Background on Case Studies - Environmental Impact Analysis: Process and Methods - page 366

- Meetings at key decision points (e.g., study design, date interpre-
tation, impact prediction, and design of alternatives) sometimes
occurring monthly
- Funding of TAC and CAC key members to facilitate timely review
r Year-long studies of critical resources, including:
- Submersible observations of benthos
- Radio tagging of tanner crabs to determine home range
- Gut analysis and food chain studies of major predators
- Physical oceanographic measurement programs
r State-of-the-art techniques for impact prediction:
- Toxicity testing
- Bioaccumulation studies
- Marine geochemistry modeling
- Physical oceanographic modeling, including sophisticated pre-
diction of sediment transport
r Use of the newly developed ecological risk assessment technique to
evaluate impacts and alternatives (see Section 7.2.9)
r Greatly expanded scoping and public outreach programs
r Mitigation of potential impacts on water supply by construction of
a municipal water treatment plant

The result of the process was a renewed and improved relationship among
the regulatory, environmental resource, mining, environmental advocacy,
native peoples, and municipal government communities. However, when the
process was 99% complete, the mining company decided to terminate the proj-
ect based on economic and mining engineering considerations; the EIS was not
completed (thus there is no published reference for the document but much of
the scientific results were presented in Maughan et al. 1997); and a marine mine
tailings discharge permit was never issued. But the process and extensive date
collection program did produce consensus among stakeholders on the impact
analysis and environmental sustainability of the proposed action.

10.4 Washington Aqueduct Water Treatment

Residuals Management EIS

Washington Aqueduct, a division of the Baltimore District U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers, currently provides potable water to Washington D.C. and sev-
eral surrounding communities, and has been since the capital had a central