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ESSA has been assisting provincial, state and
national agencies with the development and application of environmental
policy and regulations in North America for over 15 years. The breadth
of our professional staff in the natural and social sciences combined
with our skills in adaptive environmental
management, ecological modelling,
and facilitation/mediation allow us
to work closely with agencies in the articulation and evaluation
of new and existing policy and regulations for environment management
and protection.
In Canada clients that have retained our assistance
are the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (formerly the FEARO),
Federal Departments of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and Environment
(DOE), Ontario Ministries of Natural Resources (OMNR) and Environment
(OMOE), and Ontario Power Generation (formerly Ontario Hydro). Example
work products are revisions to the Fisheries Act, re-development
of national and provincial class environment assessment protocols,
articulation of cumulative effects assessment methods, and evaluation
of environmental effects monitoring programs of power plants.
Section 316b of US Clean Water Act
Recently ESSA has been assisting State Departments
of Environmental Protection and Conservation with the evaluation
of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit
applications for electric power generation stations and other industries
that withdraw ambient cooling water for industrial processes. The
NDPES serves section 316b of the Clean Water Act, which ensures
that best technology available (BTA) is used at cooling water intakes
to minimize entrainment and impingement of aquatic biota, and that
the costs of BTA are not disproportionate with the benefits.
At arms length, ESSA's multidisciplinary team
provides the expertise required to evaluate assessments of:
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effectiveness of BTA to reduce
entrainment and impingement at cooling water intakes; |
| 2. |
the costs, benefits, and safety
issues associated with BTA; and |
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the fisheries and aquatic ecosystem
effects of entrainment and impingement. |
As of April 2002, ESSA
has assisted the states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Connecticut
with their evaluations of NPDES permit applications.
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