Hydrographic Study of Peirce Island Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent in the Piscataqua River of Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Report of Findings from the December 10 – 14, 2012 Study Period

In order to assist the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) evaluate the impact of treated wastewater effluent from Peirce Island Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) to the Lower Piscataqua River and Portsmouth Harbor a hydrographic dye study was conducted in December 2012 in Portsmouth, NH. Eight (8) shellfish cages with American oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) were deployed both upstream and downstream of the Peirce Island WWTP in the Piscataqua River, Little Harbor, and the entrance of Little Bay. Eight (8) mini CTDs that monitor conductivity/salinity, temperature, and depth, and six (6) moored fluorometers, which measure dye tagged effluent from the Peirce Island WWTP were attached to the subsurface cages. A fifty (50) gallon mixture of Rhodamine WT dye and distilled water was injected into WWTP on December 11, 2012 for a half tidal cycle (approximately 12.4 hours). Additionally, boat tracking fluorometers connected with a mobile geographic information system (GIS) were used to measure dye levels on the surface in situ and in real time. Microbiological analyses of fecal coliform (FC), male-specific coliphage (MSC), Norovirus (NoV) genogroup I (GI) and genogroup II (GII), and Adenovirus (AdV) were conducted on WWTP influent and effluent composite samples collected with automated samplers to determine the WWTP efficiency in reducing indicator bacteria and viruses. Microbiological sampling and testing of oysters and mussels from the eight (8) sentinel cages was conducted to assess the impact of WWTP effluent on shellfish growing areas and growing area classifications. Prior to conducting the study, the assumption was that the FDA’s recommended minimum dilution of 1000:1was not applicable in this situation because the recommended dilution is based on a WWTP having at least secondary treatment. The microbiological findings in shellfish samples, wastewater samples from the Peirce Island WWTP, and the results of the dye study, confirm that a minimum of 1,000:1 dilution with respect to Peirce Island WWTP is currently not applicable for this WWTP. The FDA and NHDES recommend continued MSC testing of wastewater samples from the WWTP before and after the WWTP upgrade. The FDA and NHDES recommend a future field study after the WWTP upgrade in order to delineate the 1,000:1 dilution zone

Free Zone Incentives in MERCOSUR Countries and WTO Law

Published source: Gabriel Gari, 'Free Zone Incentives in MERCOSUR Countries and WTO Law' (2011) 6 Global Trade and Customs Journal, Issue 5, pp. 223–244 ID: GTCJ2011031This article examines the consistency of the incentives offered by free zone regimes in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay with World Trade Organization (WTO) law. It suggests that some of the incentives offered to free zone users are inconsistent with the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM) because they constitute a ‘subsidy’ within the meaning of the ASCM, subject de iure or de facto to export performance, most notably, exemptions of direct taxes, exemptions of custom duties on the import of capital goods, exemptions of payment of social welfare charges, unqualified exemptions on payment of indirect taxes, and the possibility to supply goods or services to free zone users at promotional rates. By contrast, this article suggests that there are no significant inconsistencies between free zone incentives and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) but warns that the situation could change in the future if, as a result of multilateral negotiations, MERCOSUR countries opt for extending their GATS commitments to new sectors and modes of supply

Reflections on the establishment of the Chinese Air Identification Zone

In this paper Yinan Bao presents a very timely legal investigation into aspects of the current territorial dispute in the East China Sea. The author focuses on the Chinese Air Identification Zone and considers the issues regarding the legitimacy of the Chinese ADIZ and Chinese Aircraft Identification Rules. Drawing on previous comparable behaviour involving other countries and international relations, he makes the argument that this Zone is in accordance with international law

Environmental regulation in Indonesia

Since the early 1980s environmental regulation has received high priority in Indonesian policy making. Given Indonesia's dependence upon foreign donors for its economic program, external pressures inevitably played a significant role in stimulating this development. But internally generated factors were also of considerable importance. Mounting evidence of the economic and social costs of environmental degradation, the rise of a middle class, and the connection between environmental questions and other hotly contested political issues such as conflicts over land tenure and resources, the rights of workers, farmers and indigenous minorities, the demand for democratisation and greater press freedom all played a part in, moving the environment to centre stage

A mixed integer quadratic programming formulation for the economic dispatch of generators with prohibited operating zones

In this paper, an optimisation-based approach is proposed using a mixed integer quadratic programming model for the economic dispatch of electrical power generators with prohibited zones of operation. The main advantage of the proposed approach is its capability to solve case studies from the literature to global optimality quickly and without any targeting of solution procedures. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Disparity by Design: How Drug-free Zone Laws Impact Racial Disparity -- and Fail to Protect Youth

Thanks to the work of concerned policymakers and reform advocates across the country, public discussions have been sparked in many states about the fairness and efficacy of drug-free zone laws. This report is designed to inform those discussions by reviewing empirical findings, primarily from three states -- Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Connecticut -- where enough information is available to answer key questions. The report also documents efforts by policymakers and advocates in a few other states -- Illinois, Utah, and Washington -- to challenge long-held assumptions that drug-free zone laws are protecting children and enhancing public safety

ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF FISHERIES EXCLUSION ZONES: A SICILIAN CASE STUDY

Spatial approaches to fisheries management in the form of total or partial exclusion zones have attracted much interest in recent years, though relatively little is known in practice about how such measures impact fishermen or other groups of stakeholders. The present paper hopes to shed light on this issue by reporting the results of a recently completed EU project investigating the effects of a trawl ban introduced in the Gulf of Castellammare, NW Sicily, in 1990. The results indicate that the prohibition on trawling led to stock recovery and improved financial returns for the artisanal fishermen who have been permitted to operate within the restricted area. There is evidence, however, that the displacement of trawlers to the outer periphery of the exclusion zone has impacted adversely on artisanal operators located immediately outside the trawl ban area.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,