Academic literature on the topic 'Stress management Victoria'

Objective. We previously reported on loneliness, depression, anxiety and stress of Australians living alone during the first COVID-19-related government enforced lockdown in Australia. At this time, those living alone were experiencing relatively low levels of emotional distress. Since then, one state, Victoria, underwent a second extended lockdown period and until now, it was unclear what impact this sequential lockdown might have had on the mental health and wellbeing of Victorian citizens. The current study aimed to add to the emerging literature on the lockdown experience in Australia by directly comparing the levels of anxiety, depression, stress, loneliness, and wellbeing between Victorians in the second extended lockdown and Australians in the first lockdown. Design. Data from our original study of 384 Australians was compared with cross-sectional surveys of 340 Victorians during the second lockdown period. Setting. An online survey was administered with people residing in Victoria self-selecting to complete the study. Outcome Measures. Participants were asked to complete the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), WHO-5 Wellbeing Scale, and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale. They were also invited to offer their insights into how the second extended lockdown experience had differed from the first. Results. Independent samples t-tests revealed that Australians were significantly more depressed, anxious, stressed, and lonely, and experienced reduced psychological wellbeing in the second lockdown compared to the first however overall, the levels indicated mild psychological distress. Qualitative insights revealed impact on mental health and a feeling of increased restrictions during lockdown two. Conclusions. Participants demonstrated adaptation to the lockdowns, providing support for the measures the Australian government have adopted to physically protect Australians from COVID-19. Management of the negative psychological impact through attention to wellbeing practices is however recommended in light of the increase in mental health concerns and likely further lockdown periods.

Objective: In Australia and comparable countries, case management has become the dominant process by which public mental health services provide outpatient clinical services to people with severe mental illness. There is recognition that caseload size impacts on service provision and that management of caseloads is an important dimension of overall service management. There has been little empirical investigation, however, of caseload and its management. The present study was undertaken in the context of an industrial agreement in Victoria, Australia that required services to introduce standardized approaches to caseload management. The aims of the present study were therefore to (i) investigate caseload size and approaches to caseload management in Victoria's mental health services; and (ii) determine whether caseload size and/or approach to caseload management is associated with work-related stress or case manager self-efficacy among community mental health professionals employed in Victoria's mental health services. Method: A total of 188 case managers responded to an online cross-sectional survey with both purpose-developed items investigating methods of case allocation and caseload monitoring, and standard measures of work-related stress and case manager personal efficacy. Results: The mean caseload size was 20 per full-time case manager. Both work-related stress scores and case manager personal efficacy scores were broadly comparable with those reported in previous studies. Higher caseloads were associated with higher levels of work-related stress and lower levels of case manager personal efficacy. Active monitoring of caseload was associated with lower scores for work-related stress and higher scores for case manager personal efficacy, regardless of size of caseload. Although caseloads were most frequently monitored by the case manager, there was evidence that monitoring by a supervisor was more beneficial than self-monitoring. Conclusion: Routine monitoring of caseload, especially by a workplace supervisor, may be effective in reducing work-related stress and enhancing case manager personal efficacy.

The water relations of white clover and paspalum as monocultures and components of a mixed pasture were studied on a normal and a modified soil profile during the interval between 2 successive irrigations. Responses of individual species were similar in monocultures and mixed pastures. On the normal profile white clover was the first species to react to soil water deficit when the rate of leaf elongation fell by 33% to about 10 mm/day after 30 mm of cumulative evaporation minus rainfall (E - R). This was followed by a reduction in dawn and midday leaf water potential at around 50 mm E - R. After 65 mm E - R, leaf elongation had ceased. In contrast, paspalum showed no signs of water shortage until 70-80 mm E - R. At this stage both the rate of leaf elongation and midday leaf water potential fell. After 90 mm E - R the dawn leaf water potential fell and by 120 mm E - R leaf elongation was negligible. Modification of the profile increased soil water availability by allowing more extraction of water at depth in the profile. This delayed the onset of water stress by about 40 mm E - R in both species. These observations show that the common irrigation interval of 60-90 mm E - R in northern Victoria is likely to restrict pasture yields because it causes a period of soil water deficit stress, especially for white clover, and the development of leaf area is impeded, increasing the time taken for canopies to recover maximum productivity after grazing. To overcome these limitations farmers will have to water more frequently or modify the soil profile to provide pastures with a better water supply.

