works well and others in which it should be avoided entirely?

Environmental Practice 17: 156–159 (2015)

Ecosystems management can be viewed as an explicit attempt to build and manage interorganizational networks. A review of environmental management literature, however, reveals very little use of network organization models. For environmental professionals who encounter diverse stakeholders in their practice, this article offers a conceptual framework and case study that demonstrate the utility of approaching ecosystems as networks. Virtual network and learning organization models, combined with holographic (systems) thinking and generative learning paradigms, help explain how collaboration among multiple stakeholders in ecosystems management can work. The case of “Monroe 2020,” the process for generating and implementing the comprehensive plan for Monroe County, Pennsylvania, provides a real-life illustration. The Monroe 2020 plan focuses on environmental quality and community economic goals, melded with resolution of long-standing conflict and commitment to a shared vision of the County's future. It emerged through a deliberate effort to build a broad-based, long-term constituency and tools for implementation. Monroe 2020 as plan and process represents a practical, mutually reinforcing alignment of natural ecosystems management and management of the built environment for human settlement. By fostering better understanding of how to create and manage effective collaborative partnerships, the ideas expressed here can contribute significantly to improved ecosystems management.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) has been federal law since 1970. Relatively little attention, however, has been paid to how NEPA is actually implemented by the more than 80 federal departments and agencies that plan or permit activities subject to NEPA's requirements. The authors conducted a comparative study of the NEPA process as implemented by 12 different federal agencies. The study found that the authority of the officials responsible for NEPA and the scope of their duties vary considerably from one agency to another. Nevertheless, several general observations and conclusions emerged from the study. Collectively, agency NEPA officials face increasing workloads; however, most of the NEPA offices studied have incurred reductions in both their budget and staff positions in recent years. In part due to these constraints, most agency headquarters NEPA offices lack a national tracking system to monitor the numbers or types of NEPA documents that their agency produces. In none of the 12 agencies studied did NEPA emerge as the principal cause of excessive delays or costs; however, NEPA compliance officers frequently cited needs for additional guidance and training in the analysis of cumulative and indirect effects and for more specific guidance on the appropriate level of analysis. Several agencies have developed elements of what could be called “NEPA Best Practices,” but no formal process exists for sharing these practices with other federal agencies. The authors present recommendations based on these findings that are intended to address significant issues and contribute to improving the NEPA process.

the expression “where you stand depends on where you sit” takes on a new dimension when one considers the complexity of environmental conflict. environmental conflicts, some of the most contentious of our time, take place within a complex and dynamic “context” that can influence disputing parties' perceptions of the conflict and each other, and may alter the conflict in dramatic ways. in other words, where you “stand” with regard to a particular environmental conflict will be influenced by where you “sit” in terms of the particular context surrounding the conflict. context, for our purposes, is the complex and dynamic “setting” in which the conflict occurs.

As a planning concept, Smart Growth leads to a dead end. Planners and environmental professionals must help communities work toward a different planning theory predicated on the truth that, at some juncture, growth must stop. Impediments to achieving the necessary steady-state community are political, economic, legal, and ethical. Politically, most people do not want more growth, but growth happens because the pro-development community—buoyed by market forces—lobbies local government for pro-growth policies and because the pro-growth community often misrepresents the consequences of low or no growth. Economically, communities must move toward an economy of “relocalization” that promotes prosperity with growth. Legally, there are no insurmountable obstacles to the necessary (and inevitable) development of a steady-state economy that does not grow in quantity. Ethically, we must recognize that preserving a place from over-development is the right thing to do.

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)

The electric industry is experiencing notable changes with the implementation of communication and automation technology, many of which are part of the smart grid movement. Similar to other critical infrastructure industries such as banking, transportation, and the cross-sector critical information infrastructure industry, the electric industry must protect itself from intentional and unintentional security breaches and incidents to ensure uninterrupted operations of essential services. Of the critical infrastructure industries, the electric industry is the only private-sector industry subject to government-enforced mandatory cybersecurity standards. This article presents an overview of the eight mandatory cybersecurity standards by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. As an example of how standards are evolving, it discusses CIP-002 (Critical Cyber Asset Identification) in depth because it establishes whether the remaining seven standards apply. This article then compares the North American Electric Reliability Corporation regulatory framework against critical information infrastructure goals. The comparison finds that, at least on a basic level, the electric industry's mandatory cybersecurity standards meet the critical information infrastructure goals and work to secure information networks, resources, and systems from cyber and physical threats. The mandatory cybersecurity standards promote an increase in technological products, better security management, personnel and public education, and trust in the industry. Even though the electric industry's mandatory standards are imperfect, the fact it satisfies the goals of the cross-sector critical information infrastructure indicates that the framework is sound. The electric industry's experience with mandatory cybersecurity standards is a valuable source of information, and the regulatory framework itself can be a helpful model for other industries looking to develop their own security protection systems.

