The White House finalized guidance Wednesday directing agencies to provide a detailed account of how proposed projects, policies and regulations could affect human use and enjoyment of the natural environment.
The guidance on so-called ecosystem services is the first of its kind, setting a standard for costs and benefits that agencies have only sometimes considered in their decisionmaking. It aims to arm federal officials with the latest research and methodologies on how ecosystem services — or “contributions to human welfare from the environment or ecosystems” — can be enhanced or diminished by federal rules on everything from infrastructure and cars to energy and health.
The guidance
A logging project, for example, might destroy pollinator habitat, making neighboring farms less productive and profitable. Pipelines could alter rainwater runoff patterns, depriving people of drinking water, recreation and irrigation. And hydropower could benefit human health by curbing fossil fuels use — but could also interfere with fish migration and deplete fisheries.
The guidance is part of an ongoing effort at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to “modernize regulatory review and promote regulatory analysis that allows agencies to identify their best policy options,” said OIRA Administrator Ricky Revesz in an email to E&E News.
