Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
with the implementation. During postenvironmental analysis discussions
with the regulatory agency responsible for permitting, it became apparent
that the proposed receiving water for the effluent from the state-of-the-art
wastewater treatment plant was an impaired water body due to phospho-
rus loading (designation under the U.S. EPA Total Daily Maximum Load
Program) and it was an antidegradation stream under the state water-qual-
ity classification. Thus no pollutants could be discharged, particularly phos-
phorus, unless a greater mass of phosphorus input to the stream from other
sources was removed. In order to address these constraints, the environmen-
tal analysis would have to be reopened, and/or a separate and subsequent
process would have to be initiated to meet the permit requirements. In either
case, including the effluent discharge permitting agency in the scoping pro-
cess would have avoided this substantial delay and unnecessary duplication
of effort.
4.3.2 ScopingTargets
There are two types of scoping employed to address the objectives discussed
in the preceding section: social scoping and technical scoping (Morgan 2001;
Snell and Cowell 2006). As discussed below each has specific stakeholder
and input targets.
4.3.2.1 SocialScoping
Social scoping is the more common type designed to reach a large audience
with a wide range of interests, experience, and concerns. Typically this type
of scoping addresses issues, concerns, alternatives, and environmental setting
that can potentially affect, on a day-to-day basis, the perceived quality of life
for nearby residents. The majority of participants in social scoping are gener-
ally only involved for a specific project, plan, or policy and sometimes only for
a limited specific aspect of the action where they could be directly affected.
They lose interest and cease involvement when they do not see a direct link
to their specific interests or if the alternative that could directly affect them is
eliminated (Carnes 1993). The extreme case of issues raised by social scoping is
NIMBY, or not in my back yard. A well-known example is the Cape Wind proj-
ect to harness wind energy to generate electricity by constructing a wind farm
in the relatively shallow waters of Nantucket Sound offshore of Cape Cod,
Massachusetts. The environmental analysis team had identified a number of
adverse impacts, such as bird strikes, bringing electricity to shore, and distrib-
uting the electricity. They also identified potential positive impacts such as
reduced greenhouse gases, less dependence on oil, and the creation of a more
diverse marine habitat. During scoping, stakeholders raised issues of aesthet-
ics, noise, and visual impact as social issues. The more technical issues were
addressed and mitigated through scientific studies and engineering solutions
in a relatively short time frame; however, the issues raised as part of social
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