Environmental Indicators for CalEPA

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Environmental Protection Indicators for California
The EPIC Project Developing Indicators of
Watershed Health
Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment California Environmental Protection
Agency SRWP Watershed Indicators Workshop March
30, 2005
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Environmental indicators can be used to

• Track changes in the environment
• Communicate environmental information
• Provide early warning signals
• What is happening?
• Identify or validate cause and effect
• Why is it happening?
• Evaluate performance
• Are our strategies working?
• Support results-based management
• How can we better accomplish our goals?

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What is anenvironmental indicator?
Objective, scientifically based measure that
presents information on the status of, and trends
in environmental releases, conditions, or
effects.
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US EPA definition

• An indicator is a sign or signal that relays a
  complex message, potentially from numerous
  sources, in a simplified and useful manner.
• An ecological indicator is defined here as a
  measure, an index of measures, or a model that
  characterizes an ecosystem or one of its critical
  components. An indicator may reflect biological,
  chemical or physical attributes of ecological
  condition.

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The Information Pyramid
Index
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Conceptual modelPressure-State-Response
Source Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development
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Hierarchy of Indicators
This is how we measure environmental change
Environmental
Administrative
LEVEL 1 Actions by EPA/State Regulatory Agencies
LEVEL 3 Changes in Discharge/ Emission Quantities
LEVEL 2 Responses of the Regulated
Nonregulated Community
LEVEL 4 Changes in Ambient Conditions
LEVEL 6 Changes in Health, Ecology, or Other
Effects
LEVEL 5 Changes in Uptake and/or Assimilation
Source Chesapeake Bay Program, Environmental
Indicators Measuring our Progress
(www.chesapeakebay.net)
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Performance Measures

• A quantitative or qualitative indicator for
  assessing the achievement of an objective or
  organizational goal.
• Can be used as a metric for administrative or
  environmental indicator

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EPIC.how we got the ball rolling

• Two day conference to solicit ideas on key issues
  and sub-issues (day 1) and indicators to
  represent the issues (day 2).
• Sub-committees formed for major topics air
  quality, pesticides, human health, eco health,
  etc.

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EPIC getting the ball rolling

• Drawing on expertise of sub-committee members,
  winnowed down list to key issues and indicators
• Filtered indicators using criteria
• Final indicator set selected
• Never had time for a good peer-review

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EPIC Indicator Selection Process
What are the environmental issues?
Further data collection or analysis needed(Type
II)
No data conceptual(Type III)
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Indicator Selection Primary criteria

• Data quality based on scientifically valid data
  collection
• Representativeness reflects the environmental
  issue for which it was selected
• Sensitivity detects meaningful differences in
  environmental conditions (signalnoise)
• Decision support supplies information that can
  support decision-making

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Indicator Selection Secondary criteria

• Anticipatory can provide an early warning
• Data comparability can be compared to indicators
  in other systems
• Cost-effective reasonable cost to collect data
  required to support the indicator
• Benchmark value point of reference enables users
  to assess the indicators significance

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Ecosystem Health Indicators

• Aquatic ecosystems indicators
• Land use/land cover
• Central valley chinook
• Least tern
• Lake Tahoe clarity
• Benthic macroinvert index
• Endocrine disruptors
• POPs in marine mammals

• Key issues
• Habitat quantity
• Habitat quality
• Biodiversity

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Human Health Indicators

• Concentrations of toxic chemicals in blood
  other tissues is key issue
• POPS, lead, mercury
• Extremely difficult to identify indicators of the
  effects of environmental exposures and human
  health
• Numerous variable contribute to health
• State biomonitoring programs goal is to
  determine exposure and possible effects

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US EPA Aquatic Habitat Indicators

• Stream size channel dimensions
• Channel gradient
• Channel substrate size and type
• Habitat complexity and cover
• Riffles, pools, rocks, fallen trees, undercut
  banks
• Riparian vegetation cover and structure
• Anthropogenic alterations in stream channel and
  riparian zone
• Channel-riparian interactions
• Posted at www.epa.gov/owow/monitoring/calm.html

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2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development
Indicators for Biodiversity

• Trends in abundance distribution of selected
  species
• Extent of wetlands large water bodies
• Catchment condition extent of riparian
  vegetation
• Management effectiveness of protected areas
• Investment in protected areas
• Change in status of threatened species
• Area of forest, ag, aquaculture under sustainable
  management

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2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development
Indicators for Biodiversity

• Number and cost of alien invasions
• Water quality
• Freshwater trophic index
• Number of dams
• Sediment load in rivers
• Pesticide use/unit agricultural harvest
• Hit rates for biodiversity websites

Balmford et al., 2005. The Convention on
Biological Diversitys 2010 Target, Science, 307
212-213.
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Examples of indicators of community response

• Measure of extent of use of BMPs in ag
• Number of watershed groups or a measure of
  activities of watershed groups or watershed
  plans
• Existence of HCCP in region
• of communities with ordinances requiring use of
  low impact development technologies
• Municipalities with integrated water management
  plans
• of river miles covered by multi-purpose flood
  control projects

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Hierarchy of Indicators
This is how we measure environmental change
Environmental
Administrative
LEVEL 1 Actions by EPA/State Regulatory Agencies
LEVEL 3 Changes in Discharge or environ.
alterations
LEVEL 2 Responses of the Regulated
Nonregulated Community
LEVEL 4 Changes in Ambient Conditions
LEVEL 6 Changes in Health, Ecology, or Other
Effects
LEVEL 5 Changes in Uptake and/or Assimilation
SRWP Educational programs
bank with armor
Population of young fish
Acres riparian area/mi waterway
Collaborative efforts to establish multi-purpose
flood projects
OR
Miles of greenway/mi waterway
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Two issues to consider in developing an indicator
system for the SRWP

• Value of including both environmental and
  administrative indicators
• Consider effects of environment conditions on
  human uses and needs (not just health) as well as
  effects on the ecosystem.