Will Cooper

Natural Resource Damage Litigation Support Services Related to Land Loss, Confidential Sites, Louisiana — Supporting the assessment of impacts of historical oil and gas development activities on coastal resources for specific sites in Louisiana.

Natural Resource Damage Litigation Support Services, Confidential Sites, Mid-Atlantic United States — Assisting in the defense of several statewide claims for damages to natural resources from historical releases of semivolatile organic compounds with potential injury to ecological services and human uses of resources.

Natural Resource Damage Litigation Support Services, Confidential Sites, Midwestern United States — Assisting in the defense of a statewide claim for damages to natural resources from historical releases of semivolatile organic compounds with potential injury to ecological services and human uses of resources. Cases in multiple states in the region.

Natural Resource Damage Litigation Support Services, Confidential Sites, Northeastern United States — Assisting in the defense of several statewide claims for damages to natural resources from historical releases of semivolatile organic compounds with potential injury to ecological services and human uses of resources.

Climate Change Adaptation Microgrid Case Study, California — Contributed to an economic analysis of installing microgrids in various locations throughout the state and the cost-effectiveness of their installation and potential use during periods of wildfire risk. The study provided the client with a decision-making tool for the investment in adaptation capital prioritized by wildfire risk, cost-effectiveness, and population affected.

Incorporating Uncertainty into Climate Change Adaptation Measures, Colorado — Demonstrated a methodological approach using a case study of numerous adaptation options for a flood and wildfire high-risk zone along US-34 between Loveland and Estes Park, Colorado. The approach used three precipitation forecasts and an eight-scenario wildfire scheme using the Keetch-Byram Drought Index to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of three primary adaptation options. The study concluded that the most cost-effective alternative is not necessarily the most robust option but the one that is cost effective under the most precipitation and wildfire scenarios.

Characterization of Fugitive Methane Emissions from Commercial Buildings, California — Developed and validated methods for site recruitment, field testing, and estimating building-level and statewide methane emissions from commercial buildings in California. The analysis captured post-meter methane emissions data from natural gas appliances and pipe system components from a sample of buildings and estimated total annual building-level and statewide emissions.

Benefit–Cost Analysis of Flood Protection and Hazard Mitigation, New Jersey — Led a rigorous analysis estimating the various benefits and costs of the construction of hazard mitigation infrastructure to minimize the impacts of future floods and environmental disasters. The analysis included a detailed evaluation of the hazard mitigation benefits, including impacts on residential and commercial real estate, commercial revenues, transportation infrastructure, energy and water utilities, infrastructure loss of function, and potential impacts on residents of the protected area, such as fatalities and displacement effects. The analysis used the Federal Emergency Management Agency Benefit–Cost Toolkit and accounted for the increasing risk of flooding due to climate change.

Climate Change Adaptation Microgrid Case Study, California — Contributed to an economic analysis of installing microgrids in various locations throughout the state and the cost-effectiveness of their installation and potential use during periods of wildfire risk. The study provided the client with a decision-making tool for the investment in adaptation capital prioritized by wildfire risk, cost-effectiveness, and population affected.

Economic Impacts of Proposed Wind Energy Developments, Wyoming — Led numerous economic impact analyses of proposed commercial wind energy developments in the state of Wyoming. For several of these efforts, appeared before the Industrial Siting Council as an economics subject matter expert.

Two Rivers and Lucky Star Wind Development Projects, Wyoming — Led an economic analysis for a proposed combined 780-megawatt wind energy project on more than 98,000 acres of private land in Wyoming. The economic analysis evaluated the following:  the area of influence and local governments primarily affected; construction and operations labor estimates, wages, and benefits; local hiring and expected use of non-local skilled workers; land use and land use changes; and impacts on local employment, the population, housing, public services, and taxes.

Green Jobs Labor Market Research, Washington, DC — Supported a labor market analysis as part of a green jobs survey for leaders of the state workforce agencies from the State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the District of Columbia.  The analysis covered the entire region; the Washington, DC metro area; each individual state; each local Workforce Investment Area; and state-specific related research on the green workforce. The analysis involved the quantification and categorization of green jobs, existing and future job opportunities, number of job vacancies, recruiting challenges, geographic distribution of the jobs, and analysis of wages and education requirements.

