SELC REPORTS
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An Examination of the Virginia Public-Private Transportation Act of 1995
November 2012This report calls for the overhaul of a key Virginia transportation law and suggests reforms to better protect taxpayers and promote better transportation planning.
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Northern Beltline Economic Report
June 2012Check out our report on the limited economic benefits of the Northern Beltline.
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Beyond the Bypass: Addressing Rural North Carolina’s Most Important Transportation Needs
May 2012Rural North Carolina is home to more than a third of the State’s population and is vital to our overall economy and quality of life. Unfortunately, decades of transportation spending priorities have failed to meet the needs of our rural areas, or North Carolina as a whole. Rural communities have not been well served by the traditional emphasis on building new road capacity, including four-lane highways and bypasses, often where there is almost no demonstrated transportation need or economic payoff from those investments.
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Biomass Supply and Carbon Accounting for Southeastern Forests
February 2012Burning wood for electricity is often viewed as a clean, green source of energy that can help address climate change-but the carbon footprint of biomass is not a straightforward calculation. This report by an inter-disciplinary team, commissioned by SELC and National Wildlife Federation, examines the complex relationship between growing forests, harvesting trees and burning wood for electricity. Based on current trends in using wood for large-scale power plants and exporting fuel pellets to Europe, biomass energy in the Southeast is projected to produce higher levels of atmospheric carbon for 35 to 50 years compared to fossil fuels. After that, biomass will result in significantly lower atmospheric levels as regrowing forests absorb carbon from previous combustion.
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The Case For Virginia’s Regional Trains: Funding Passenger Rail
January 2012Ridership on Virginia's intercity and commuter rail services is climbing at record paces. The benefits of passenger rail are well known, and include reducing congestion on our roads, lowering our vulnerability to volatile fossil fuel prices, creating jobs, stimulating economic development, and curbing air and water pollution. This report by SELC, Virginians for High Speed Rail, and three business groups in the Commonwealth makes the case that now is the time to invest in Virginia's passenger rail and move toward a long-term, dedicated, and sustainable funding source for the state's regional trains.
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Uranium in Virginia? Let’s set the record straight
November 2011For 30 years, Virginia has maintained a statutory ban prohibiting uranium mining - but in 2012, the General Assembly may be asked to lift that ban and allow uranium mining and radioactive waste disposal in the Commonwealth. Virginia Uranium, Inc., which hopes to mine a large uranium deposit in Pittsylvania County, is spending over $600,000 on lobbying efforts that are obscuring the truth. This 4-page factsheet sets the record straight on key questions of energy independence, water quality, economic development, and the statewide impacts of uranium mining.
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Review of Traffic Projections for Proposed Route 29 Bypass
October 2011While traffic congestion on Route 29 in the Charlottesville-Albemarle area of Virginia needs to be addressed, the proposed 29 Bypass is NOT the answer. This expert analysis of previous traffic studies for the bypass shows that VDOT's traffic forecasts are seriously flawed, and confirms that the bypass will not solve traffic problems for local or through drivers. The report pinpoints the steps VDOT and the Federal Highway Administration must take to develop a realistic picture of the effectiveness of the bypass and recommends smarter improvements to the local road network.
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Healthy Community Choices for the Greater Richmond Region
October 2011Smarter growth is good for your health. SELC has long studied the connections between transportation, land use, community design, and health. A new report by SELC released with the Partnership for Smarter Growth explains how well-planned communities that offer alternatives to further sprawl and reduced dependence on auto travel provide multiple health benefits for the Richmond region -- including cleaner air and water, more opportunities for physical activity, greater availability of healthful food, and better access to health care and other services. -
Alabama Water Agenda (Update): A guide for achieving health waters in Alabama
July 2011The Alabama Water Agenda, produced by the Southern Environmental Law Center and Alabama Rivers Alliance, details the changes needed in state policies to ensure that Alabama has clean and plentiful drinking water and healthy river systems for the long term. The report, an update from our 2007 water agenda, calls on state leaders to take prompt action to protect our environment and to manage Alabama’s waters to ensure the resource is fully protected and allocated fairly among our communities, farms, and industrial users. Among other things,our report recommends more funding for water quality programs, stronger enforcement of water laws, and better coordination among the many state agencies with some level of responsibility for our water resources.
