Project Plan -- Phase II

The Northeast-Midwest Institute (NE-MWI) has launched a project with support from the EPA entitled "Scoping the Economic Benefits of Sediment Remediation" which is an effort to illuminate the benefits side of the ledger in cost/benefit analysis of sediment remediation.

The problem of contaminated sediments is extremely widespread in our region affecting all 42 of the Great Lakes’ Areas of Concern. The International Joint Commission appointed a Sediment Priority Action Committee (SedPAC), made up of representatives from state and provincial environmental agencies, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Corps of Engineers and Environment Canada, to investigate and help overcome barriers to Great Lakes sediment remediation. One of the strategies that SedPAC identified is to utilize economic benefits assessments to help promote sediment remediation strategies.

Most discussions of economics associated with contaminated sediments revolve around the sometimes staggering costs associated with clean-up. However, less well understood, but equally important, are the economic costs that communities sustain in the absence of clean-up due to losses in such amenities as recreational opportunities, property values, aesthetic qualities, and even human health - the potential benefits of clean-up. With this project, we have the opportunity to take a significant first step toward illuminating the increased wealth that sediment remediation could afford three specific communities in the Great Lakes region.

The concept for the (NE-MWI) project is a direct outgrowth of the SEDPAC findings. It has a two-phased approach. The first phase is to scope the most efficient approach to carry out full-scale assessments of the benefits of sediment remediation at three Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes region. The second phase is implementation of selected full-scale assessments. SEDPAC has recommended 3 possible sites for project focus. The project would entail the NE-MWI exploring the ways that each community uses and values its harbor, identifying data sets that could help quantify the value of these uses before and after remediation, and analyzing information needs. While this project is a scoping exercise at this stage, it could evolve into a full analysis of the economic benefits of sediment remediation in your community.

Local input will be extremely important to making this project effective. We hope to gather information first-hand through visiting the study sites, meeting with appropriate leaders in RAP Committees, and holding meetings with local stakeholders.

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01 April 2001
http://www.nemw.org/glvalpln2.htm