Browsing by Subject "NEPA"
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Item Open Access A comparison of Environmental Impact Statement methodologies for assessing sound propagation, density determination and impacts on protected marine mammals: BOEMRE & the U.S. Navy(2011-04-28) Budzynkiewicz, JaimeSound in the world oceans is an increasingly important conservation issue as human impact throughout the oceans continues to grow without signs of abatement. Deep-water background noise is reported to be doubling every decade. In the U.S. two major sources of underwater sound are the seismic industry (regulated by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE)) and Naval sonar. Both of these agencies are required to follow national environmental protocols, such as the National Environmental Policy Act, (NEPA) in regard to their impacts on the environment. These two sound sources produced (or regulated) by two different agencies generate similar impacts to the marine environment, in particular protected marine mammals that rely on sound for survival. The assessment techniques used, and the transparency of the agencies involved is highly in question for actions that produce similar impacts. This master’s project analyzes the assessment techniques of BOEMRE and the U.S. Navy concerning underwater sound, exposing the inadequacies and successes of each agency. The analysis was conducted by reading and comparing the techniques used in Environmental Assessments (EA) and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) produced by both agencies from 2004 to the present. A series of recommendations for both agencies was produced to address the need for more streamlined and transparent analyses that will aid in more accurate and dynamic impact determinations for such projects as the upcoming BOEMRE Programmatic EIS in the Atlantic Planning Region. I have also developed a GIS-based tool that aids in spatial analysis of propagating sound within the marine environment to improve analysis of potential impacts. This tool allows acoustic propagation models run in the computational program MATLAB® to be imported and integrated in the GIS program ArcGIS ® through the Python scripting language. The integration of this propagation data into GIS allows for better visualizations of sound propagation in 360° around the source and from an aerial perspective. It also allows for further geospatial analysis with other geospatial data such as habitat suitability and species distribution, which can allow for more adaptive species impact determinations and adaptive management for both sonar and seismic survey situations.Item Open Access Addressing Effects, Affects and Impacts to Human Health in Environmental Documents Responsibilities under NEPA(2013-08-21) Thompson, Sherrill E.The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a comprehensive and far reaching piece of legislation that requires all federal agencies and applicable federal projects to address the quality of the human environment and human health. These requirements are in addition to addressing impacts to the natural environment and other activities that may impact the environment. Evaluation, analysis, public disclosure and stakeholder involvement are key components; that are requirements of the NEPA process. If the federal project is in compliance with NEPA and its statures, all environmental documents must address impacts to human health, if applicable. The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 is both subtle and complex, the requirements of the law is more extensive than complying with a legal requirement and creating environmental documents. NEPA is both a law with regulations and a process and the law of NEPA has become more complex since its passage. Its foundation is scientific, social, economic, health based, etc. Congress did not envision an administrative law like NEPA becoming as far reaching, with multi-faceted uses to ensure that the federal agencies follow and comply with the processes of NEPA. This paper will attempt to discuss the effects, affects and impacts that government projects and activities might have on human health. These types of projects would require an Environmental Assessment (EA) or an Environmental Impact State (EIS) to address the significant impacts that the federal government’s projects might have on human health. It is the responsibility of the federal government to take into consideration human health, when planning and implementing federal projects as required by NEPA. These federal projects would be those that are financed by federal funds and/or require a federal permit. From NEPA’s inception the creators of NEPA probably did not include input from health professionals during the formulation of the law in the United States. At that time, members of the health communities probably would not have been able to see the applicability of NEPA to human health either. Running Head: Addressing Effects, Affects, and Impacts to Human Health in Environmental Documents – Responsibilities under NEPAItem Open Access Borderland Management Taskforces and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Liaison Programs: Vehicles for Greater NEPA Public Involvement?(2012-11-20) Koerner, Elaine M.