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ABSTRACTS

An Economic Valuation of H2Ohio’s Agriculture and Wetlands Program
Glen Delaney, Earth Economic

The H2Ohio initiative is delivering measurable results for Ohio’s people, economy, and environment. The goal of the initiative is to tackle the harmful impacts of excess phosphorus in surface waters, improving water quality through wetland restoration, reducing nutrient runoff, and promoting agricultural best management practices (BMPs), among other programs. The initiative has restored more than 180 wetlands covering 11,000+ acres and enrolled over 3,200 farmers to apply BMPs across 2.2 million acres in 2024 alone, preventing 420,000 pounds of phosphorus from entering waterways. Earth Economics valued the non-market benefits created by H2Ohio’s investment and calculated the ripple effect and job creation of the initiative’s spending on wetlands and ag BMPs. Analysis by Earth Economics demonstrates that H2Ohio generates strong returns on investment from H2Ohio’s work restoring wetlands and supporting farmers to reduce nutrient runoff, as the program remediates harmful algal blooms, improves drinking water security, and strengthens local economies.  

What are Marshes Worth? Valuing Coastal Community Benefits with SHORE-BET
Donna Bilkovic, Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Marshes are important natural capital assets for many coastal communities, providing a range of ecosystem services such coastal protection and erosion control, nutrient removal, fish habitat, and recreational opportunities. We combined economic valuation techniques with human use and preference surveys, local ecological data, and physical and geospatial modeling to estimate the monetary value and spatial variation in services provided by marsh and living shorelines, within a NOAA habitat focus area in Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, the Middle Peninsula. Our interdisciplinary approach aligns with the site-specific spatial scales of restoration decisions and can be translated to other types of natural capital (e.g., oyster reefs, beaches). This study demonstrated that marsh and living shoreline ecosystem service value is a significant asset for local communities, amounting to about $90M per year in benefits to the Middle Peninsula or ~ 3.3% of the region’s GDP annually. Moreover, insights from an important stakeholder group, recreational fishers, show they place a high value on marshes in the region. Marsh and living shorelines were the most used shoreline habitats by recreational fishers and generate more than 3X the value when compared to armored shores. We developed a decision tool – SHORE-BET: Coastal Community Benefit Tool for Marsh Restoration that calculates the economic value of community benefits to be gained by using living shoreline techniques that restore marshes. This tool helps to account for these ecosystem services so that coastal communities can be better informed when making decisions impacting their environment, economy, and overall quality of life. 

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In October 2025, EPA published an On-Scene Coordinator Lithium-Ion Battery Response Guide. This two-hour webinar will cover key components of the guide, highlighting what can be translated to tribal emergency responders and environmental programs. During the last hour of the webinar, participants will get the opportunity to sketch an outline for their own guide that meets their needs and programming. Though the intended audience for this webinar are those involved in tribal emergency response and waste management programs, all are welcome to attend.

Read the On-Scene Coordinator Lithium-Ion Battery Response Guide at: https://response.epa.gov/sites/16141/files/EPA%20OSC%20Lithium-Ion%20Battery%20Response%20Guide.pdf

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This webinar will provide a comprehensive overview of benthic cyanobacterial blooms in rivers and streams across the United States, highlighting their emerging potential threats to ecosystems, animals, and human health. Attendees will learn about (1) the challenges of sampling and characterizing the risks from these blooms and (2) how EPA’s National Rivers and Streams Assessment was used to characterize the nationwide distribution of benthic cyanobacteria, particularly Microcoleus anatoxicus. The presentation will also cover recent EPA-led studies (2023 to 2025), which evaluated field and laboratory methods at multiple pilot sites, and discuss preliminary findings from four system-scale surveys focused on evaluating the relative impact of harmful cyanobacteria. Additionally, this webinar will include a discussion on how survey findings inform public health protection efforts against harmful benthic cyanobacteria. Finally, presenters will give an overview of EPA’s local partnerships and analytical support in the Mountain West in regions such as southern Utah and the Rocky Mountains.

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Join the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other leading experts for this webinar to learn about practical knowledge, resources and tools to reduce respiratory health risks during high ozone and pollen events. Participants will learn how ozone and pollen exposures impact respiratory health, how outdoor air pollution can influence indoor air quality, and how evidence‑based indoor strategies — such as filtration and ventilation management — can help reduce exposure and protect at‑risk populations.

Join us to learn how ozone and pollen exposures impact health, who is most at risk, and how practical, evidence-based indoor strategies can reduce exposures and protect individuals, buildings and communities during high ozone and pollen pollution events.

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EPA’s Office of Water Emergency Response and Cybersecurity (OWERC) will demonstrate how to use EPA’s Water Cybersecurity Assessment Tool (WCAT) to conduct cybersecurity assessments at water and wastewater systems.

Webinar Duration: 1.5 hours

ELI Summer School Public Webinar

Register Now – Wednesday, June 24, 12:00-1:30 PM ET

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 was the first major U.S. statute targeting water pollution. Significantly expanded in 1972 to become what is now known as the Clean Water Act (CWA), today the Act is the primary federal law for controlling water pollution and regulating water quality in the waters of the United States. Though it has achieved vital successes, whether those successes can be sustained and how much further progress can be made remain fundamental questions.

This session of Summer School will explore the foundations of the CWA as well as recent developments, including the proposed updated definition of “waters of the United States” and what that would mean for wetlands protection moving forward.

Speakers:
Adam Schempp, Senior Attorney; Director, Western Water Program, Environmental Law Institute, Moderator
Adell Amos, Clayton R. Hess Professor of Law; Executive Director, Environment Initiative, University of Oregon School of Law
Nicole Granquist, Partner, Stoel Rives
Evan Isaacson, Senior Attorney; Director, Environmental Action Center, Chesapeake Legal Alliance

Register for additional Summer School sessions here, held remotely via Zoom Webinar on Wednesdays throughout June and July.

All are welcome! Participants will have opportunities to learn, hear updates, and ask questions. The series is intended for undergraduates, law students and graduate students, and working professionals new to or looking for a refresher course in environmental law. Summer School is free to the public, but registration for individual sessions is required.

All sessions will be recorded and available for viewing (usually within 3-5 business days) on the individual event pages.

There is no CLE available for this series.

ELI’s Summer School classes do not require an application to attend and are not visa-granting programs.

Questions? Contact events@eli.org

Spark the Fire is offering a Spring 2026 Certificate in Grant Writing course. The training is designed for professionals who want hands-on experience developing competitive grant proposals. The course is conducted online and includes weekly sessions, writing assignments, and feedback.

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