[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 26 (Monday, February 9, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5979-5980]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-2714]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7619-6]


Integrating Ecological Risk Assessment and Economic Analysis in 
Watersheds: a Conceptual Approach and Three Case Studies

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of a final report 
titled, Integrating Ecological Risk Assessment and Economic Analysis in 
Watersheds: a Conceptual Approach and Three Case Studies (EPA/600/R-03/
140R), which was prepared by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 
(EPA) National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) of the Office 
of Research and Development (ORD).

ADDRESSES: The document will be made available electronically through 
the NCEA Web site (http://www.epa.gov/ncea). A limited number of paper 
copies will be available from the EPA's National Service Center for 
Environmental Publications (NSCEP), PO Box 42419, Cincinnati, OH 45242; 
telephone: 1-800-490-9198 or 513-489-8190; facsimile: 513-489-8695. 
Please provide your name, your mailing address, the title and the EPA 
number of the requested publication.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Technical Information Staff, 
National Center for Environmental Assessment/Cincinnati Office (MS-
117), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 26 W. Martin Luther King 
Drive, Cincinnati, OH 56428; Telephone: 513-

[[Page 5980]]

569-7257; fax: 513-569-7475; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document reports on a program of 
research to investigate the integration of ecological risk assessment 
(ERA) and economics, with an emphasis on the watershed as the scale for 
analysis. In 1993, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency initiated 
watershed ERA (W-ERA) in five watersheds to evaluate the feasibility 
and utility of this approach. In 1999, economic case studies were 
funded in conjunction with three of those W-ERAs: the Big Darby Creek 
watershed in central Ohio, the Clinch Valley (Clinch and Powell River 
watersheds) in southwestern Virginia and northeastern Tennessee, and 
the central Platte River floodplain in Nebraska. The ecological 
settings, and the analytical approaches used, differed among the three 
locations, but each study introduced economists to the ERA process and 
required the interpretation of ecological risks in economic terms. A 
workshop was held in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2001 to review progress on 
those studies, to discuss environmental problems involving other 
watershed settings, and to discuss the ideal characteristics of a 
generalized approach for conducting studies of this type. Based on the 
workshop results, a conceptual approach for the integration of ERA and 
economic analysis in watersheds was developed. The objectives of this 
document (by chapter) are: to set forth the rationale, limitations, and 
contributions of the document (Chapter 1); to create a context for 
understanding by a diverse, technical audience (Chapter 2); to present 
a conceptual approach for integrating ERA and economics in the context 
of watershed management (Chapter 3); to present and critically evaluate 
the methods and findings of the three watershed case studies (Chapters 
4-6); and to identify research needed to improve the integration of ERA 
and economic analysis in watersheds (Chapter 7). This report is unique 
in its focus on the problem of ERA-economic integration and the 
watershed management context and in its presentation of case studies. 
The conceptual approach is used as a basis of discussion of each case 
study to illustrate how its particular methodological advances and 
insights could be used to fullest advantage, both in the watershed 
studied and in future integration efforts.

    Dated: January 28, 2004.
Peter W. Preuss,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 04-2714 Filed 2-6-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P