Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary: Socioeconomic Supporting Documentation for the Restoration Blueprint, 2019

Originally produced in 2017, this document provides updated background analysis for the draft environmental impact statement, the regulatory impact review, and initial and final regulatory flexibility act socioeconomic impact analysis of the revised regulations for Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. General and spatially-specific regulations that apply to Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary are analyzed. For the spatially-specific regulations, there is the "no action" plus three additional alternatives (alternatives 2, 3, and 4) with increasing levels of protection as the number increases. Benefits and costs of a regulatory alternative are analyzed using the concept of opportunity costs. The costs of the "no action" alternative are what is given up versus other alternatives proposed. The costs for the "no action" alternative are the lost benefits, or opportunity costs, of not adopting the more protective alternatives, whereas the benefits are the avoidance of the costs of adopting the proposed regulatory alternatives. For each regulation and each alternative for each regulation, potential benefits, costs, and net benefits (benefits minus costs) are estimated. The highest net benefit alternative is identified in the case of multiple alternatives. Two periods, short- and long-term, are also analyzed for benefits, costs, and net benefits, and the estimates are projections about future, potential impacts. In analyzing spatially- specific regulations, the concept of "maximum potential loss" is used as the analytical starting point. This conservative measurement assumes that all activity within a spatial alternative that is displaced is lost to society. The second step of the analysis evaluates the likelihood that the "maximum potential loss" will occur. After presenting these analyses for each of the regulatory alternatives, the preferred alternatives are discussed.

Key Words

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, regulatory impact analysis, economic impact