BA, Kent State University, 2022, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Geography

The question this paper addresses is whether or not the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) and the State of Ohio are in violation of the Great Lakes Compact for allowing unapproved water to be depleted from the Great Lakes Basin Watershed. This project used two distinct study designs: a legal analysis of the Great Lakes Compact was conducted to interpret the binational agreement as written. Additionally, secondary data analysis was used to extract, extrapolate, aggregate, analyze and then interpret data from the ODNR to investigate whether or not this accord has indeed been violated by examining the quantities of water used to drill and stimulate oil and gas wells in Ohio permitted after December of 2008 when the Compact went into effect. 450 wells were found to have been permitted in the Lake Erie Watershed between December of 2008 and December of 2021. This study has shown that the use of injection wells as a means of disposal for hydraulic fracturing wastewater originally derived from the Lake Erie Watershed is in violation of the spirit of the Great Lakes Compact. There are potentially implications for future litigation to address this violation pending further research.

Committee: Katherine Amey Ph.D. (Advisor); David Singer Ph.D. (Committee Member); Richard Adams Ph.D. (Committee Member); Aimee Ward Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Law; Environmental Management; Environmental Science; Environmental Studies; Hydrology; International Law; Law; Legal Studies; Mining; Petroleum Production; Political Science; Public Policy; Regional Studies; Sustainability; Water Resource Management

Master of Environmental Science, Miami University, 2018, Environmental Sciences

This report summarizes my duties as an Environmental Consultant at Nova Environmental, Inc. in Ann Arbor, Michigan. My main responsibilities included monitoring the air quality on construction sites where asbestos removal was taking place. If airborne, asbestos fibers can be very dangerous to human health and are known to be linked to lung diseases and cancers. Due to this, asbestos containing materials need to be removed from buildings before construction or renovations occur. Several steps need to be taken to ensure that asbestos is removed safely at a job site. When on a construction site, there are several laws and regulations in place regarding asbestos removal as well as worker safety. This internship experience and my time at the Master of Environmental Science program through the Institute for the Environment and Sustainability at Miami University are described in the report.

Committee: Sarah Dumyahn (Advisor); Robbyn Abbitt (Committee Member); Catherine Almquist (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Health; Environmental Law; Environmental Science; Environmental Studies

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 2015, Applied Statistics (ASOR)

This paper examines hazardous algae blooms in Lake Erie, focusing on previously created predictive statistical models, and creating different predictive models based on two proxy measurements for hazardous algae bloom occurrences – dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll-a. While prior models have used different proxies for hazardous algae blooms, including remote sensing and boat tows, the study presented here examines whether different proxies, a larger dataset, and different independent variables create valid hazardous algae bloom predictive models and/or improve upon prior forecasting methods. More specifically, since there is no single definition for hazardous algae blooms, and no one agreed upon metric to measure them, this study examines whether the chosen proxies are suitable proxies for hazardous algae blooms in Lake Erie, using linear regression and ANOVA analyses to create a number of different models. The results from these models indicate that both dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll-a are suitable proxies for hazardous algae bloom occurrences. Further, the modeling results confirmed the Lake indicators that are the greatest contributors to hazardous algae blooms, and confirmed prior research that the Lake had changed in terms of hazardous algae bloom growth and occurrence after the mid-1990s. Following these results, the paper examines the public policy response to recent blooms. Combining the results from this and prior studies, the public policy response was scrutinized, and the paper concludes that more will likely need to be done in the future to mitigate bloom occurrences and severity.

Committee: Nancy Boudreau Ph.D. (Advisor); John Chen Ph.D. (Committee Member); Sheila Roberts Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Applied Mathematics; Environmental Law; Public Policy; Statistics

Master of Environmental Science, Miami University, 2014, Environmental Sciences

An environmental consultant is responsible for understanding both the scientific and the regulatory aspects of every project, and ensuring that the client is in compliance with the law. For transportation projects, this involves finding a balance between the transportation needs of the public and the protection of valuable environmental assets, which can both be considered shared resources. This paper describes the relevant laws and regulations, permitting processes, field methods and reporting associated with Ohio Department of Transportation projects completed during a six-month internship at a private consulting firm in Columbus, Ohio. Three case studies are used to illustrate the application of various environmental protocols.

Committee: Suzanne Zazycki (Advisor); Thomas Crist (Committee Member); Jonathan Levy (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Science; Water Resource Management

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2012, Agricultural, Environmental and Developmental Economics

The first part of the dissertation entitled “Energy Intensity in Japan”, discusses the causes of the increase in Japan's energy intensity, defined as energy consumption divided by GDP since the early 1990's. The significant reduction in Japan's energy intensity ceased in the early 1980's and has even slightly increased since the early 1990's, indicating that Japan seemingly has reached the limits of its ability to improve energy use. However, further analysis at prefecture level and sector level provides additional insight on energy intensity trends. Our result indicates that the non-uniform energy intensity trends between prefectures are attributed to a high variability in energy efficiency. At sector level, we estimate the income elasticity of energy consumption in each sector and find that a structural change in energy consumption behaviors occurred in all sectors at different time points. More importantly, the structural changes occurred in 1981 in the industrial sector and in 1988 in the commercial sector are presumably responsible for the deterioration of Japan's energy intensity since the early 1990's. The second part of the dissertation, entitled “The Demand for Residential Electricity”, estimates the residential electricity price elasticity in Japan. The Japanese government has not imposed a residential electricity tax because the price elasticity of electricity consumption has been considered to be very low. However, there has been little study to provide empirical evidence for the consensus. This paper is intended to fill the gap by estimating the residential electricity price elasticity in Japan. In order to avoid dynamic panel bias, we use the Arellano-Bond estimator to estimate the residential electricity price elasticity. The results show that the estimated price elasticities of residential electricity consumption are -0.1963 in the short run and -0.2298 in the long run at national level. These estimates predict that contrary to the consensus, an inc (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Timothy Haab (Advisor); Brent Sohngen (Committee Member); Eugene Jones (Committee Member) Subjects: Economics; Energy; Environmental Economics; Environmental Law; Public Policy; Statistics

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2012, History (Arts and Sciences)

To stave off the collapse of the feeble and bankrupt U.S. railroad industry in the 1970s, federal policymakers enacted major regulatory reforms. The creation of Amtrak and Conrail, significant rehabilitation projects, and an overhaul of transportation laws enabled the railroads to pare down their lines and retool their businesses. Each of these rapid developments in economic and business policy also reshaped natural and built landscapes. Using congressional and executive documents and secondary materials, this thesis shows how environmental regulations, historical preservation, and public awareness of ecology and resource scarcity informed the process of railroad reform. The environmental impact statement redefined how federal bureaucrats approached railroad infrastructure projects and line abandonment, while new pollution rules and energy-efficiency programs affected the rails' biggest customers, like coal and manufacturing. Two important trends in postwar domestic policy—new social regulation and economic deregulation—intersected to jumpstart U.S. railroading in the 1970s.

Committee: Paul Milazzo PhD (Advisor); Geoff Buckley PhD (Committee Member); Katherine Jellison PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; Modern History; Transportation