Environmental Practice 13:250–264 (2011)

This article analyzes the decision-making processes used by government agencies when trying to decide whether to approve or reject projects that impact the environment. This article examines some of the real-life inputs into the decision, as well as the influences on the decision maker. For example, some academics suggest that decision makers are more influenced by the environmental impact assessment process itself than by the conclusions of the assessment. Three case studies are presented. I provide an overview of each project and the various influences on the respective decision maker. I demonstrate that decision makers tend to elevate social, cultural, and political concerns over the natural environment. I also demonstrate that each decision maker was influenced by a particular social, cultural, or political aspect unique to each situation. I recommend further research in the expanding use of analytical tools and models in environmental decision making. These tools may encourage the decision maker to give more consideration to the results of the environmental impact assessment versus other external influences.

Environmental Practice 16: 290–301 (2014)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study, released in 2014, evaluates strategies to lessen the risk of Asian carp and other aquatic nuisance species transferring between these ecosystems. Due to the voluminous nature of the report and manner in which the results are presented, however, many important questions remain difficult to answer, such as: How do the costs of the different strategies differ; and How would the costs be distributed across various stakeholders? To help evaluate the results, this article uses the study’s many estimates, considerations of net present value, and other tools to show how the costs of the alternatives differ over a 50-year time period. This information can help inform policymakers about the best way to move forward with a cost-effective strategy to deal with aquatic nuisance species.

Environmental Practice 17: 291–301 (2015)

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its fourth major scientific assessment of climate change in the spring of 2007. Each of the IPCC assessment reports, published every seven years or so, has grown progressively more sobering and less uncertain in its projections of climate change and its likely impacts on ecosystems and human societies over the next century.

With renewed emphasis on environmental protection and growing scholarly consensus on the need to move beyond the traditional command-and-control approach to environmental regulation, the “window” may be opening for significant changes in environmental policy in the United States. Much of the dialogue focuses on next-generation environmental policies that are cooperative instead of confrontational, comprehensive rather than fragmented, and flexible instead of rigid. This pending transition invariably raises questions about regulatory enforcement and, most notably, fears of regulatory capture. Accordingly, this article explores the discussion of next-generation environmental policies and their implications for environmental inspectors in the context of regulatory enforcement. The transition to next-generation policies is likely to have significant impacts on inspectors; however, I argue that concerns of regulatory capture are overstated, based on a survey of existing research on regulatory enforcement.

Environmental Practice 12:247–259 (2010)

The North Carolina Wetland Assessment Method (NC WAM) was developed from 2003 to 2007 by a team of federal and state agencies to rapidly assess the level of wetland function. NC WAM is a field method which is science-based, reproducible, rapid, and observational in nature used to determine the level of wetland function relative to reference for each of 16 North Carolina general wetland types. Three major functions (Hydrology, Water Quality, and Habitat) were recognized along with 10 sub-functions. Sub-functions and functions are evaluated using 22 field metrics on a field assessment form. Data are entered into a computer program to generate High, Medium, and Low ratings for each sub-function, function, and the overall assessment area based on an iterative Boolean logic process using 71 unique combinations. The method was field tested across the state at more than 280 sites of varying wetland quality. Examples are presented for the use of NC WAM for compensatory mitigation notably to calculate functional uplift from wetland enhancement. Calibration and verification analyses to date show that the results of the method are significantly correlated with long-term wetland monitoring data and NC WAM has been verified for one wetland type (headwater forest) using these data.

Environmental Practice 17: 145–155 (2015)

The adverse impacts of climate change have become some of the most serious threats faced by humankind. China, the largest greenhouse gas emitter, has a huge impact on global climate change and thus has an inescapable responsibility to take necessary steps to mitigate it. In response to the gradual but increasingly serious adverse impact of climate change, the Chinese government has promulgated many laws, regulations, and policies to refine the specific areas of mitigating climate change in accordance with its obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, which form the fundamental international legal framework for addressing these issues. Nevertheless, many gaps still exist in the legislation for climate change. Besides, weak implementation and enforceability of climate change laws are still big problems in China. Furthermore, the Chinese environmental nongovernmental organizations should be granted more powers in the field of mitigating climate change. Lastly, although China should take further responsibility for preventing global climate change, the objective of mitigating climate change will never be achieved without effective international cooperation in this field.

