Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan for 2012-2014

This government document describes an Action Plan by 16 agencies to restore the Great Lakes during the FY 2012-2014. It articulates the most significant ecosystem problems and efforts to address them in five major focus areas: • Toxic Substances and Areas of Concern, including pollution prevention and cleanup of the most polluted areas in the Great Lakes • Invasive Species, including efforts to institute a “zero tolerance policy” toward new invasions, including the establishment of self-sustaining populations of invasive species, such as Asian Carp • Nearshore Health and Nonpoint Source Pollution, including a targeted geographic focus on high priority watersheds and reducing polluted runoff from urban, suburban and, agricultural sources • Habitat and Wildlife Protection and Restoration, including bringing wetlands and other habitat back to life, and the first-ever comprehensive assessment of the entire 530,000 acres of Great Lakes coastal wetlands for the purpose of strategically targeting restoration and protection efforts in a science-based manner • Accountability, Education, Monitoring, Evaluation, Communication and Partnerships, including the implementation of goal- and results-based accountability measures, learning initiatives, outreach and strategic partnerships The Action Plan identifies goals, objectives, measurable ecological targets, and specific actions for each of the five focus areas identified above. The Action Plan will be used by federal agencies in the development of the federal budget for Great Lakes restoration in fiscal years 2011 and beyond. As such, it will serve as guidance for collaborative restoration work with participants to advance restoration. The Action Plan will also help advance the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement with Canada

Considering Cumulative Effects Under the National Environmental Policy Act

This document is intended to assist Federal agencies with analyzing cumulative effects during the NEPA process. It outlines general principles, common cumulative effects assessment methodologies, and resources for additional information and background data

A Citizen's Guide to the NEPA: Having Your Voice Heard

This introductory guide to the National Environmental Policy Act describes the NEPA process and provides information on how citizens can get involved

Incorporating biodiversity considerations into environmental impact analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act

This report outlines general concepts that underlie biological diversity analysis and management, and discusses methods for considering biodiversity in current and future NEPA analyses

Collaboration in NEPA: A Handbook for NEPA Practitioners

This handbook is a collaboration of research and consultations by the Council on Environmental Quality concerning analyses prepared under the National Environmental Protection Act. This guide introduces interested parties to collaborative principles, and includes suggestions for successful collaborative efforts

Proposed National Objectives, Principles and Standards for Water and Related Resources Implementation Studies

This document reflects planning efforts by the Executive Office of the President to design federal policy for the use of water resources

The NEPA Task Force report to the Council on Environmental Quality

This report presents recommendations to change the NEPA implementation process, based on the review of an appointed task force

Storms, Floods, and Debris Flows in Southern California and Arizona, 1978 and 1980: Proceedings of a Symposium, September 17-18,1980

Following the floods of 1978 and 1980 in southern California and Arizona a symposium was convened at the California Institute of Technology in September 1980 to document the significant events of these floods and to exchange information and evaluations. The symposium laid the groundwork for a volume of proceedings, which serves as a compact permanent source of information on these floods for not only local readers but national readers as well. Special attention is given in the proceedings to documenting problems--some engineering, some institutional--and to drawing conclusions and making recommendations for research. The papers included are not intended to be research papers or to replace the much more detailed reports of individual agencies. The emphasis was on preparing and presenting the papers soon after the event in such a way as to emphasize the regional nature of floods and flood control problems. The proceedings are organized into several sections, with 35 papers altogether. Following the overview and summary, Section 2, STORM METEOROLOGY, which consists of four papers, describes the long-range weather patterns that affect the southwestern United States; the relationship of these patterns to sea surface temperatures in the North Pacific Ocean; the short-term synoptic meteorology of the storms under consideration, showing the importance of multiple storm sequences; and statistical analyses of return periods, based on historical data, for precipitation at a point. Section 3, DOWNSTREAM RIVER FLOODING, consisting of nine papers, gives an overview of the floods on the larger rivers, how the flood control works responded, and what damages occurred. Section 4, UPLAND FLOODS AND SEDIMENT TRANSPORT (five papers), focuses on the unique aspects of sedimentation in regional floods. Section 5, LANDSLIDES, with four papers, explains the problems of landslides, both large and small, that were triggered by the prolonged periods of heavy rainfall. Section 6, CASE STUDIES OF ENGINEERING PROBLEMS (four papers), gives detailed analyses of three particular engineering problems: the failure of levees on the San Jacinto River, the uncontrolled filling of Lake Elsinore to damaging stages, and the severe streambed scour threatening to undermine the Interstate 10 highway bridge over the Salt River at Phoenix, Arizona. The experiences and analyses described in these papers should be useful to engineers who deal with similar structures and situations in the future. Section 7, EFFECTS ON THE SHORELINE, consisting of two papers, illustrates the damaging effects of the high storm waves and high tides that occurred in 1978 and 1980. Beach profiles shifted very rapidly, with sand being moved temporarily offshore, which exposed many shoreline structures to direct wave attack, causing severe damages. Section 8, POLICIES FOR FLOOD CONTROL AND HAZARD MITIGATION (six papers),focuses on institutional issues. Four of these papers advocate a strong new emphasis on hazard mitigation, better flood warning systems, and other nonstructural approaches as part of the mix of society's activities to deal with floods. About 300 people participated in the symposium, and many contributed to the questions and discussion. In the closing session there was a panel discussion by Russell Campbell, Engineering Geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey; John F. Kennedy, Director of the Iowa Institute on Hydraulic Research at the University of Iowa and member of the Committee on Natural Disasters of the National Research Council; Dale Peterson, Director of Community Services with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in San Francisco; and Richard Wainer, Los Angeles City Engineer's Office in Van Nuys. The writer served as moderator. Since it was not feasible to digest and record all of these discussions, I am attempting in this summary to capture the main conclusions and issues.* Nonetheless, the following conclusions and recommendations are solely the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent a consensus by the participants at the symposium. For the record it should be noted that the following papers included in the proceedings were not presented at the symposium: "Geotechnical Origin and Repair of the Bluebird Canyon Landslide, Laguna Beach, California" by Beach Leighton and "Levee Failures and Distress, San Jacinto River Levee and Bautista Creek Channel, Riverside County, Santa Ana River Basin, California" by Joe Sciandrone, Ted Albrecht, Jr., Richard Davidson, Jacob Douma, Dave Bamer, Charles Hooppaw, and A1 Robles, Jr. The latter paper is a shortened version of the official Corps of Engineers report on the San Jacinto River levee failure , which was not available in time for presentation at the conference. Numerous brief discussions at the symposium are gratefully acknowledged, although very few are included in the proceedings

