Abstract
The purpose of the scaling step of the equivalency analysis is to determine the amount of remediation required to offset damages to natural resources or services. It involves calculating the benefits (credits) for relevant remediation options and determining how much of the selected remediation is required to generate sufficient credit to offset the damage (debit). The determination of how much of the selected remediation is required is called scaling. Estimating the costs of undertaking the necessary amount of remediation options is also discussed.
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Notes
- 1.
For purposes of simplicity of exposition, throughout this chapter we present the discussion as if one type of remediation project is being implemented that is scalable to offset debits. In practice, multiple different remediation actions may be under consideration for use, and not all remediation projects may be completely scalable. The fundamentals of the approach described in this chapter still apply, however.
- 2.
This same process can be applied when credits are not calculated on a unit basis by summing remediation project credits until the full debit is satisfied (see BABE Forest Fire case study in Chap. 11).
- 3.
How long the remediation benefits will last into the future is an important assumption to be made during an equivalency analysis.
- 4.
Depending on the resource, the number of user days may represent fishing trips to a river, number of boating days in a lake, or number of beach visits to a recreational beach. Depending on the type of damage, other units such as health impacts, crop value etc. can also be used.
- 5.
If the benefits would have been provided indefinitely, the present value factor would—after about 100 years—become less than 0.01. In practical terms, this means that benefits occurring 100 years from now and into the future are essentially zero. Thus, we can still estimate a finite per unit credit for remediation projects with perpetual benefits.
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Chapman, D., Lipton, J. (2018). Step 4: Scaling Complementary and Compensatory Remediation. In: Lipton, J., Özdemiroğlu, E., Chapman, D., Peers, J. (eds) Equivalency Methods for Environmental Liability. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9812-2_6
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