An epidemiological study of the nematode parasites of the eastern grey kangaroo (M. giganteus) was made in an enclosed reserve north of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Adult and juvenile kangaroos were collected at approximately 6-weekly intervals and blood, faeces and the entire gastrointestinal tract was obtained. The nematodes present were Globocephaloides trifidospicularis, Rugopharynx australis, R. rosemariae, Pharyngostrongylus kappa, Cloacina spp., Strongyloides sp., Macropostrongylus baylisi, Paramacropostrongylus toraliformis, Alocostoma clelandi, Labiostrongylus spp., Macroponema comani and Macropoxyuris. The majority of nematodes had a seasonal fluctuation. Acquisition commenced in late summer and reached a peak in midwinter before declining in spring. G. trifidospicularis caused considerable mortality in juvenile kangaroos and there was a strong relationship between rising numbers of this species and falling plasma protein, haemoglobin concentration and haematocrit values. This species can cause heavy mortality in juvenile kangaroos in enclosed populations when winter feed is depleted and when the small animals with no fat reserves experience maximum cold stress. Other parasites present included Progamotaenia ewersi, P. festiva, P. macropodis, Triplotaenia fimbriata, T. undosa, Eimeria wilcanniensis, E. macropodis, E. hestermani and E. marsupialum.

The results of a trapping and spotlighting survey in Victoria of the squirrel glider, Petaurus norfolcensis, coupled with examination of historical records showed that the species is restricted to the Riverine Plains, Northern Uplands and northern slopes of the Western Highlands. Within these regions squirrel gliders inhabit remnant woodlands or open-forests which have mature or mixed-age stands of more than one eucalypt species, or riparian open-forests of Eucalyptus camaldulensis. The mixed-species stands which support squirrel gliders invariably include gum-barked and high nectar-producing species including some which flower in winter. The riparian open forests typically contain mature Acacia dealbata which may provide an important winter carbohydrate source. The squirrel glider was often the only arboreal mammal detected at a site; if another species was present it was usually the common brushtail possum, Trichosurus vulpecula. Other petaurids rarely occurred at the same site. We suggest that in Victoria the ecological tolerance of the squirrel glider is narrow 'and that the species should be considered vulnerable because most of its habitat has been cleared for farming. Commercial exploitation of timber and grazing of stock in much of the remaining habitat places further stress upon the small, fragmented populations of this species.

Phalaris (Phalaris aquatica L.) is a perennial grass of Mediterranean origin used widely by the sheep and cattle industries of south-eastern Australia. Winter-active cultivars released since the 1970's have the potential for higher herbage productivity than the earlier, semi-winter dormant cultivars but have been reported to be less persistent under sub-optimal grazing management and soil conditions. To improve genetic potential for persistence in winter-active phalaris, a program of recurrent selection was conducted by subjecting three populations of half-sib families to two cycles of selection for persistence under heavy, largely continuous grazing pressure. Cycle 2 progeny families and bulked seedlots of each generation were grown in separate grazed plot trials in Western Victoria and the Southern Tablelands and North-West Slopes of New South Wales from 1999-2003 to assess response to selection. Positive linear response to selection was observed in all populations at the Western Victorian and Southern Tablelands sites. Response to selection was absent and persistence was very low under higher temperature and drought stress on the North-West Slopes. This high level of genotype × environment interaction for persistence was also observed among final generation families. Families with better persistence than current winteractive cultivars at the two southern sites were identified in each population and a new cultivar is being formed from the parents.