“One of the primary goals of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is to encourage meaningful public input and involvement in the process of evaluating the environmental impacts of proposed federal actions,” according to the President’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). Reaching this goal can be a challenge anywhere within the United States, but in U.S. border communities it can be particularly challenging. Along the southwest border in particular, security concerns too often continue to be pitted against environmental concerns, suggesting a choice is required. Pockets of poverty, language barriers, and the national lack of resolution on immigration issues can divert public attention away from environmental issues. As a result, providing meaningful input into NEPA processes can all too easily become a low priority for the public. The northern border has its own set of challenges. Here, distances between public meeting sites can be vast, and harsh winter conditions in some areas further impede participation at public meetings set up to provide information about federal projects with potential environmental impacts. In addition, given the perceived abundance of undisturbed natural resources, there may be a sense from some that individual proposed federal actions will have a negligible negative effect. Although non-governmental organizations focused on the preservation of particular species such as the grizzly bear along the northern border of Idaho and Washington State continue to gain media attention, overarching concerns such as jobs often continue to trump concerns about potential environmental impacts of proposed federal actions. Two border-specific governmental communication mechanisms have been created in recent years that provide the opportunity to indirectly increase public input into the NEPA process: intergovernmental groups called Borderlands Management Taskforces (BMTFs); and the uniformed personnel within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) who serve as Liaisons to specific components of the stakeholder spectrum. These liaison positions include Public Lands Liaison Agents, Tribal Liaisons, and Border Community Liaisons, as well as more specialized liaison positions such as Rancher Liaison. Both of these communications mechanisms were created primarily to promote intergovernmental collaboration for mutual mission success, leverage resources to the betterment of all participating groups, and resolve problems at the local level. However, their presence in border communities positions them well to also promote communication on a variety of associated developments – including federal actions that trigger NEPA analyses with accompanying public involvement. The discussion that follows will provide more details about each mechanism and explore their broader potential to be harnessed for NEPA public involvement purposes.Item Open Access Circuit-Splitting the Atom: How the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy Reached Different Conclusions on the Need to Consider Hypothetical Terrorist Attacks under NEPA(2014-05-12) Lighty, Ryan K.This Paper examines possible explanations for the differing policies of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which adopted a "Ninth Circuit only" approach, and the Department of Energy (DOE), which adopted a single nationwide policy, in response to similar adverse appellate court rulings from the Ninth Circuit imposing the requirement to consider the possible environmental impacts of terrorist acts under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The discussion begins with a general overview of NEPA and the need to examine "reasonably foreseeable" effects of proposed Federal actions. The Paper then provides a brief overview of Federal courts and the effect of adverse circuit court rulings on Federal agencies. The examination then turns to the relevant "proximate cause" case law on intervening criminal and terrorist acts, reviews the Ninth Circuit rulings imposing the NEPA terrorism requirements, and explains how the NRC’s rejection of the Ninth Circuit approach led to a circuit split. Finally, the analysis explores the various legal and pragmatic considerations that likely led NRC and DOE, despite being similarly situated, to adopt different responses to similar adverse rulings. The author concludes that, notwithstanding the possibility of a future Supreme Court decision or Congressional action to clarify the requirements of NEPA, both approaches are workable and serve the unique interests of the respective agencies.Item Open Access United States Marine Corps and Environmental Justice Policy(2014-04-23) Adams, ErinThe United States Marine Corps (USMC) makes decisions every day that impact the environment. Although intended to benefit society, these decisions can have a disproportionate impact on poor and minority populations. On February 11, 1994, President Bill Clinton issued Executive Order (EO) 12898 titled Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations. That same year, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published official guidance on how the federal government, including the USMC, should comply with EO 12898. To date, the USMC has incorporated environmental justice analyses into the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, yet has not developed its own branch specific environmental justice evaluative process. Without a documented evaluation process, compliance with CEQ requirements within environmental justice analyses can be questioned. This research investigates how effective and consistent the USMC incorporates environmental justice concerns under the NEPA process, with a focus on Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) documentation. An embedded single case study design for qualitative analysis was utilized. Three of the most recent NEPA Final EISs, sponsored by the USMC, were examined for this study. In addition, EIS supporting documentation were examined, including the Record of Decision, press releases, public comments, and scoping materials. In addition, interviews with key personnel involved with developing the EIS were conducted. The results indicate that the USMC has included basic environmental justice analyses into the EIS process based on CEQ requirements, yet the extent of implementation within EIS documentation is not fully compliant or consistent with CEQ requirements. The USMC could avoid gaps and inconsistencies within environmental justice analyses by developing a specific methodology or guidance document. A methodology or guidance document will give NEPA project managers guidelines on consistently incorporating environmental justice concerns into NEPA EIS analyses.