Political scientist Lynton Keith Caldwell, a principal architect of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) who also is recognized as the “inventor” of the Environmental Impact Statement (or EIS, NEPA's “action forcing” provision), is widely regarded to be one of the twentieth century's most influential scholars in the fields of environmental policy, politics, law, and administration. Indeed, because of his groundbreaking work during the 1960s, he has been credited with founding the new subfield of environmental policy, politics, and administration studies within the wider scope of political science and public administration in the United States. In that period, Robert Bartlett and James Gladden believe that Caldwell “proposed the wholly new field of inquiry now known as environmental policy studies” and that he was “alone in focusing on the distinctive, integrative character of the concept ‘environment’ and its implications for politics, public policy, and public administration.” Harold and Margaret Sprout, the only other political scientists then pursuing a path similar to Caldwell's, share this opinion, writing in 1978, “The long neglect of environmental subjects by academic political scientists [has been] verified … The roster of an interdisciplinary conference, ‘Man's Role in Changing the Face of the Earth’ (1955), sponsored by the Wenner-Gren and National Science Foundations, included no political scientists. Two years later the conference ‘Future Environments of North America’ sponsored by the Conservation Foundation included only one, Professor Caldwell.”

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.

This article is part 2 of a two-part series. Part one, which was published in the June 2008 edition of Environmental Practice,1 focused on the context for considering climate change in National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analyses and reviewing the case law and other legal developments on the topic. The article briefly explained the phenomenon of climate change and the key climate change science findings and predictions from the most credible global and United States (US) sources. The article also briefly described some important state and local climate change policy initiatives, and provided an overview of the state of NEPA climate change case law.

As this issue of Environmental Practice goes to press, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has put mercury from coal-fired plants into front-page news. The battle seems simple on the surface: USEPA seeks to reverse a decision made in December 2000 that Section 112 of the Clean Air Act would govern these emissions.

During 2010, Environmental Practice (ENP) focused issues on sustainability, the 40th anniversary of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and water. Last year was an active period for the ENP editorial office at DePaul University. These journal issues were produced by lead editor Dr. James Montgomery in conjunction with Dan Carroll as managing editor and an editorial board with several new members committed to participating in journal operations. The editorial office implemented a revised ENP format for manuscripts and a new cover that has been well received by the readers.

Since receiving the honor of serving as President of the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP), I have taken a good look at what NAEP is doing for our members, what we are proposing for the future, and what is still necessary. In many ways, this analysis is an outgrowth of the NAEP Board of Directors continuing efforts to improve and redefine what NAEP is and what it means to environmental professionals. Having been a part of these tremendous advances, in my new role I am evaluating our efforts from a different perspective to help steer the future of the association.

Be it a prehistoric flint-striker for starting fires, a wrench for repairing an engine, or a computer model for simulating ground-water contaminant transport, tool making is one of the paramount traits distinguishing humans from other species. Progress witnessed in most disciplines, the sciences in particular, greatly depends on developing “tools of the trade.” While many environmental disciplines have benefited greatly from development of modern tools, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) has lagged noticeably. Rigorous tools, techniques, and approaches are needed if NEPA is to achieve its full potential.

The field of environmental consulting has been around for decades, but in North America it began in earnest in the 1970s, partly in response to passage of the National Environmental Policy Act and similar federal and state regulations, and experienced rapid growth through the next several decades. Currently there are hundreds, if not thousands, of environmental consulting companies that range from one-person firms to large companies with thousands of employees.

This brief article sketches the current situation regarding cultural heritage, community engagement, and environmental impact assessment in Australia. The country is by no means perfect when it comes to heritage management in the impact-assessment process. Yet, practitioners have evolved a set of common understandings concerning social value and community engagement that characteristically (though, of course, not inevitably) produce mutually-acceptable outcomes for all stakeholders. These understandings rest largely on the internationally-renowned “Burra Charter,” which applies to all cultural heritage in Australia, but are given added legal weight with regard to Indigenous heritage by Native Title legislation giving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people a significant say in land use. The centrality of social value and community engagement is clear in the codes of ethics of professional organizations managing heritage in impact assessment, such as the Australian Archaeological Association and the Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists Inc.

Environmental Practice 18: 205–208 (2016)

Duck Creek watershed, a small watershed in east-central Texas, experienced an influx of broiler growing operations in the later half of the 1990s. Preliminary results indicated that year 2000 levels of broiler litter land application do not pose a water quality concern but that a significant expansion of broiler production would more than double ambient phosphorus loads in the watershed. Environmental and economic modeling were used to assess the effects of phosphorus control measures designed to proactively mitigate the environmental impacts from further broiler industry expansion. Results of best management practice (BMP) simulations indicate that ambient phosphorus loads from broiler litter can be reduced by reducing the rate of litter application, by hauling off litter, by adding phytase to broiler feed, and by amending broiler litter with aluminum sulfate (alum). Reduced-rate scenarios were substantially more cost-effective than haul-off scenarios. Simulations of the phytase and alum BMPs produced net economic benefits in addition to reducing phosphorus loads. Model results thus indicated that relatively low-cost BMP options or ones yielding net monetary benefits (e.g., phytase and alum) would protect water quality in Duck Creek in the event of a low, moderate, or even a very significant expansion of the regional broiler industry. Subsequent to this research, the broiler integrator conducted field trials that confirmed the economic benefits of phytase but not alum. Alum addition did not produce the expected economic benefits, primarily because of the regional climate, which differed from that assumed in the analysis.

