Applied Ecosystem Services, LLC

When a regulatory issue or environmental litigation involves geochemistry (the chemical composition of water, sediments, soils, and rocks) it is critical to use all available data and the appropriate statistical analyses and to communicate the results clearly and effectively to the non-technical decision-makers or finders of fact. This is particularly true when an environmental permit holder can be penalized by a regulatory agency or sued by an environmental NGO for violating the Clean Water Act (CWA) by exceeding the arbitrary maximum concentration limit for the chemical.

Water quality matters for humans, livestock, fish and wildlife, and plants including food crops. Too often policies and regulations are ineffective while restoration projects fail to achieve intended goals. The problem is seen in environmental impact assessments, point- and nonpoint-source discharges, and Superfund sites. While some reasons for failure are project-specific, three common and easily avoided reasons are the lack of knowledge about spatial and temporal distribution of the chemical of concern, no information about the causes and amount of variability, and the focus on concentrations at a local point rather than on the entire ecosystem.