Storms, Floods, and Debris Flows in Southern California and Arizona, 1978 and 1980: Proceedings of a Symposium, September 17-18,1980

Following the floods of 1978 and 1980 in southern California and Arizona a symposium was convened at the California Institute of Technology in September 1980 to document the significant events of these floods and to exchange information and evaluations. The symposium laid the groundwork for a volume of proceedings, which serves as a compact permanent source of information on these floods for not only local readers but national readers as well. Special attention is given in the proceedings to documenting problems--some engineering, some institutional--and to drawing conclusions and making recommendations for research. The papers included are not intended to be research papers or to replace the much more detailed reports of individual agencies. The emphasis was on preparing and presenting the papers soon after the event in such a way as to emphasize the regional nature of floods and flood control problems. The proceedings are organized into several sections, with 35 papers altogether. Following the overview and summary, Section 2, STORM METEOROLOGY, which consists of four papers, describes the long-range weather patterns that affect the southwestern United States; the relationship of these patterns to sea surface temperatures in the North Pacific Ocean; the short-term synoptic meteorology of the storms under consideration, showing the importance of multiple storm sequences; and statistical analyses of return periods, based on historical data, for precipitation at a point. Section 3, DOWNSTREAM RIVER FLOODING, consisting of nine papers, gives an overview of the floods on the larger rivers, how the flood control works responded, and what damages occurred. Section 4, UPLAND FLOODS AND SEDIMENT TRANSPORT (five papers), focuses on the unique aspects of sedimentation in regional floods. Section 5, LANDSLIDES, with four papers, explains the problems of landslides, both large and small, that were triggered by the prolonged periods of heavy rainfall. Section 6, CASE STUDIES OF ENGINEERING PROBLEMS (four papers), gives detailed analyses of three particular engineering problems: the failure of levees on the San Jacinto River, the uncontrolled filling of Lake Elsinore to damaging stages, and the severe streambed scour threatening to undermine the Interstate 10 highway bridge over the Salt River at Phoenix, Arizona. The experiences and analyses described in these papers should be useful to engineers who deal with similar structures and situations in the future. Section 7, EFFECTS ON THE SHORELINE, consisting of two papers, illustrates the damaging effects of the high storm waves and high tides that occurred in 1978 and 1980. Beach profiles shifted very rapidly, with sand being moved temporarily offshore, which exposed many shoreline structures to direct wave attack, causing severe damages. Section 8, POLICIES FOR FLOOD CONTROL AND HAZARD MITIGATION (six papers),focuses on institutional issues. Four of these papers advocate a strong new emphasis on hazard mitigation, better flood warning systems, and other nonstructural approaches as part of the mix of society's activities to deal with floods. About 300 people participated in the symposium, and many contributed to the questions and discussion. In the closing session there was a panel discussion by Russell Campbell, Engineering Geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey; John F. Kennedy, Director of the Iowa Institute on Hydraulic Research at the University of Iowa and member of the Committee on Natural Disasters of the National Research Council; Dale Peterson, Director of Community Services with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in San Francisco; and Richard Wainer, Los Angeles City Engineer's Office in Van Nuys. The writer served as moderator. Since it was not feasible to digest and record all of these discussions, I am attempting in this summary to capture the main conclusions and issues.* Nonetheless, the following conclusions and recommendations are solely the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent a consensus by the participants at the symposium. For the record it should be noted that the following papers included in the proceedings were not presented at the symposium: "Geotechnical Origin and Repair of the Bluebird Canyon Landslide, Laguna Beach, California" by Beach Leighton and "Levee Failures and Distress, San Jacinto River Levee and Bautista Creek Channel, Riverside County, Santa Ana River Basin, California" by Joe Sciandrone, Ted Albrecht, Jr., Richard Davidson, Jacob Douma, Dave Bamer, Charles Hooppaw, and A1 Robles, Jr. The latter paper is a shortened version of the official Corps of Engineers report on the San Jacinto River levee failure , which was not available in time for presentation at the conference. Numerous brief discussions at the symposium are gratefully acknowledged, although very few are included in the proceedings

Forest service response to recommendations of forestry deans : made to the Council on Environmental Quality

Gerald W. Williams Collectio