Alternative Energy Economy Survey and Analysis, Ohio — Contributed to a statewide survey and analysis of the Ohio alternative energy economy. In addition to the survey effort, the project included a market/forward-looking assessment for each of the key alternative energy technologies and a discussion of state and federal policy barriers and supports. The survey was designed to create a baseline census for the state’s alternative energy establishments, including manufacturers, installers, and research and design consultants.

Incorporating Uncertainty into Climate Change Adaptation Measures, Colorado — Demonstrated a methodological approach using a case study of numerous adaptation options for a flood and wildfire high-risk zone along US-34 between Loveland and Estes Park, Colorado. The approach used three precipitation forecasts and an eight-scenario wildfire scheme using the Keetch-Byram Drought Index to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of three primary adaptation options. The study concluded that the most cost-effective alternative is not necessarily the most robust option but the one that is cost effective under the most precipitation and wildfire scenarios.

Benefit–Cost Analysis of Flood Protection and Hazard Mitigation, New Jersey — Led a rigorous analysis estimating the various benefits and costs of the construction of hazard mitigation infrastructure to minimize the impacts of future floods and environmental disasters. The analysis included a detailed evaluation of the hazard mitigation benefits, including impacts on residential and commercial real estate, commercial revenues, transportation infrastructure, energy and water utilities, infrastructure loss of function, and potential impacts on residents of the protected area, such as fatalities and displacement effects. The analysis used the Federal Emergency Management Agency Benefit–Cost Toolkit and accounted for the increasing risk of flooding due to climate change.

Economic Impacts of Proposed Wind Energy Developments, Wyoming — Led numerous economic impact analyses of proposed commercial wind energy developments in the state of Wyoming. For several of these efforts, appeared before the Industrial Siting Council as an economics subject matter expert.

Two Rivers and Lucky Star Wind Development Projects, Wyoming — Led an economic analysis for a proposed combined 780-megawatt wind energy project on more than 98,000 acres of private land in Wyoming. The economic analysis evaluated the following:  the area of influence and local governments primarily affected; construction and operations labor estimates, wages, and benefits; local hiring and expected use of non-local skilled workers; land use and land use changes; and impacts on local employment, the population, housing, public services, and taxes.

Moneta Divide Natural Gas and Oil Development Project, Wyoming — Led the development of an economic analysis to address potential effects of the Moneta Divide natural gas and oil development project. The study conducted an impact analysis of the Moneta Divide project’s proposed oil and gas drilling and 50-year production period. The study evaluated construction and operations labor, wages, and benefits; local hiring and expected use of non-local skilled workers; and impacts on local employment, the population, housing, and taxes.

Socioeconomic Baseline Report and Supplemental Environmental Resource Reports for Social Conditions and Environmental Justice, Nevada — Led the development of an application for a proposed mine expansion and mine life extension in northeastern Nevada. The socioeconomic baseline report characterized recent socioeconomic conditions in the surrounding counties and communities that could be affected by development and operations of the proposed expansion.

Lithium Mine Proposed Project, Nevada — Led the development of an application for a proposed lithium mine in Humboldt County, Nevada. The economic analysis included evaluating the following:  the area of influence and local governments primarily affected; construction and operations labor, wages, and benefits; and impacts on local employment, the population, housing, and taxes. The study also included an environmental justice analysis, which evaluated potential disproportionate impacts on low-income and minority communities in the study area.

Moneta Divide Natural Gas and Oil Development Project, Wyoming — Led the development of an economic analysis to address potential effects of the Moneta Divide natural gas and oil development project. The study conducted an impact analysis of the Moneta Divide project’s proposed oil and gas drilling and 50-year production period. The study evaluated construction and operations labor, wages, and benefits; local hiring and expected use of non-local skilled workers; and impacts on local employment, the population, housing, and taxes.

