Making up for losses: A critical analysis of Section 404 compensatory stream mitigation banking in Illinois

U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological SurveyOpe

Banking on offsets: a political ecological and eco-geomorphic analysis of Section 404 compensatory stream mitigation banking in Illinois and Missouri

No net loss goals play a major role in U.S. environmental policies. No net loss policies are championed as ways to simultaneously allow economic development and protect the environment. One such example is Section 404 of the U.S. Clean Water Act. Section 404 is administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ('the Corps') and the Environmental Protection Agency. Section 404 pertains to the dredging and filling of jurisdictional streams and wetlands nationally. Section 404 oversight is triggered when an applicant—such as a land or highway developer—proposes to fill or dredge a stream or wetland as a part of their development project. As a part of their project, the applicant must mitigate their overall impact by avoiding additional impacts, minimizing any impacts that occur, and compensating for their impacts by providing a commensurate amount of ecological function to a stream or wetland elsewhere. Since 2008, federal regulation prefers that compensatory mitigation for stream impacts is provided by a stream mitigation bank: a segment of stream or river that is enhanced, restored, or conserved to replace lost or damaged functions. Thus, rather than compensating sites on a project-by-project basis, federal guidelines prefer that compensation occurs prior to impacts on larger sites that can offset multiple impacts within the same watershed. This dissertation examines the process through which the St. Louis Corps commensurates impacts and mitigation to streams in Illinois and Missouri. Commensuration, the comparison of different objects or qualities using a common metric, is fundamental to implementing no net loss policies. This is because the amount of compensation required to mitigate impacts is measured using district-defined measures of stream credits. A stream credit is an abstract unit of value that is supposed to represent the total function of a stream. Each Corps district is responsible for developing their own method and criteria for defining the criteria and value of stream credits. These methods are called stream mitigation methods. Federal guidelines urge Corps districts design stream mitigation methods to assess stream impacts based on stream functions, rather than merely exchanging impacts and compensation using stream length or area (i.e. non-functional measures). This dissertation contributes to three bodies of literature. First this dissertation contributes to practical studies of Section 404 compensatory mitigation by demonstrating significant hurdles to implementing in-kind compensatory stream mitigation banking nationwide. Second this dissertation contributes to the literature on stream and watershed management by demonstrating the applicability of the concept of stream naturalization to regulatory-based stream management. Third this dissertation contributes to the literature on the sociology of measurements and environmental compensation by testing theories of the constraints and drivers of measurement standardization. Using the framework of a sociology of translation, this dissertation shows that while methods are design with users in mind, the expectations of users is structured by a broader social context within which methods are created (i.e. the St. Louis Corps regulatory program). The primary contribution of this dissertation is its explanation of how and why the St. Louis Corps implements no net loss goals by using non-functional metrics and non-functional commensuration systems. This dissertation shows the social factors that come into play to structure these outcomes. The result is that no net loss is achieved only numerically in Illinois and Missouri: while stream credits may balance, the actual functional conditions of streams remain uncompensated and unexamined. This dissertation is composed of four separate analyses. Each analysis provides additional insight into the logics and subsequent biophysical outcomes of Section 404 compensatory stream mitigation banking regulators and participants in Illinois and Missouri. First, this dissertation explains the social dynamics involved in creating a standard method for assessing and evaluating stream function in Illinois and Missouri by Section 404 regulators and ecological experts. Previously unexplored, this contribution is achieved by analyzing the process by which the St. Louis Corps organizes and creates district-specific stream mitigation methods in Illinois and Missouri. The primary finding of this analysis is that the St. Louis Corps develops stream mitigation methods in Illinois and Missouri with the overall goal of ensuring that non-experts can use the methods rapidly. Thus, the Illinois and Missouri stream mitigation methods are not based on stream functions and therefore do not ensure no net loss of stream functions. Instead, the Illinois and Missouri stream mitigation methods are visual, activity, and physical-based assessments of impacts and mitigation. Second, this dissertation follows a St. Louis Corps district regulator as he evaluates a Section 404 permit and assesses a proposed stream impact site using the Illinois stream mitigation method. Using participant observation, this analysis highlights the various comparisons that regulators make when commensurating stream impacts and potential stream mitigation. The primary finding of this section of the dissertation is that Corps regulators use individual discretion and personal preferences when assessing the value of stream impacts using the mitigation methods. This interpretive flexibility is rooted in the fact that the Illinois stream method is not prescriptive. Rather than requiring specific steps to assess the functional impact of a Section 404 activity, the method only requires visual assessment of physical channel conditions to discern the overall "impact" of a Section 404 project. Third, this dissertation investigates how St. Louis regulators and mitigation bankers plan and design stream mitigation banking sites. In Illinois, along with elsewhere in the Midwestern U.S., stream mitigation banks provide stream credits through riparian corridor enhancement rather than in-channel stream work. Thus, stream credits are generated using work that is out-of-kind with impacts. Interviews with mitigation bankers and a St. Louis regulator reveal the underlying causes of this out-of-kind relationship. A primary finding of this analysis is that St. Louis regulators favor generating a larger pool of stream credits even if they are not generated using in-channel work. Without riparian work counting as stream credits, there would not be any stream credits available at mitigation banks in Illinois since stream mitigation bankers are hesitant to conduct in-channel work. St. Louis regulators allow out-of-kind stream credit work at mitigation banks because they are pressured by federal guidelines to encourage mitigation bankers to develop more mitigation banks. As a result, the preferences for mitigation bankers to essentially conduct wetland mitigation work and call it stream mitigation work becomes representative of how stream credits are generated at mitigation banks in Illinois and elsewhere in the Midwest. Finally, this dissertation compares the geomorphic and water quality characteristics of impact sites and a mitigation banking site. Stream mitigation banks in Illinois exclusively generate stream credits through riparian corridor enhancement. Thus, mitigation banking sites are not in-kind with impact sites that include in-channel impacts. However, since riparian corridor work supposedly benefits in-channel habitat, there is interest in understanding whether or not riparian corridor banking sites generate non-compensatory mitigation benefits to the in-channel area. Using cross-sectional surveys, sediment analysis, watershed delineation, water quality measurements, and riparian corridor area comparisons, the fourth analysis in this dissertation compares four impact sites and their "off-setting" mitigation banking site stream. Findings from this analysis suggest that there are likely negligible non-compensatory mitigation benefits generated to the in-channel area from riparian corridor mitigation work based on the variables measured in this study

