Developing guidelines for improved assessment of risk to environmental receptors in NEPA documents
Abstract
NAEP`s NEPA Practice Committee has formed several subcommittees to develop guidelines, and ultimately standards, for conducting various analyses to meet the letter and spirit of NEPA. The authors comprise the Ecological Risk Assessment Subcommittee, and our purpose is to identify those aspects of ecological risk assessment of potentially greatest use in analyses for NEPA documents and to make this information available to NAEP members and other NEPA practioners. Our task is to identify procedures and techniques commonly used in ecological risk assessment for CERCLA and RCRA compliance that are useful directly, or in modified form, to improve the estimation of risk to environmental receptors in NEPA analyses. Environmental receptors include biota and media such as air and water. Our approach is to focus first on the practical aspects of environmental assessment for NEPA that we identify as needing improvement. These include: (1) knowing when a quantitative risk assessment is warranted; (2) assigning significance of potential harm; (3) how to assess cumulative risk; (4) how to cope with missing information and knowing when surrogate information is available and appropriate to use; (5) efficiency in analysis - lack of explicit screening steps; and (6) biodiversity-related effects assessment. Specific steps to help environmentalmore »
- Authors:
-
- SAIC, Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- USDA, Hyattsville, MD (United States)
- CZR, Wilmington, NC (United States); and others
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- National Association of Environmental Professionals, Washington, DC (United States)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 126018
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9506115-
TRN: 95:006735-0113
- Resource Type:
- Technical Report
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 20. National Association of Environmental Professionals annual conference and exposition: environmental challenges - the next twenty years, Washington, DC (United States), 10-13 Jun 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Environmental challenges: The next 20 years. Proceedings; PB: 932 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 29 ENERGY PLANNING AND POLICY; RISK ASSESSMENT; RECOMMENDATIONS; ACCURACY; ECOSYSTEMS
Citation Formats
Cunningham, M, Abbott, L, and Berger, J. Developing guidelines for improved assessment of risk to environmental receptors in NEPA documents. United States: N. p., 1995.
Web.
Cunningham, M, Abbott, L, & Berger, J. Developing guidelines for improved assessment of risk to environmental receptors in NEPA documents. United States.
Cunningham, M, Abbott, L, and Berger, J. 1995.
"Developing guidelines for improved assessment of risk to environmental receptors in NEPA documents". United States.
@article{osti_126018,
title = {Developing guidelines for improved assessment of risk to environmental receptors in NEPA documents},
author = {Cunningham, M and Abbott, L and Berger, J},
abstractNote = {NAEP`s NEPA Practice Committee has formed several subcommittees to develop guidelines, and ultimately standards, for conducting various analyses to meet the letter and spirit of NEPA. The authors comprise the Ecological Risk Assessment Subcommittee, and our purpose is to identify those aspects of ecological risk assessment of potentially greatest use in analyses for NEPA documents and to make this information available to NAEP members and other NEPA practioners. Our task is to identify procedures and techniques commonly used in ecological risk assessment for CERCLA and RCRA compliance that are useful directly, or in modified form, to improve the estimation of risk to environmental receptors in NEPA analyses. Environmental receptors include biota and media such as air and water. Our approach is to focus first on the practical aspects of environmental assessment for NEPA that we identify as needing improvement. These include: (1) knowing when a quantitative risk assessment is warranted; (2) assigning significance of potential harm; (3) how to assess cumulative risk; (4) how to cope with missing information and knowing when surrogate information is available and appropriate to use; (5) efficiency in analysis - lack of explicit screening steps; and (6) biodiversity-related effects assessment. Specific steps to help environmental professionals prepare NEPA documents to address these issues will be presented, including references to NEPA documents that employ explicit risk estimation.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/126018},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1995},
month = {Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1995}
}