Journals
Fall 2003, Vol. 43, No. 4
Some Modest Suggestions for Improving Implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act
Dinah Bear
Mention of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in professional environmental circles will likely elicit one of two reactions. One group will inevitably describe it as “America’s environmental magna carta,” hallowed for its prescient policies and for its unprecedented requirement that federal agencies disclose to the public the likely effects of their proposed action. Such supporters view almost any change to either the law or the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) implementing regulations as a potential travesty, either on the merits or because the entire environmental impact assessment process might be dismantled if the proverbial door were opened. They point with pride to the fact that the procedural process spawned by NEPA—often referred to as the environmental impact assessment process—has been adopted by over a hundred countries and many significant multilateral organizations, as well as some U.S. state and municipal and tribal governments.
Calculating Wetland Mitigation Banking Credits: Adjusting for Wetland Function and Location
Matthew H. Bonds & Jeffrey J. Pompe
Private, governmental, and non-governmental entities enhance, restore, and create wetlands in order to sell credits to permit recipients who impact wetlands. In this article, we model the cost minimization conditions for wetland mitigation banking and define the conditions necessary to maintain wetland services. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers adjusts the trading ratio between impacted and restored wetlands to account for differences in wetland function. We provide evidence that location is relevant to policy effectiveness and show how location could be included in credit calculation.
Public Goods Provision: Lessons from the Tellico Dam Controversy
Louis P. Cain & Brooks A. Kaiser
Although absent from the initial Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, evidence of economic considerations first appeared in the 1978 amendments. The only controversial vote concerning the ESA was the one to exempt the Tellico Dam (1978). Although the dam was a local project with little expected net benefit, this article argues that broader economic considerations mattered. Working from public choice models for congressional voting decisions, a limited dependent variable regression analysis indicates the economic variables with the most explanatory power for this environmental decision are college education, poverty, the designation of critical habitat within a district, the number of endangered species in the state, dollars the state received due to earlier ESA funding, and the percentage of the district that is federal land. Comparisons with aggregated environmental votes in the same year highlight the intensity of economic considerations in the Tellico case. Our results imply that the ESA’s prohibitions have worked successfully to give weight to nonquantifiable and dispersed benefits in the face of concentrated and visible costs.
Moving from Conflict to Collaboration: Watershed Governance in Lake Tahoe
Mark T. Imperial & Derek Kauneckis
This article examines the evolution of watershed governance in the Lake Tahoe Basin. The early years of watershed management were characterized by a high degree of conflict. However, the last decade has seen dramatic changes. Organizations once embroiled in intense conflict with one another now work together on common goals to improve environmental conditions. The evolution of the governance system in Lake Tahoe is examined by looking at changes in intergovernmental relations and inter-actions between public agencies and civil society actors. Lessons are then drawn to provide advice for practitioners seeking to use collaboration as an implementation strategy.
The Economics of Total Maximum Daily Loads
Keith Keplinger
This article begins by exploring the institutional and historical forces shaping the total maximum daily load (TMDL) approach from an economic perspective. Next, it discusses the suitability of applying various types of economic analyses and policy instruments to individual TMDLs or the TMDL program. Cost-effectiveness analysis is shown to be particularly amenable to and appropriate for application to individual TMDLs while pollution trading may offer a mechanism for achieving water quality goals at lower cost. The final section of the article presents a case study that documents a formal application of economic analyses to an actual TMDL.
Evaluating Incentive Mechanisms for Conserving Habitat
Gregory M. Parkhurst & Jason Shogren
Private lands have an important role in the success of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The current command-and-control approach to protecting species on private land has resulted in disincentives to the landowner, which have decreased the ability of the ESA to protect many of our endangered and threatened species. Herein we define and evaluate, from an economic perspective, eight incentive mechanisms, including the status quo, for protecting species on private land. We highlight the strengths and weaknesses and compare and contrast the incentive mechanisms according to a distinct set of biological, landowner, and government criteria. Our discussion indicates that market instruments, such as tradable permits or taxes, which have been successful in controlling air pollution, are not as effective for habitat protection. Alternatively, voluntary incentive mechanisms can be designed such that landowners view habitat as an asset and are willing participants in protecting habitat. The incentive mechanism best suited for conserving habitat in a given region depends on many factors, including government funding, land values, quantity and quality of habitat, and the region’s developmental pressure.
Hip Deep: A Survey of State Instream Flow Law from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean
Jesse A. Boyd
This article provides a guide to transactional mechanisms available in Rocky Mountain, Great Basin, and Pacific states for private participation in preserving and enhancing instream flows. The strengths and weaknesses of each state’s law are explored, and, when viewed together, they provide basic legal and policy principles that should be included in state instream flow regimes.
Recent Developments in the Literature on Conflict Negotiation and Cooperation over Shared International Fresh Waters
Shlomi Dinar & Ariel Dinar
Shared International Fresh Waters are subject to increased competition, especially in water-scarce regions. Although shared water issues have become a major regional development constraint, the approaches to solve existing and potential disputes over shared international fresh waters have lagged behind and are much less advanced than those of other natural resources that are international in nature. In our review of books and special issues published between 1992-2003, we survey the literature pertaining to conflict and cooperation over international shared waters. While we note three categories for which the literature can be categorized—theoretical, empirical, and case studies—we demonstrate that case study work and by extension theoretical work has been most dominant in the water field. Empirical work has largely been limited to individual scholarly articles and even in that regard has been minimal. The article reviews and discusses the literature in the context of several disciplines including economics, international relations, negotiation theory and international water law. We propose ideas for further research in the conclusion.