What are we measuring? A critique of range of motion methods currently in use for Dupuytren's disease and recommendations for practice

Background: Range of motion is the most frequently reported measure used in practice to evaluate outcomes. A goniometer is the most reliable tool to assess range of motion yet, the lack of consistency in reporting prevents comparison between studies. The aim of this study is to identify how range of motion is currently assessed and reported in Dupuytren’s disease literature. Following analysis recommendations for practice will be made to enable consistency in future studies for comparability. This paper highlights the variation in range of motion reporting in Dupuytren’s disease. Methods: A Participants, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes and Study design format was used for the search strategy and search terms. Surgery, needle fasciotomy or collagenase injection for primary or recurrent Dupuytren’s disease in adults were included if outcomes were monitored using range of motion to record change. A literature search was performed in May 2013 using subject heading and free-text terms to also capture electronic publications ahead of print. In total 638 publications were identified and following screening 90 articles met the inclusion criteria. Data was extracted and entered onto a spreadsheet for analysis. A thematic analysis was carried out to establish any duplication, resulting in the final range of motion measures identified. Results: Range of motion measurement lacked clarity, with goniometry reportedly used in only 43 of the 90 studies, 16 stated the use of a range of motion protocol. A total of 24 different descriptors were identified describing range of motion in the 90 studies. While some studies reported active range of motion, others reported passive or were unclear. Eight of the 24 categories were identified through thematic analysis as possibly describing the same measure, ‘lack of joint extension’ and accounted for the most frequently used. Conclusions: Published studies lacked clarity in reporting range of motion, preventing data comparison and meta-analysis. Percentage change lacks context and without access to raw data, does not allow direct comparison of baseline characteristics. A clear description of what is being measured within each study was required. It is recommended that range of motion measuring and reporting for Dupuytren’s disease requires consistency to address issues that fall into 3 main categories:- Definition of terms Protocol statement Outcome reportin

Optimal functional outcome measures for assessing treatment for Dupuytren's disease: A systematic review and recommendations for future practice

