Environmental Resource Policy and Planning

Bay Area Biosolids Management: Challenges, Opportunities, and Policies

Bay Area Clean Water Agencies (2008)

Authored a white paper for Bay Area Clean Water Agencies addressing biosolids management issues confronting Bay Area wastewater agencies.  Paper reviewed biosolids regulation and safety; trends in local land use and landfill regulations impacting biosolids management; sustainable solutions for biosolids management; and existing and new policy options to promote cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally responsible biosolids management.

Lake Tahoe EIP Finance Plan Update

Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (2008)

Updated finance plan for Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP).  Update revised program element cost estimates and updated analysis of potential funding sources to reflect changes to federal, state, and regional programs and legislation.

Financing Lake Tahoe’s Environmental Improvement Plan

Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (2007)

Developed finance plan for multi-billion dollar Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP).  Finance plan updated previous EIP cost estimates, identified current sources of funding, and quantified unfunded EIP costs.  The plan identified potential new funding sources by program element and allocated unfunded program costs by program beneficiary.

Delta Visions Recreation Context Memo

California Department of Water Resources (2007)

Authored context memo for Delta Visions process describing recreational resources, uses, constraints, and policies in the Sacramento River-San Joaquin River Delta.  The memo formed part of the background documentation used by the Delta Vision Committee in formulating its recommendations to the Governor on how the Delta should be managed to fulfill its co-equal goals of water supply reliability and ecosystem restoration.

Construction Fleet Emission Standard Impacts

Construction Industry Air Quality Coalition (2006)

Reviewed ARB Staff regulatory proposal and analysis.  Prepared responding economic impact analysis using the ARB’s emission inventory database of 170,000 pieces of equipment.

Technical Review of BCA Methodology for Aquatic Plant Management

San Francisco Estuary Institute (2003)

Member of technical review panel charged with commenting on and suggesting changes to a draft methodology for conducting benefit-cost analyses of aquatic plant management programs.

Evaluation of Methods to Determine Cost-Effectiveness of Emission Control Measures

Western States Petroleum Association (2001)

Prepared critique of current methodology used by the South Coast Air Quality Management District to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of proposed air emission control measures.

Vehicle Scrappage Study

California Air Resources Board (2000)

Estimated the likely response by California automobile owners to various prices offered for scrapping vehicles to reduce air emissions.  The analysis relies on a survey of recent transactions to estimate prices for older (pre-1989) cars and data from the Department of Motor Vehicles and Bureau of Automotive Repair.  A “supply curve” was estimated using hedonic price analysis of vehicle characteristics.

Study of Influence of AB 32 on California Economic Innovation

Environmental Defense Fund (2008)

Environmental Defense Fund requested that M.Cubed, a consulting firm specializing in resource economics and public policy analysis, investigate the potential employment impacts likely to be caused by the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) proposed Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Assembly Bill 32) implementation policies.  M.Cubed examined available data to assess the potential for positive changes in California’s investment patterns and employment in response to AB 32’s underlying policies.  The analysis included an examination of greenhouse gas (GHG) control-related documents, in particular the Climate Change Proposed Scoping Plan (PSP) and associated publications, an extensive literature review, and experience with evaluating the economic impacts of proposed public policies.

Analysis of Governor’s Executive Order on GHG Regulation

Environmental Defense Fund (2005)

With LBNL and RFF, described the current regulatory regime and policies for electricity related to regulated greenhouse gas emissions.  Discussed how to assess various regulatory options.  This analysis was included in the state’s Climate Action Team report.

Potential Impacts of Global Climate Change on California’s Hydropower System

California Energy Commission (2005)

Assessed a potential range of impacts on the operations of California’s hydropower system from different hydrological scenarios related to GCC projections.  The interrelated nature of the hydropower, water supply and flood control systems was highlighted.  Results presented in the CEC’s 2005 Integrated Energy Policy Report.

GHG Market Constraints Study

Reason Public Policy Institute (1998)

Authored paper identifying the barriers to creating an international market in trading greenhouse gas emissions, including institutional and physical constraints.  Discussed problems of policy irreversibility that support delaying immediate action on climate change risk.

Global Climate Change Impacts on California

U.S. EPA (1993)

Developed a linear programming model of Northern California electricity and hydropower generation system to assess changes in Sacramento River basin flows from global climate change and water system management for environmental concerns.  Along with output from the USBR Central Valley Project PROSIM model, these results were used to adjust hydropower inputs for an Elfin electric generation simulation model input data set of the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. system.  Cumulative rate impacts were estimated for a 1992 base year.

Global Climate Change Policies Study

Reason Public Policy Institute (1993)

Authored two monographs on national policy responses to the potential of global climate change, laying out the perspectives on the debate and including an evaluation of least-cost policy choices for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.  Strategies for conserving energy, developing alternative energy sources, expanding mass transit and reforestation were assessed.