AbstractWild mustard (Sinapis arvensis L.) is a widespread weed of the southeastern cropping region of Australia. Seed germination ecology of S. arvensis populations selected from different climatic regions may differ due to adaptative traits. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of temperature, light, radiant heat, soil moisture, salt concentration, and burial depth on seed germination and seedling emergence of two populations (Queensland [Qld] population: tropical region; and Victoria [Vic] population: temperate region) of S. arvensis. Both populations germinated over a wide range of day/night (12-h/12-h) temperatures (15/5 to 35/25 C), and had the highest germination at 30/20 C. Under complete darkness, the Qld population (61%) had higher germination than the Vic population (21%); however, under the light/dark regime, both populations had similar germination (78% to 86%). At 100 C pretreatment for 5 min, the Qld population (44%) had higher germination than the Vic population (13%). Germination of both populations was nil when given pretreatment at 150 and 200 C. The Vic population was found tolerant to high osmotic and salt stress compared with the Qld population. At an osmotic potential of −0.4 MPa, germination of Qld and Vic populations was reduced by 85% and 42%, respectively, compared with their respective controls. At 40, 80, and 160 mM sodium chloride, germination was lower for the Qld population than the Vic population. Averaged over the populations, seedling emergence was highest (52%) from a burial depth of 1 cm and was nil from 8-cm depth. Differential germination behaviors of both populations to temperature, light, radiant heat, water stress, and salt stress suggest that populations of S. arvensis may have undergone differential adaptation. Knowledge gained from this study will assist in developing suitable control measures for this weed species to reduce the soil seedbank.

Dark cutting is detrimental to meat quality and therefore is the major cause of carcass downgrades under the Meat Standards Australia grading system. This study quantified the variation between months in the incidence of dark cutting, in southern Australia. Four years of Meat Standards Australia grading data, from nine individual beef processors in Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania, was utilised for the analysis. The dataset contained 42 162 slaughter groups, of 10 or more grass-fed cattle, which allowed for the percentage of dark cutters per slaughter group to be analysed. The interaction between month, year and state was significant (P < 0.001). The lowest risk of dark cutting for South Australia and Western Australia was in October (1.53% ± 0.75 and 6.96% ± 0.76) and November in Tasmania and Victoria (7.34% ± 0.9 and 5.27% ± 0.81) potentially when feed availability and quality is highest. The incidence of dark cutting was highest for all states during the period from February to June. Lower pasture availability and quality in combination with higher levels of stress due to extreme high or low temperatures during this time could all contribute to the higher incidences. The findings of this study show that procurement and management decisions made by cattle buyers, producers and processors need to change throughout the year to help mitigate the incidence of dark cutting carcasses and reduce financial loss.

Management of dryland salinity in Australia will require changes in the design and utilisation of plant systems in agriculture. These changes will provide new opportunities for livestock agriculture. In areas already affected by salt, a range of plants can be grown from high feeding value legumes with moderate salt tolerance through to highly salt tolerant shrubs. A hectare of these plants may support between 500 and 2000 sheep grazing days per year. The type of plants that can be grown and the subsequent animal production potential depend on a range of factors that contribute to the ‘salinity stress index’ of a site, including soil and groundwater salinity, the extent and duration of waterlogging and inundation, the pattern and quantity of annual rainfall, soil texture and chemistry, site topography and other site parameters. Where the salinity stress index is high, plant options will usually include a halophytic shrub that accumulates salt. High salt intakes by grazing ruminants depress feed intake and production. Where high and low salt feeds are available together, ruminants will endeavour to select a diet that optimises the overall feeding value of the ingested diet. In areas that are not yet salt affected but contribute to groundwater recharge, perennial pasture species offer an opportunity for improved water and salt management both on-farm and at the catchments. If perennial pasture systems are to be adopted on a broad scale, they will need to be more profitable than current annual systems. In the high rainfall zones in Victoria and Western Australia, integrated bioeconomic and hydrological modelling indicates that selection of perennial pasture plants to match requirements of a highly productive livestock system significantly improves farm profit and reduces groundwater recharge. In the low to medium rainfall zones, fewer perennial plant options are available. However, studies aiming to use a palette of plant species that collectively provide resilience to the environment while maintaining profitable livestock production may also lead to new options for livestock in the traditional cropping zone.