This article is available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund. Copyright © 2013 Ball et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.Background: Dupuytren's disease of the hand is a common condition affecting the palmar fascia, resulting in progressive flexion deformities of the digits and hence limitation of hand function. The optimal treatment remains unclear as outcomes studies have used a variety of measures for assessment. Methods: A literature search was performed for all publications describing surgical treatment, percutaneous needle aponeurotomy or collagenase injection for primary or recurrent Dupuytren’s disease where outcomes had been monitored using functional measures. Results: Ninety-one studies met the inclusion criteria. Twenty-two studies reported outcomes using patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) ranging from validated questionnaires to self-reported measures for return to work and self-rated disability. The Disability of Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score was the most utilised patient-reported function measure (n=11). Patient satisfaction was reported by eighteen studies but no single method was used consistently. Range of movement was the most frequent physical measure and was reported in all 91 studies. However, the methods of measurement and reporting varied, with seventeen different techniques being used. Other physical measures included grip and pinch strength and sensibility, again with variations in measurement protocols. The mean follow-up time ranged from 2 weeks to 17 years. Conclusions: There is little consistency in the reporting of outcomes for interventions in patients with Dupuytren’s disease, making it impossible to compare the efficacy of different treatment modalities. Although there are limitations to the existing generic patient reported outcomes measures, a combination of these together with a disease-specific questionnaire, and physical measures of active and passive individual joint Range of movement (ROM), grip and sensibility using standardised protocols should be used for future outcomes studies. As Dupuytren’s disease tends to recur following treatment as well as extend to involve other areas of the hand, follow-up times should be standardised and designed to capture both short and long term outcomes

Time-integrated luminosity recorded by the BABAR detector at the PEP-II e+e- collider

This article is the Preprint version of the final published artcile which can be accessed at the link below.We describe a measurement of the time-integrated luminosity of the data collected by the BABAR experiment at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e+e- collider at the ϒ(4S), ϒ(3S), and ϒ(2S) resonances and in a continuum region below each resonance. We measure the time-integrated luminosity by counting e+e-→e+e- and (for the ϒ(4S) only) e+e-→μ+μ- candidate events, allowing additional photons in the final state. We use data-corrected simulation to determine the cross-sections and reconstruction efficiencies for these processes, as well as the major backgrounds. Due to the large cross-sections of e+e-→e+e- and e+e-→μ+μ-, the statistical uncertainties of the measurement are substantially smaller than the systematic uncertainties. The dominant systematic uncertainties are due to observed differences between data and simulation, as well as uncertainties on the cross-sections. For data collected on the ϒ(3S) and ϒ(2S) resonances, an additional uncertainty arises due to ϒ→e+e-X background. For data collected off the ϒ resonances, we estimate an additional uncertainty due to time dependent efficiency variations, which can affect the short off-resonance runs. The relative uncertainties on the luminosities of the on-resonance (off-resonance) samples are 0.43% (0.43%) for the ϒ(4S), 0.58% (0.72%) for the ϒ(3S), and 0.68% (0.88%) for the ϒ(2S).This work is supported by the US Department of Energy and National Science Foundation, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Canada), the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique and Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physiquedes Particules (France), the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Germany), the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (Italy), the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (The Netherlands), the Research Council of Norway, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Spain), and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (United Kingdom). Individuals have received support from the Marie-Curie IEF program (European Union) and the A.P. Sloan Foundation (USA)

Improved Limits on B0B^{0} decays to invisible (+γ)(+\gamma) final states

We establish improved upper limits on branching fractions for B0 decays to final States 10 where the decay products are purely invisible (i.e., no observable final state particles) and for final states where the only visible product is a photon. Within the Standard Model, these decays have branching fractions that are below the current experimental sensitivity, but various models of physics beyond the Standard Model predict significant contributions for these channels. Using 471 million BB pairs collected at the Y(4S) resonance by the BABAR experiment at the PEP-II e+e- storage ring at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, we establish upper limits at the 90% confidence level of 2.4x10^-5 for the branching fraction of B0-->Invisible and 1.7x10^-5 for the branching fraction of B0-->Invisible+gammaComment: 8 pages, 3 postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (Rapid Communications

