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Problem Memo #8: Water Quality
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Directions:
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| Imagine you are an environmental consultant
hired by Bob's Development Company. Bob is planning to build a large
marina complex that includes 400 slips (including approximately 50 slips
for nightly/weekly rental), a full service maintenance and repair
facility, a gas dock, 100 condominiums, a small convenience store, a restaurant
and bar, a pool and hot tub, an outdoor picnic/recreation area, and
a shower/changing room for marina patrons. His proposal will
include public access to part of the facility, including a public viewing
area. Many areas of the project are also open to the public (e.g.,
store, restaurant and bar). Bob is considering three potential
development sites on the upland side of the Intercoastal Waterway, each of
which have strengths and weaknesses but the differences in development
cost are negligible: |
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 | Site A: The land is located slightly
north of Imperialville's downtown core. The site was filled and
bulkheaded decades ago and is now abandoned industrial land that may
potentially require some cleanup. Initial soil tests suggest
that there are no significant problems but until work begins you will
not know for sure. On the positive side, the site's proximity to
downtown should increase property values significantly over the
long term. It's proximity should also ensure demand for slip
rentals even though it is the furthest site from the open ocean.
The site will be served by the city's central sewer system.
Developing this parcel will require dredging out a large portion of
the marina area and improving the dilapidated bulkheading. The
clean fill will be disposed upland on the site and any hazardous
materials will disposed in an approved facility. An added
advantage of constructing the facility from scratch is that the marina
can be engineered to improve flushing and circulation. The local
zoning for this site is mixed use. The state's coastal
management program and local coastal management plan suggest a
priority use for the site is water dependent uses. However, the
water quality adjacent to this site is relatively bad and is listed as
threatened on the state's Section 303(d) list. The causes of
impairment are excessive fecal coliform loadings, nitrogen,
phosphorus, and habitat degradation. There is also some
indication of sediment contamination. The sources of impairment
include urban runoff/storm sewers, agriculture, a major municipal
point sources, and a few small industrial point sources. The
entire area adjacent to the site is closed to
shellfishing. |
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| Site B: The land is located in a residential
area about ten miles south of Imperialville's downtown core.
Since the site is in relatively close proximity of an Inlet to the
south, there is reason to expect that there will be adequate demand
for the marina slips and nearby marina facilities have high occupancy
rates. The site used to be a marina (150 slips), which has since
fallen into disrepair due to poor management. A portion of the
site was filled and bulkheaded decades ago. The rest is mostly
upland. The surrounding land use is primarily single family
homes and a few small condominium complexes. There are
also several marinas to the north and south of the proposed
site. Bob's proposal would require a significant expansion of
the existing facility, require dredging, and the dredged material
would be used to fill a total of about 1/2 acre of wetland to support
the upland facilities. An additional 2 acres of wetland will
remain undisturbed. Since the proposal will work around the
existing marina's configuration, when completed it will not be as well
flushed as the previous two proposals. The local zoning for the
site is residential so a variance will be required. Due to
the wetlands on and adjacent to this site, the state's coastal
management program and local coastal management plan suggest that it
is an area for environmental concern and have policies recommending
wetlands restoration. However, the water quality adjacent to
this site is quite bad and is listed as impaired on the state's
Section 303(d) list. The causes of impairment are excessive fecal
coliform loadings, habitat degradation, nitrogen, and
phosphorus. The sources of impairment include urban
runoff/storm sewers, onsite sewage disposal systems. The entire
area adjacent to the site is closed to shellfishing. |
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| Site C: The land is located about fifteen
miles north of Imperialville's downtown area. It is
located very near an inlet to the north and there is good highway
access from the downtown area and from other inland communities.
Accordingly, demand for the marina slips is expected to be high.
The surrounding area is only lightly developed (primarily low density
residential development) and there are no sewers. About a mile inland
there are numerous agricultural operations. Most of the site is
upland and the shoreline is unaltered. Only a small portion of
the shoreline is wetland but it will need to be either dredged or
filled in order construct the marina facility. |
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| Bob has asked you for advice in selecting a
site. Bob wants to avoid protracted regulatory battles and is more than
willing to do the "right" thing and wants to select a site that
will be less detrimental to the environment. He is also willing to
install whatever best management practices are necessary to satisfy
regulators. At the same time, Bob is a practical man and knows that bureaucracies
can be difficult to work with and wants to avoid unnecessary permits and
procedural delays. What advice would you give Bob? What site
should he pick and what BMPs should he add to his proposal to improve the
likelihood of an expeditious permit approval? Is there any strategic
advice you would give? |
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Written Format
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| This assignment should take the form of memo.
It is limited to 3 single-spaced, 12 point font pages, with 1 inch margins
and must be in a standard memo format (most word processing software has
templates). The reason that a memo format is required is that it is
the standard means of communication in the world of business and
government. Thus, this assignment will help develop your ability to
analyze policy questions and to think, act, and communicate more
effectively about environmental issues and problems. |
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Grading
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| Your memos will be evaluated based on your analysis of the
problem,
the organization of your ideas, your ability to properly apply the
theories, concepts, and legal precedents discussed in class and the quality of your writing
(e.g., spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.). Your goal is to
write as clearly, concisely, and directly as possible. Elegance of
style, while desirable, is a secondary consideration. Short
declarative sentences often convey ideas equally well; convoluted grammar confuses
things and often leads to misunderstandings. Remember that you are
trying to convey your ideas to people who have infinite demands on their
time. A simple, direct style economizes on time. |
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