Effects of high stocking densities (HSDs) were evaluated for Nile tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticus) under culture to determine its influence on plasma cortisol and whole blood glucose concentration. Plasma cortisol levels (ng/ml) were assayed by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Whole blood glucose levels were determined using a hand-held one touch ultraglucose meter (MD-300) and test strips. Plasma cortisol and whole blood glucose level determinations were replicated three times for O. niloticus reared under both low stocking densities (LSD) and HSD. One way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed on the data collected, and comparison of significant differences in means was carried out between LSD and HSD at 0.01%. Plasma cortisol levels revealed statistically (P≤0.01) significant values of HSD at 6.32 ± 1.06 ng/ml than in LSD at 4.62 ± 1.58 ng/ml for the O. niloticus groups studied. Whole blood glucose analysis revealed a statistical (P<0.05) difference in the means in HSD and LSD O. niloticus groups (F(df,1; 8) = 7.946 > Fcrit = 4.414; P=0.01). Mean plasma glucose concentration was statistically (P≤0.01) higher for HSD than LSD O. niloticus groups at mean ± SD, 96.84 ± 5.28 and 76.82 ± 5.92, respectively. The findings of this study demonstrate that high stocking densities increase both cortisol and whole blood glucose concentration in tilapia fish, indicating a marked increase in stress levels. Elevated plasma cortisol and whole blood glucose concentration can be used as biomarkers for acute stress in O. niloticus produced under aquaculture systems. The findings of this study can help inform policy on the management of stress caused by overstocking of O. niloticus and other related Cichlids under industrial aquaculture production.

The intensive nature of land uses in the Strzelecki Ranges poses significant threats to landscape values and water quality. A comprehensive catchment strategy was developed based on sustainability science concepts incorporating the careful management of landscape values, proper land management approaches, and government policy and legislative change to ensure that agriculture, forestry and other land uses become sustainable in this sensitive environment. The readily measurable water quality indicators of turbidity, flow, electrical conductivity, and water temperature were used to determine the impacts of the major land uses in the Strzeleckis. From a water quality perspective, there was a trend of decreasing water quality with increasing intensity in land management. However, from a total sediment load perspective, the forest area contributed the highest total sediment load due to higher volumes of steam flow suggesting that natural processes in the Strzeleckis may remain the principal mechanisms for sediment movement within the catchment. An incidental but significant finding was extensive bioturbation along the riparian zone of the plantation area, the extent of which was not observed in the other catchments. This finding suggested that bioturbation may have been the most significant contributor to poorer water quality flowing from in the plantation catchment. The project developed insights into the major environmental processes active in the upper catchment of the Morwell River. Understanding of the contributions to total sediment loads from natural erosional processes and bioturbation, findings related to the impacts on water quality from agricultural practices, and encountering negligible impacts from conservative timber harvesting practices demonstrate that catchment management approaches need to be tailored to achieve sustainability in land uses across the landscape. Key recommendations include the re-establishment and protection of riparian zones in agricultural catchments, the careful assessment and setting of stream buffer zone widths for timber harvesting operations, and the need for further work to map the extent of natural processes such as bioturbation and stream bank erosion. To mitigate these issues, government policy and legislation will need to focus on the preservation and enhancement of the Crown land riparian zones. Recommended changes to current administrative land management arrangements for these sensitive areas include a move from licensing riparian zones for agricultural practices such as grazing to conservation.

This thesis examines work stress in the Community Services Sector (CSS) in Victoria. Psychological injuries are extremely high in the CSS (WorkSafe Victoria), and yet there has been no research specifically addressing this issue in the sector. Further, there has been little research that examines workers’ perspectives of work stress. The thesis thus focuses on the ‘missing voices’ of workers by outlining what workers have to say about work stress, its causes and its effects. In order to place this research into both its historical and socio-political contexts, the genealogical roots of work in the CSS are examined and the impact of neo-liberalism on the sector critically assessed.

