VCU news

By Lissette Linares

The VEQI provides an objective benchmark for gauging changes in environmental conditions, based on seven critical categories of indicators: air, water, toxics, solid waste, ecosystems, living resources and population density. State, federal and academic experts identified those categories as the principal indicators to study when looking at long-term environmental trends. Among other key VCU study findings, based on an analysis of 400,000 records compiled over the past 14 years:

• Air and water quality are improving, while the input of toxics is decreasing.
• The amount of wetlands in the state continues to decline.
• The environment is facing more stress from Virginia's growing human population.
• Preliminary analysis of the VEQI suggests that environmental quality is improving, following a period (1985-94) of declining overall conditions.

"The index shows both successes and areas where we probably need to spend extra energy. Obviously, it's an upbeat assessment. We live in a state with better air and water quality than 20 years ago, but there are still issues to address -- particularly in the areas of waste management and wetland loss," said Greg C. Garman, Ph.D, a VCU biologist and Center for Environmental Studies director who served as a principal investigator on the grant. "This is the only reliable tool that we're aware of to evaluate the statewide impact or consequences of a wide range of environmental polices."

Most previous studies looked at isolated environmental sectors; the VEQI offers the first integrated, quantitative assessment of state conditions. Starting with Virginia Department of Environmental Quality data, researchers also culled records from the Center for Environmental Information and Statistics of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; the U.S. Geological Survey; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.

"The VEQI is a very good start toward a truly informative tool for objectively evaluating trends in environmental quality in the commonwealth," said Gerald P. McCarthy, executive director of the Virginia Environmental Endowment. "This is the first time such an effort has been attempted, and the endowment is proud to support it. From this point forward, anyone who wants to know whether the environment or any part of it is getting better or worse has only to refer to the VEQI. This will contribute to improvements in the environmental literacy of the public and its policymakers at all levels and sectors in Virginia."

The index also will help objectively measure progress toward environmental goals, including the intersection of federal regulations and state implementation. Policies generally are applied over a large geographic area, usually statewide, and their effectiveness is gauged over several years.

"The VEQI provides a tool for studying environmental trends, to see if conditions are improving or declining. This year's inaugural index will serve as a benchmark that will help us identify even the subtlest of changes in the environment," said Andrew Lacatell, M.P.H., assistant director of the Center for Environmental Studies and research team leader. Joining Lacatell on the team were Carrie Fehl, a graduate research assistant with the VCU center, and Steve Rein, Ph.D., a former VCU statistician who is now an assistant professor at California Polytechnic University.

"We're pleased that this study shows a measurable improvement in these indicators of Virginia's environmental health," said Dennis H. Treacy, DEQ director. "Our goal at DEQ is to ensure ongoing protection of the commonwealth's natural resources, and we are working to improve the efficiency and consistency of Virginia's environmental programs."

VCU researchers acknowledge limitations of this inaugural index. In the air and water quality categories, researchers studied monthly, official calculations. Other categories were analyzed with estimates or less-frequent measures. For example, state wetlands holdings are based on annual estimates by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; the waste indicator was calculated from EPA data for the four required reporting years between 1989-95.

Project leaders recognize that more data will enhance the annual index, and state and federal agencies already are beginning to document additional information, according to Garman. Other sources being considered for future use include citizen data in areas such as water-quality monitoring. Other goals include creating an on-line database that citizens, government representatives, scientists and others can access to look at statewide issues and trends in their own communities.

The VEQI is available at the VCU Center for Environmental Studies Web site at http://www.vcu.edu/cesweb/ .