Socioeconomic Environmental Impact Assessment

Complying with the requirements of the National Environment Protection Act and environmental quality laws at the state level often demands assessment from a number of perspectives. In the decision-making process about land use, such as the construction of industrial and infrastructure and the restoration of natural environments, history plays an essential role.

As part of interdisciplinary projects teams, I provide historical assessments that inform decision-making by public agencies. When the U.S. Minerals Management Service requested a historical analysis of the impact of the oil industry on California’s central coast, for instance, I contributed a study of the evolving structure of the industry to each of of the stand-alone reports on each of the three counties involved as well as a separate inventory of all of the firms that operated in the region during the years of the study. On a subsequent contract, I responded to MMS’s request to review, evaluation, and synthesize all research on the coastal California oil industry with a report that made the findings of prior projects more accessible to both the public and policymakers.