![Coordination in the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Process: Project Planning and Selection Cloudy sky above marsh environment](/sites/default/files/styles/small_thumbnail/public/images/Cover%20Coordination_ProjectPlanning%20.png?itok=vOPUAsnZ)
Research Reports
ELI publishes Research Reports available for free download that present the analysis and conclusions of the policy studies ELI undertakes to improve environmental law and policy. These reports contribute to education of the profession and disseminate diverse points of view and opinions to stimulate a robust and creative exchange of ideas. Those publications, which express opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the Institute, its Board of Directors, or funding organizations, exemplify ELI’s commitment to dialogue with all sectors.![Coordination in the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Process: Project Planning and Selection Cloudy sky above marsh environment](/sites/default/files/styles/small_thumbnail/public/images/Cover%20Coordination_ProjectPlanning%20.png?itok=vOPUAsnZ)
In March 2018, we released a paper on “Coordination in the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Process: General Tools and Mechanisms,” which surveyed some of the general tools and mechanisms available to the Deepwater Horizon natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) trustees to help coordinate their activities. This paper builds on that work: it describes some additional tools that are available during project planning and selection that could help coordinate the trustees’ activities internally within the NRDA program and with external entities.
Read More >![Novel Entities and the GEF: Background Paper Novel Entities and the GEF: Background Paper](/sites/default/files/styles/small_thumbnail/public/images/report-covers/novel-entities-cover.jpg?itok=sGo2yhY9)
“Novel entities” can broadly be defined as “things created and introduced into the environment by human beings that could have disruptive effects on the earth system.” These may include synthetic organic pollutants, radioactive materials, genetically modified organisms, nanomaterials, and/or micro-plastics. This report, a background paper prepared for the Global Environment Facility (GEF), presents the results of a process developed to systematically identify novel entities that are relevant to the GEF.
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Environmental site hazards at a child care facility may arise from contamination of the air, soil, or water caused by historical uses of the property or nearby activities, which may affect both the outdoor and indoor environment. Identifying and remedying site hazards before a child care facility is licensed and during child care operations is important for limiting harmful exposures to children and staff. Children are especially vulnerable to pollutant exposures because their bodies are developing and because they breathe more air relative to their size than adults.
Read More >![RCRA and Retail: Considering the Fate of Consumer Aerosol Cans RCRA and Retail: Considering the Fate of Consumer Aerosol Cans](/sites/default/files/styles/small_thumbnail/public/images/report-covers/aerosol-can-cover.jpg?itok=Z9MeTpjD)
Minimizing waste generation includes diverting waste streams to reuse and recycling as well as recapturing materials. In devising new approaches for the management of materials and the diversion of wastes under RCRA, federal regulators can draw on their knowledge and years of experience working with particular sectors and materials. In the retail sector, managing discarded and returned consumer aerosol cans can hit the "tripwire" for RCRA ignitability, requiring their management as hazardous waste.
Read More >![Coordination in the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Process: General Tools and Mechanisms A group of pelicans gathered on a marshy shore.](/sites/default/files/styles/small_thumbnail/public/images/Coordination-in-NRDA.jpg?itok=6n6VCvv9)
As a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a number of different funding processes have been put in place to help restore and recover the Gulf of Mexico. The three main ones are the natural resource damage assessment (NRDA), the RESTORE Act, and the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund (GEBF), which together will distribute over $16 billion. Each of these processes has its own objectives, timelines, governance structure, and opportunities for the public to engage.
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