This thesis addresses the question of why work stress prevention has not been adopted systemically in organisations, despite some research findings that it is effective, that it has been mandated by legislative regulations and that it has the potential for significant cost savings. Work stress is recognised as an increasing and global problem in terms of negative economic, health and social outcomes. Its significant costs related to work injury compensation have resulted in growing pressure from governmental health and safety jurisdictions for organisations to manage and prevent stress through systemic risk management approaches.

The development and use of any specific model depend on the availability of data and the hydrological settings of a country. Because of data limitations (especially water quality and land management data), the water quality models developed for Australian catchments are lumped/semi-distributed conceptual models. Even within these modelling frameworks, water quality component is empirical or generation rates-based. In this context, developing an effective water quality management plan in the data-poor conditions of Australia still remains as a major challenge for water catchment managers, despite huge investment on river health improvement programs. Physics-based distributed water quality models such as SWAT are most suitable for agricultural non-point source pollution studies. However, because of high data requirement and processing, the applications of these models are limited in many datapoor catchments. In this study, relevant input data sources and analysis techniques were addressed especially for sparsely available water quality data to assemble, and to rigorously calibrate and validate the SWAT based Middle Yarra Water Quality Model (MYWQM) for the case study area - Middle Yarra Catchment (MYC) of Victoria, Australia. The regression based model LOADEST was used for estimating sediment, and nutrient observed loads from monthly water quality grab sample data. The MYWQM was then used to develop a water quality management plan for agricultural non-point source pollution in the MYC. In general, the MYWQM was found capable of predicting streamflow, sediment and nutrient loads in the MYC. The model was also found effective for simulating individual and integrated effects of several Best Management Practices (BMPs) in the MYC. Moreover, the model showed that the in-stream processes if not considered can result in incorrect estimates when simulating BMPs in the model. Overall, the performance of the MYWQM on evaluating the BMPs in the MYC demonstrated that data-intensive physics-based models can be applied in the data-poor conditions of Australia.

The intense concentration of human activity in urban areas leads to changes in both the quantity and quality of runoff that eventually reaches our streams, lakes, wetlands, estuaries and coasts. The increasing use of impervious surfaces designed to provide smooth and direct pathways for stormwater run-off, has led to greater runoff volumes and flow velocities in urban waterways. Unmanaged, these changes in the quantity and quality of stormwater can result in considerable damage to the environment. Improved environmental performance is needed to ensure that the environmental values and beneficial uses of receiving waters are sustained or enhanced. Urban Stormwater - Best-Practice Environmental Management Guidelines resulted from a collaboration between State government agencies, local government and leading research institutions. The guidelines have been designed to meet the needs of people involved in the planning, design or management of urban land uses or stormwater drainage systems. They provide guidance in ten key areas: Environmental performance objectives; Stormwater management planning; Land use planning; Water sensitive urban design; Construction site management; Business surveys; Education and awareness; Enforcement; Structural treatment measures; and Flow management. Engineers and planners within local government, along with consultants to the development industry, should find the guidelines especially useful. Government agencies should also find them helpful in assessing the performance of stormwater managers. While developed specifically for application in Victoria, Australia, the information will be of value to stormwater managers everywhere.

This chapter examines the actors' strike of 1919. It explains how a group of workers who had affiliated with the American Federation of Labor only as a last resort, and who were not well versed in the tactics of militant trade unionism, were able to force their employers to bargain with them collectively. Pointing out that labor–management relations in the theater industry, as in many other service industries, were complicated by the proximity of the paying customer, it demonstrates that the strikers were able to use their commodity status to negate the power differential that underpinned their relationship with the managerial moguls. It describes how they took their struggle out onto the streets of New York City, reinventing it as an entertainment spectacle and using their skills as professional performers to highlight their grievances. By locating the strike in the sphere of consumption, the strikers attracted the favorable attention and material support of American theatergoers and denied the managers an audience for their reconstituted shows. Once they had obtained additional backing from their fellow trade unionists, their victory was assured.