Regardless of how one might feel about the science of climate change, the prevailing public perception is that climate change is real and that humanity's use of fossil fuels is the primary cause. At this juncture, the finer points of the debate (i.e., planetary cycles versus man-made carbon emissions) are being drowned out by the waves of media coverage about shrinking polar ice caps, breakaway ice fields, and the addition of polar bears to the endangered species list. So, for all practical purposes, climate change is now a political reality.

In the United States (US), interstate water compacts are used to ensure the equitable division of water resources. It is necessary to understand how interstate water compacts affect intrastate water management so that administrators of water resources can effectively manage state water resources and comply with the agreed-upon allocation schemes. Although interstate compacts are more prevalent in the western US, concerns surrounding changing climate conditions, as well as water scarcity issues, have increased disputes over the management of shared water resources throughout the US. Drawing upon a case study from Colorado, the question this article seeks to answer is, how effectively does Colorado implement compliance of interstate compacts? More specifically, this report assesses implementation at the local level of government: water divisions. Using a modified version of Denise Scheberle’s implementation model, this article examines how Colorado’s Water Division 2 ensures compliance by water users party to the Arkansas River Compact. This research provides useful lessons for both academics interested in implementation studies and practitioners who are responsible for managing state resources such as water effectively, equitably, and in line with state laws and regulations. Findings suggest that compact compliance is contingent upon the effective implementation of rules curtailing water use at the local level and includes water divisions having the capacity to communicate effectively with water users and other entities involved in the maintenance of compact compliance.

Environmental Practice 16: 151–161 (2014)

Benthic barriers and surface covers installed to control alligatorweed (Alternanthera philoxeroides) suppressed growth after five months in Cane Creek Lake, a water supply reservoir serving the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, North Carolina. By five months, no shoot biomass and few fibrous roots were detected below benthic barrier plots and only white and flaccid shoots and roots were detected below surface cover plots. Phenotypic differences were observed based on the varying duration of coverage. Surface cover and benthic barrier treatments that lasted from one to three months delayed flowering of alligatorweed by one month, while areas covered for four and five months did not flower at all. Shoot lengths were less for shaded treatments compared to control plots. Dissolved oxygen was lower and pH more acidic after one month coverage under benthic barriers. After two months, pH and dissolved oxygen recovered under benthic barriers to values near the control plots. Water chemistry in the surface cover and control plots were similar. Light penetration below benthic barriers and surface covers was blocked throughout the experiment, suggesting no deterioration of the materials occurred after five months placement in the lake. Application of light shading materials gave seasonal control of alligatorweed. Deployment and maintenance of surface covers and benthic barriers were similar and both methods are recommended for aquatic plant management of alligatorweed in Cane Creek Lake.

In the 1925 “monkey trial,” attorney and three-time presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan, the “silver-tongued orator,” prosecuted John T. Scopes in Dayton, Tennessee, for violating that state's Butler Act. Jennings, who was also a fundamentalist preacher, “created” a controversy that remains relevant to environmental professionals. Most, however, seem unaware of its relevance. Under the Butler Act.

No one within the National Association of Environmental Professionals is unfamiliar with the timely and growing issues involving global warming. But there is another, newer phenomenon that has received considerably less media attention. This bizarre occurrence has been labeled “global dimming,” among other names. To date, the mainstream media largely has not picked up on this story.

The Si'lailo Way: Indians, Salmon and Law on the Columbia River. Joseph C. Dupris, Kathleen S. Hill, and William H. Rodgers, Jr. 2006. Carolina Academic Press, Durham, NC. 450 pp. $40 paperback.

It is impossible to work in the environmental field in the Pacific Northwest without knowing something of salmon: their epic journeys from river to sea and back; the legendary runs of the nineteenth century, before the arrival of dynamite, fish wheels, dams, and hatcheries; the near-symbiotic relationship between the Northwest Indian tribes and the fish that were the backbone of their diet and culture. Those who pay any attention at all to the area's history are aware that serious injustice was done to the native people and fish of the Columbia River. The Si'lailo Way makes that injustice tangible by adding lavishly illustrated characters and a narrative that viscerally connects the reader to the people and places that fell victim to what the authors depict as a 150-year campaign to rid the Columbia of its native human and piscine inhabitants.

When looking at brownfields, there is no single “European” way of dealing with the issue. The complexity of the problem, the differences in industrial development, and varying political and legal frameworks have hindered a uniform approach. This incoherence, however, has led to a range of methods and expertise that can be turned into a resource if brought together, evaluated, and fed into the development of an overall strategy. Such efforts have been made in recent years.

While few programs have been created to satisfy the need for environmental managers, one promising development is that the environment has become a legitimate topic in graduate business programs. With the intent to provide information to schools of business as they integrate environmentally related subjects into their curricula, a questionnaire was sent to 1,200 active members of the National Registry of Environmental Professionals (NREP). A 20% return rate was obtained. Half of all respondents report that students are inadequately prepared; 85% said MBAs are inadequately prepared. Students get little practical experience, lack familiarity with business or management concepts, and are unfamiliar with principles of project management MBAs lack requisite scientific or technical background. Work experience is considered important and 90% of all respondents indicate an internship counts as work experience but only 50% say their organization provides internship opportunities.