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Don’t Fall For It: Environmental protections prompt industry cries of “The sky is falling.” Again.
February 2011For four decades, some of the largest and most polluting industries and special interests have routinely predicted catastrophic consequences for American enterprise and living standards if environmental and public health regulations are implemented. But history shows that such regulations usually cost far less than claimed and, in addition to yielding the intended public benefits like cleaner air and water, often spur technological innovation and create jobs. This 4-page fact sheet dispels the "Chicken Little" myth that Clean Air Act regulations will lead to economic ruin.
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Jobs, Transportation, and Affordable Housing: Connecting Home and Work
November 2010Failing to connect transportation, housing, and jobs imposes high costs on Virginians—including a shortage of affordable housing, a growing bill to taxpayers to serve sprawl, traffic problems, and reduced economic competitiveness. A new report written by SELC and released in partnership with Housing Virginia examines these challenges, as well as demographic changes (such as an increasing and aging population) that will shape and complicate these challenges. The report also identifies practical, workable solutions and opportunities to build a better future for Virginia’s communities.
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Will Uranium Get A Glowing Welcome in Virginia?
November 2010For nearly thirty years, Virginia has banned the mining of uranium, the milling of yellowcake, and the disposal of radioactive waste in-state. The uranium industry is now trying to repeal that ban, focusing on a site known as Coles Hill, in Pittsylvania County. This essay, authored by former SELC senior attorney Kay Slaughter for the Virginia Environmental Law Journal, details the history of the uranium issue in Virginia, existing state and federal regulatory programs related to uranium, and the potential environmental, human health and economic consequences for Virginia should the ban be lifted.
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Smart Growth is Smart Economics: Sustainable Development in the Greater Richmond Region
October 2010Smart growth benefits our environment, our health, and our wallets. The economic case for smart growth is particularly compelling in light of the recession, budget crises, and slumping real estate market. This report by SELC focuses on the Richmond region—which has had the highest rates of sprawl and driving per capita in Virginia—to highlight the economic benefits of smart growth and profiles five projects that demonstrate better ways to grow.
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Sustainable Richmond
April 2010The Richmond region has had the fastest rate of land development and the highest rate of driving in Virginia. This report examines major trends in the region that are spurring a new approach to growth, as well as the multiple benefits of mixed use, walkable, sustainable communities. It also highlights policy reforms that can advance more sustainable growth in the region.
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Clean Air for the Birmingham Area
October 2009The metropolitan Birmingham area has ranked among the worst in the South for soot and ozone pollution, which put more than 400,000 children and adults directly at risk for heart and lung disease. The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) released a report today that for the first time provides a comprehensive overview of the multiple pieces of Birmingham's air-pollution challenge in layman's terms to better engage the broader Birmingham community in understanding and solving the problem. In the report, Clean Air for the Birmingham Area, SELC identifies the major sources of Birmingham's air pollution and offers seven recommendations for reducing the pollution while ensuring a strong economy and a vibrant quality of life.
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How Do We Get There? A Roadmap for North Carolina’s Transportation Future
May 2009North Carolina, touted in the 1930’s as the “Good Roads State,” finds itself at a critical transportation crossroads as we close out the first decade of a new century. The path we choose for the future will have a profound impact on our economy, environment and overall quality of life in the coming years, and for future generations.
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Courting Disaster 4-14-09
April 2009Report by Clean Water Action, Earthjustice, Environment America, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club and Southern Environmental Law Center details the threats to America’s waters and highlights the urgent need for Congress to act immediately and restore full Clean Water Act protections to our waters.