Accurate information on the state of water resources in the Lake Victoria watershed is crucial for planning and sustainable development in the East African region. This region largely depends on its natural resource-base for economic development, and therefore comprehensive information on its resources dynamics is key in implementing poverty alleviation strategies, improving human condition and preserving the biological systems upon which the region‘s population depends. This chapter focuses on key issues, which have emerged as a result of population growth and development in the region. The research on which this chapter is based aims to address the concerns on land use and settlement trends in the study sites, vulnerability of the communities to water stress and sustainability of the livelihood systems in the watersheds of Nzoia River Basin (Kenya), Nakivubo Wetland (Uganda) and Simiyu River Basin (Tanzania). These communities engage in unique land use practices that have intensified environmental degradation in recent times. The research adopts a multi-disciplinary approach in bringing to the fore the various processes affecting watershed resources use and management in the selected wetlands of the Lake Victoria Drainage Basin (LVDB). The data presented covers trends in vegetation cover loss, pesticide pollution and general water quality parameters. Geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing techniques were employed to unveil land use patterns that have resulted in the degradation of the watershed. Wetland degradation levels have been characterized using secondary data generated by analytical techniques. New emerging challenges of environmental degradation caused by industrial, domestic and agricultural activities are presented and discussed. The potential of the new science of hydroinformatics in integrated watershed management through mathematical modeling, geographic information systems analysis and water supply management is highlighted.

The chapter reflects on how the history of emotions of Victorian and Edwardian holidaymaking can offer a better understanding of leisure consumption and of the entanglement of emotions, morality, and economy more generally. The book asserts that medical conceptions of emotions were imperative to the popularization of holidaymaking and to the transformation of its main objective from physical cure to emotion management. Nonetheless, the emotional economy model reveals that medical thought was by no means the only sphere of knowledge production significant for holiday culture; rather, heterogeneous bodies of knowledge all contributed to the formation of both the meaning of ‘the emotional’ and its commercial experience. The book illustrates the blurred lines between commercial and political, healthy and moral, as well as the overlapping roles of the producer, the advertiser, the doctor, and the holidaymaker. Addressing the different conceptions of emotional and moral economy, the chapter reflects on the theoretical potential of these models and offers guidelines for a comprehensive use of the concept of the ‘emotional economy’. Specifically, it elaborates on the need to account for the conceptual history of emotions, the performative dimensions of emotional experience and consumer behaviour, and the interaction between multiple spheres of knowledge production. Looking ahead to the central place of tourism in twenty-first-century societies and its relation to stress and burnout, the chapter calls on future research of past and present leisure cultures to take emotions seriously, and to rethink common notions of rationality, authenticity and agency.

The continuing decline in lake water levels is both a concern and daunting challenge to scientists and policymakers in this era, demanding a rethinking of technological and policy interventions in the context of broader political and socio-economic realities. It is self-evident that diverse factors interact in space and time in complex dynamics to cause these water-level changes. However, the major question demanding sound answers is how these factors interact and by what magnitude they affect lake water balance with time. This chapter uses Lake Victoria’s hydrological system to shed light on the extensive and flexible modelling and simulation capabilities availed by modern computer models to understand the bigger picture of water balance dynamics. The study used the 1950-2000 hydrological data and riparian population growth to develop a dynamic simulation model for the lake’s water level. The intuitive structure of the model provided clear insights into the combined influence of the main drivers of the lake’s water balance. The falling lake water levels appeared to be mainly due to dam outflows at the outlet and reduced rainfall over the lake. The ensuing conclusions stressed the need for checks against over-release of lake water for hydropower production and measures for sustainable land and water management in the entire basin.

