Tracking Regional Needs

1
Tracking Regional Needs

• Life Cycle Approach to Tracking Regional Needs
  from Point of Acceptance by ORD to Ultimate
  Delivery of Product and Assessment of
  Benefit/Environmental Outcome

2
Why Develop a Regional Research Needs Tracking
System

• Regions continually submit research needs but
  never know what happens to suggestions
• ORD scientists rarely know it was a regional need
  Who, How, Why, Ultimate value?
• Products are often developed without benefit of
  continued client involvement
• Projects drift off course and sometimes dont
  meet original need
• Lack of continuity, technology support and
  delivery plan often decrease value of product

3
Regional Needs - Field Descriptions
1) Regional Research Need Description of the
ultimate product that is needed
and how it will be used 2) Source of Research
Need e.g., Regional Science Councils or
NRSC, Media Lead Region or Regional
Management/Staff 3) Regional Contact Names of
regional /state staff that identified and helped
develop the research need and are willing to
stay involved throughout the life -cycle of the
research product 4) Regional Science
Liaison/HSTL/RSC-NRSC Representative - willing to
serve as a facilitator for this need,
fostering contact/collaboration between
the Regional contact(s) and the ORD
researcher(s), to ensure a successful research
effort is undertaken to meet the regional needs
and products are delivered to the region/state
in a useable form leading to an environmental
outcome 5) ORD Scientist laboratory scientist
ultimately assigned research project 6) Estimated
Completion Time 7) Key points where Regional
Input is Needed conference calls, reviews,
meetings, model or technique pilots/testing,
etc. 8) Mode of Delivery/Technology Transfer - to
region and clients 9) Regional Regulatory/Policy
Action what are expected impacts potential
environmental outcome, regulatory or policy
impact
4
Linking to RecordsSearching for a Record
5
Linking to RecordsAdding Link to a SI Record
Click
6
Status

• Developed a Pilot for the Science Inventory
• Coordinating with OW Research Management and
  Status Tool
• Considering other Systems Until Projects are
  Entered Earlier in Science Connector
• NHEERL Team Room Approach
• Separate Tracking System Science Connector
• Consideration of Life-Cycle Approach for any
  Tracking System with Agreement on Key Points for
  Regional Involvement in Research Projects

7
Headwaters Example

• I ) Regional Science Need
• A - Determine the extent of aquatic values for
  ephemeral and intermittent streams
• B - Determine the total water storage capacity of
  headwater streams
• C - Determine the amount of headwater stream loss
  that can be tolerated before water quality
  impairment to a watershed occurs
• D - Devise methods to link losses of headwater
  streams and isolated wetlands to declines in
  amphibians, invertebrates, and other biota
• II) Source of Research Needs Research needs
  identified at the Regional Science Workshop on
  Headwaters and Associated Wetlands in the
  Mid-Atlantic Highlands Region, June 2006
• III) Regional Contact EPA/Reg. 3/ Freshwater
  Biology Team, Wheeling, WVA - Maggie Passmore
  304-234-0243

8
Headwaters Example cont.d

• IV) Regional Science Liaison/HSTL/NRSC - Ronald
  Landy, EPA Region III/ORD/RSL, landy.ronald_at_epa.go
  v, 410-305-2757
• V) Relevant ORD Products
• Influence of Non-Navigable Streams and Wetlands
  on Navigable Waters ORD Internal
  
  Research Plan (Sept. 07) - P.J.
  Wigginton, Joe Ebersole /Western Ecology Division
• A1) Preliminary NSW (Non-Navigable Streams and
  Wetlands) and navigable river
  classification for the Willamette River Basin
  (2008)
• A2 ) Development of a useful classification
  approach for navigable rivers and
  associated NSW (2008)
• B1) Model development to assess hydrologic
  contributions of intermittent and
  ephemeral streams to stream flow characteristics
  of NSW in the U.S.
• C) Determination of the influence of
  intermittent and ephemeral streams on
  hydrology of navigable rivers (2009)
• D1) Summary of NSW watershed attributes
  useful in predicting fish presence,
  provisioning of specific subsidy, or degree of
  influence on downstream navigable
  waters (2011)
• D2) Application of fish assemblage model to
  intermittent stream reaches

9

• VII) Key Points for Regional Input
• A1 Regional review and comment June 2008
• A2 -
• B1 Conference call on model design and
  parameters to be used June 2008
• Beta Version sent to regional contacts
  to coordinate testing Jan 2009
• VIII) Mode of Delivery/Technology Transfer to
  Region
• - Final Model Delivered to Regions 3 10,
  ORD researchers visit region for training
  and implementation of model (June 2009).
  Future tweaking of model can be performed via
  teleconference or use of Environmental
  Science Connector
• - Conference call/ Regional Science Workshop
  to complete project and ensure full
  utilization (Jan. 2010)
• IX) Regional Regulatory/Policy Action which will
  be Impacted and Potential Environmental Outcome
• A1, A2 B1- The model will be utilized by the
  regions and states to identify highly vulnerable
  NSW that play a critical role to watershed health
• B2, D1 D2 will be used in the development of
  TMDLs and storm water management permitting
• Based upon these actions, NSW will be preserved
  hopefully leading to 303 Delistings, improvement
  of aquatic life, etc.