A search for the decay modes B+/- to h+/- tau l

We present a search for the lepton flavor violating decay modes B+/- to h+/- tau l (h= K,pi; l= e,mu) using the BaBar data sample, which corresponds to 472 million BBbar pairs. The search uses events where one B meson is fully reconstructed in one of several hadronic final states. Using the momenta of the reconstructed B, h, and l candidates, we are able to fully determine the tau four-momentum. The resulting tau candidate mass is our main discriminant against combinatorial background. We see no evidence for B+/- to h+/- tau l decays and set a 90% confidence level upper limit on each branching fraction at the level of a few times 10^-5.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Evidence for an excess of B -> D(*) Tau Nu decays

Based on the full BaBar data sample, we report improved measurements of the ratios R(D(*)) = B(B -> D(*) Tau Nu)/B(B -> D(*) l Nu), where l is either e or mu. These ratios are sensitive to new physics contributions in the form of a charged Higgs boson. We measure R(D) = 0.440 +- 0.058 +- 0.042 and R(D*) = 0.332 +- 0.024 +- 0.018, which exceed the Standard Model expectations by 2.0 sigma and 2.7 sigma, respectively. Taken together, our results disagree with these expectations at the 3.4 sigma level. This excess cannot be explained by a charged Higgs boson in the type II two-Higgs-doublet model. We also report the observation of the decay B -> D Tau Nu, with a significance of 6.8 sigma.Comment: Expanded section on systematics, text corrections, improved the format of Figure 2 and included the effect of the change of the Tau polarization due to the charged Higg

Measurement of B(B-->X_s {\gamma}), the B-->X_s {\gamma} photon energy spectrum, and the direct CP asymmetry in B-->X_{s+d} {\gamma} decays

The photon spectrum in B --> X_s {\gamma} decay, where X_s is any strange hadronic state, is studied using a data sample of (382.8\pm 4.2) \times 10^6 e^+ e^- --> \Upsilon(4S) --> BBbar events collected by the BABAR experiment at the PEP-II collider. The spectrum is used to measure the branching fraction B(B --> X_s \gamma) = (3.21 \pm 0.15 \pm 0.29 \pm 0.08)\times 10^{-4} and the first, second, and third moments = 2.267 \pm 0.019 \pm 0.032 \pm 0.003 GeV,, )^2> = 0.0484 \pm 0.0053 \pm 0.0077 \pm 0.0005 GeV^2, and )^3> = -0.0048 \pm 0.0011 \pm 0.0011 \pm 0.0004 GeV^3, for the range E_\gamma > 1.8 GeV, where E_{\gamma} is the photon energy in the B-meson rest frame. Results are also presented for narrower E_{\gamma} ranges. In addition, the direct CP asymmetry A_{CP}(B --> X_{s+d} \gamma) is measured to be 0.057 \pm 0.063. The spectrum itself is also unfolded to the B-meson rest frame; that is the frame in which theoretical predictions for its shape are made.Comment: 37 pages, 19 postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. D. No analysis or results have changed from previous version. Some changes to improve clarity based on interactions with Phys. Rev. D referees, including one new Figure (Fig. 13), and some minor wording/punctuation/spelling mistakes fixe

Measurement of ISR-FSR interference in the processes e+ e- --> mu+ mu- gamma and e+ e- --> pi+ pi- gamma

Charge asymmetry in processes e+ e- --> mu+ mu- gamma and e+ e- --> pi+ pi- gamma is measured using 232 fb-1 of data collected with the BABAR detector at center-of-mass energies near 10.58 GeV. An observable is introduced and shown to be very robust against detector asymmetries while keeping a large sensitivity to the physical charge asymmetry that results from the interference between initial and final state radiation. The asymmetry is determined as afunction of the invariant mass of the final-state tracks from production threshold to a few GeV/c2. It is compared to the expectation from QED for e+ e- --> mu+ mu- gamma and from theoretical models for e+ e- --> pi+ pi- gamma. A clear interference pattern is observed in e+ e- --> pi+ pi- gamma, particularly in the vicinity of the f_2(1270) resonance. The inferred rate of lowest order FSR production is consistent with the QED expectation for e+ e- --> mu+ mu- gamma, and is negligibly small for e+ e- --> pi+ pi- gamma.Comment: 32 pages,29 figures, to be submitted to Phys. Rev.