The Mojave Desert and Mountain Recycling Authority is a California Joint Powers Authority (the JPA), consisting of nine communities in California’s San Bernardino County high desert and mountain region. In August 2008 the JPA contracted with Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc. (GBB) to prepare the Victor Valley Resource Management Strategy (Resource Management Strategy). Working with RRT Design and Construction, Inc. (RRT), GBB prepared a coordinated forward-looking strategy to guide the JPA’s future program and facilities decisions. The Resource Management Strategy focused on the Town of Apple Valley, population 70,092, and the City of Victorville, population 107,408, the two largest JPA member communities, which have a combined total of more than 130,000 tons per year of material entering the JPA’s recycling system and the Victorville Landfill. The Resource Management Strategy is underpinned by a characterization of waste loads delivered to the Victorville Landfill. A visual characterization was carried out by RRT in September/October 2008. RRT engineers identified proportions of materials recoverable for recycling and composting among all loads collected from residential and non-residential generators for a full week, nearly 300 loads total. The JPA financed and manages the operations contract for the highly automated Victor Valley Material Recovery Facility (MRF). The MRF today receives and processes an average of 130 tons per day (tpd), five days per week, of single stream paper and containers and recyclable-rich commercial waste loads. The waste characterization indicated that as much as 80 percent of loads of residential and commercial waste currently landfilled could be processed for recycling and composting in a combination manual and automated sorting facility. Residue from the MRF, which is predominated by paper, would provide potential feedstock for an energy recovery project; however, the JPA has two strategies regarding process residue. The first strategy is to reduce residue rates from existing deliveries, to optimize MRF operations. An assessment of the MRF conducted by RRT indicated that residue rates could be reduced, although this material would continue to be rich in combustible materials. The second strategy is to increase recovery for recycling by expanding the recyclable-rich and organics-dense waste load deliveries to the MRF and/or a composting facility. The Resource Management Strategy provided a conceptual design and cost that identified projected capital and operations costs that would be incurred to expand the MRF processing system for the program expansion. Based on the waste composition analysis, residue from a proposed system was estimated. This residue also would be rich in combustible materials. The December 2008 California Scoping Plan is the roadmap for statewide greenhouse gas emission reduction efforts. The Scoping Plan specifically calls out mandatory commercial recycling, expanded organics composting (particularly food residue), and inclusion of anaerobic digestion as renewable energy. The Resource Management Strategy sets the stage for JPA programs to address Scoping Plan mandates and priorities. California Public Resources Code Section 40051(b) requires that communities: Maximize the use of all feasible source reduction, recycling, and composting options in order to reduce the amount of solid waste that must be disposed of by transformation and land disposal. For wastes that cannot feasibly be reduced at their source, recycled, or composted, the local agency may use environmentally safe transformation or environmentally safe land disposal, or both of those practices. Moreover, Section 41783(b) only allows transformation diversion credit (10 percent of the 50 percent required) if: The transformation project uses front-end methods or programs to remove all recyclable materials from the waste stream prior to transformation to the maximum extent feasible. Finally, prior to permitting a new transformation facility the California Integrated Waste Management Board is governed by Section 41783(d), which requires that CIWMB: “Hold a public hearing in the city, county, or regional agency jurisdiction within which the transformation project is proposed, and, after the public hearing, the board makes both of the following findings, based upon substantial evidence on the record: (1) The city, county, or regional agency is, and will continue to be, effectively implementing all feasible source reduction, recycling, and composting measures. (2) The transformation project will not adversely affect public health and safety or the environment.” The Resource Management Strategy assessed two cement manufacturers located in the high desert region for their potential to replace coal fuel with residue from the MRF and potentially from other waste quantities generated in the region. Cement kilns are large consumers of fossil fuels, operate on a continuous basis, and collectively are California’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. The Resource Management Strategy also identified further processing requirements for size reduction and screening to remove non-combustible materials and produce a feasible refuse derived fuel (RDF). A conceptual design system to process residue and supply RDF to a cement kiln was developed, as were estimated capital and operating costs to implement the RDF production system. The Resource Management Strategy addressed the PRC requirement that “all feasible source reduction, recycling and composting measures” are implemented prior to approving any new “transformation” facility. This planning effort also provided a basis for greenhouse gas reduction analysis, consistent with statewide initiatives to reduce landfill disposal. This paper will report on the results of this planning and the decisions made by the JPA, brought current to the time of the conference.