Environmental Practice 16: 205–229 (2014)

This article reports on a content analysis of newspaper coverage of a wildfire on the Hanford nuclear site in the summer of 2000. The risk and mass communication literatures suggest that newspaper coverage of such fires would frame the event in dread terms, with some variation in the framing depending on the community diversity of the home market. We found that newspapers did vary in their framing of the fire, and that vigilance and confidence were more common framings of the fire. Our tentative explanation is that key risk communicators and reporters adhered to their professional ethics and relied on one another to develop a frame for Hanford hazards and risks.

In this article, techniques of deliberative democracy are described and their applications to problems of natural resource management are discussed. It is argued that deliberative approaches to resource management achieve a higher level of both ecological rationality and political sustainability than do either elite decision making or interest-group bargaining.

Environmental Practice 12:195–201 (2010)

Public and regulatory agency scrutiny of large-scale infrastructure projects has grown in recent years. There is national attention on the issues of urban expansion and the preservation of open space and fragile ecosystems. This has made the substantive assessment of indirect impacts and cumulative effects an increasingly important component of environmental studies conducted under the auspices of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This article describes the NEPA assessment of indirect impacts and cumulative effects as conducted for the proposed Ohio River Bridges Project in the Louisville, Kentucky, metropolitan area. The project's size and complexity required the detailed study of many NEPA environmental issues. These issues included the range of alternatives to meet varied transportation needs, land use and community impacts, environmental justice concerns, aesthetics, potential effects on National Register historic properties and districts, water quality, wetlands, and threatened and endangered species, among others. The project captured the interest of local and regional residents, business and property owners, civic leaders, local interest groups, and national environmental organizations. In this article, three objectives are accomplished. First, the article presents an overview of indirect and cumulative effects analysis and the mandate to do them. Second, the article presents a seven-step assessment process for indirect impacts and cumulative effects. This method is adapted from Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) guidance that identifies resources affected, other major actions, geographic limits and time frames for analysis, and the methods, tools, and techniques used to analyze each resource. And third, the article presents some of the results or specific outputs of the indirect and cumulative effects analysis (ICEA) for this important project and briefly discusses potential mitigation options that have been considered.

Water demand management (WDM) practitioners will always need sufficient political will and financial resources to implement their WDM agenda. In addition, however, this research found that those elements, even when supported by a local champion, are insufficient to initiate and sustain municipal WDM. The research results affirmed that social networks have dynamic structure and function. The network's function is critical to WDM because it establishes membership parameters (e.g., deciding who is included and excluded), facilitates and regulates information exchange (e.g., through defining research questions and undertaking a research agenda), and reinforces the community's knowledge (e.g., through meetings and articulation, either implicit or explicit, of priorities and norms). These findings support the premise that adjustments in WDM research and practice is valuable. The research has shown the Ontario network makes a significant contribution to generating additional data, information, and knowledge and is a source of momentum behind the implementation of a municipal water efficiency agenda. The results indicate that a closer focus on the individuals who are responsible for implementing programs is necessary to help make WDM programs more successful. Understanding the social networks of those actively engaged in WDM implementation will be essential.

Environmental Practice 10:42–52 (2008)

In Washington State, the agricultural community faces many environmental and regulatory challenges, including water availability for irrigation; water quality and Clean Water Act (CWA) compliance; and Endangered Species Act (ESA) compliance, particularly with regard to federally listed salmon. In 2001, the Washington State Department of Agriculture initiated the State's Agriculture, Fish, and Water (AFW) process to bring regulatory agencies, tribes, and environmental stakeholders to the table in an effort to address these issues. The result was the development of the Comprehensive Irrigation District Management Plan (CIDMP) process, which provides a voluntary, locally driven, incentive-based process by which the agricultural community can improve their operations and water management techniques in response to CWA and ESA concerns. The CIDMP process was modeled after the state's Watershed Management Plans; both processes reflect an innovative approach to collaborative resource management that is unique to Washington. The goal of the CIDMP is to allow the agricultural community the flexibility to address ESA and CWA while preserving the key processes and functions that are necessary to sustain commercial agriculture in a rapidly urbanizing landscape. To date, several CIDMPs have been developed around Washington State. These pilot CIDMPs have progressed to various stages of completion and degrees of success. This article will showcase the Skagit River Basin CIDMP, a project located in Skagit County, Washington, that began in 2005 and is ongoing. The article provides an overview of the CIDMP process and the key issues it addresses, status of implementation, and lessons learned.

Environmental Practice 11:95–104 (2009)