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Coal Waste Blueprint
January 2009SELC outlined the minimum safeguards necessary to protect the environment and public health and safety from coal waste in its "Blueprint to Safeguard the Environment, Public Health & Safety from Coal Waste."
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Global Warming, Healthy Air, and a New Energy Future
September 2008If SELC's six southeastern states were viewed as a country, it would rank as the seventh largest source of heat-trapping carbon dioxide on the planet. The region is central to any global solution because it is disproportionately contributing to the problem-and because it offers such promising possibilities for change.
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Drought in the South: Planning for a Water-Wise Future
September 2008Despite recent rainfall across the South, much of the region is still experiencing drought conditions ranked as severe, or worse. We can no longer count on having all the water we want, when we want it, where we want it. In the past, water management has focused on extending water supply. But reservoirs and interbasin pipelines can no longer be the region’s first choice for water management.
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Before the Storm
July 2008Stormwater runoff is a leading cause of pollution in the waterways that define the Charlottesville-Albemarle region. This report examines the problem and contains recommended changes to Albemarle County’s development ordinances to reduce the harm stormwater runoff is inflicting on local streams and rivers.
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Connections and Choices: The High Cost of Transportation
May 2008Transportation consumes an enormous – and rising – amount of income. The average southern household spends $7,990 per year on transportation, almost 19 cents out of every dollar spent.
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Reducing Runoff from New Development
February 2008Stormwater runoff is a leading cause of pollution in the waterways that define the Charlottesville-Albemarle region. This report examines the problem and contains recommended changes to the City of Charlottesville’s development ordinances to reduce the harm stormwater runoff is inflicting on local streams and rivers.
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New Directions: Land Use, Transportation and Climate Change in Virginia
December 2007Sprawling development and asphalt-centered transportation policies are steering Virginia toward dire consequences - yet it's not too late to change course. In this report, SELC's Trip Pollard examines multiple trends and offers a host of steps that can be taken to address the problems.
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Connections and Choices: Affordable Housing and Smarter Growth in the Greater Richmond Area
September 2007For better or for worse, the Richmond region is rapidly expanding. This report explores the enormous economic, health, environmental, and social impacts of the housing, land development, and transportation trends transforming the Greater Richmond Area.
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At the Tipping Point
July 2007Nothing characterizes Georgia’s coast more than its marshes. Vast and sweeping, these landscapes still inspire visitors today just as they inspired Sidney Lanier over a hundred years ago. Unfortunately, this heritage is in jeopardy. Developers are heading to the Georgia coast with a “gold rush mentality.”
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Alabama Water Agenda: Guiding the way to healthy waters
January 2007SELC and the Alabama Rivers Alliance identify the six most urgent threats to Alabama's rivers, wetlands, groundwater and coastal waters, and provide a blueprint for restoring and protecting these critical resources. The agenda was developed with the input of dozens of grassroots groups, and is a call to action to state leaders and all Alabamians to put in place the policies and regulations that will ensure pure and plentiful water throughout the state.
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Too much of a good thing? Retail overload in Albemarle County, Virginia
May 2006SELC's report provides the first comprehensive look at retail trends, past and future, in Albemarle County. The report shows that the county already has approved roughly three times more 'big box' shopping centers and other retail space than its own consultants say can be reasonably absorbed. The report offers a number of recommendations to curb the impacts of the potential growth.
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Analysis of Virginia’s Public-Private Transportation Act
December 2004The first comprehensive analysis of a 1995 Virginia law that allows private entities to build transportation projects in the Commonwealth shows the law is failing to live up to its promise of attracting private money to fund increasingly expensive projects. Instead, projects proposed under the Public-Private Transportation Act (PPTA) rely almost exclusively on tolls and/or taxpayer dollars, according to the analysis.
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Roadless Areas of the Southern Appalachians
April 2004There are 728,487 acres of roadless areas on the National Forests of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia that are protected by the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. If the rule is reversed by the Bush administration, 553,000 acres, or seventy-six percent of those areas would be placed into management designations that allow roadbuilding and/or logging not allowed under the rule.