Socioeconomic Baseline Report and Supplemental Environmental Resource Reports for Social Conditions and Environmental Justice, Nevada — Led the development of an application for a proposed mine expansion and mine life extension in northeastern Nevada. The socioeconomic baseline report characterized recent socioeconomic conditions in the surrounding counties and communities that could be affected by development and operations of the proposed expansion.

Lithium Mine Proposed Project, Nevada — Led the development of an application for a proposed lithium mine in Humboldt County, Nevada. The economic analysis included evaluating the following:  the area of influence and local governments primarily affected; construction and operations labor, wages, and benefits; and impacts on local employment, the population, housing, and taxes. The study also included an environmental justice analysis, which evaluated potential disproportionate impacts on low-income and minority communities in the study area.

Oil and Gas Operations on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Washington, DC — Supported the economic analysis for a rulemaking designed to establish additional requirements for safe, effective, and responsible Alaska OCS oil and gas activities. The analysis focused on Alaska OCS exploratory drilling activities that use floating drilling vessels and mobile offshore drilling units and related operations during Alaska’s open-water drilling season. The analysis included quantifying the impacts resulting from the following:  source control and containment equipment requirements, personnel safety and equipment integrity testing requirements, pollution prevention and securing wells, real-time monitoring requirements, and additional reporting requirements, among others.

Economic Analysis for the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) Rule, Washington, DC — Contributed to the analysis of a proposed CFATS regulation that focuses on chemical facilities that manufacture, process, use, store, or distribute certain chemicals. The analysis involved updating the analysis of a 2007 CFATS final rule by validating the estimates for the number of facilities and the cost of various security measures to owners and operators as well as updating the estimated costs and benefits of the proposed regulation.

Economic Impact of the Multipollutant Regulations on Coal and Power Generation Industry, Washington, DC — Provided economic analysis support on the economic impacts of reducing emissions from the power generation industry under various market-based regulatory scenarios.

Economic Analysis of the Hawaii Cruise Industry, Honolulu, Hawaii — Performed a cost–benefit analysis of the various impacts imposed on the state of Hawaii by the cruise industry. The analysis considered the impacts on the Hawaii economy, the transportation infrastructure, the infrastructure of Hawaii’s ports and harbors, the environment, and historical sites. The analysis demonstrated that not all islands receive net positive overall impacts from the cruise industry.

Economic Costs of Terrorist Attacks on Critical Transportation Infrastructure, Arlington, Virginia — Performed economic impact analyses for more than 25 specific terrorist attack scenarios on various elements of the transportation infrastructure, each of which included a comprehensive evaluation of direct and indirect impacts to the impacted region.

Hours-of-Service Economic Analyses, Washington, DC — Provided analytical support for the evaluation of the hours-of-service rules for commercial motor vehicle drivers. This project involved quantifying the costs and benefits of different proposed regulatory changes. Costs of the rule arise through losses in productivity under the new proposed rules as compared to the baseline of the current regulations. Benefits arise from reduction in fatigue-related crashes and from drivers working extreme schedules getting improved sleep that can be linked to decreases in mortality.

H-2A, H-2B, PERM, and CNMI Visa Program Economic Analyses, Washington, DC — Led numerous cost–benefit and regulatory analyses of the proposed policy changes to the provisions governing the H-2A, H-2B, PERM, and CNMI visa programs. The analyses incorporated the costs, benefits, and transfers imposed on the federal government, state governments, state workforce associations, U.S. employers, and U.S. workers.

EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Onsite Economic Support, Laguna Niguel, California — Served as the senior economist for a team of seven economists providing economic analysis and analytical support for the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. Responsible for designing and implementing the economic analysis framework, supervising the economics team, providing strategy and policy guidance to agency leadership, onboarding and training new economics staff, reviewing all analytical reports, and maintaining the operational efficiency of the economics team. Also participated in a public stakeholder engagement as an economics subject matter expert in which he fielded questions from more than 500 EB-5 program stakeholders.

Contribution of the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program to the U.S. Economy, Washington, DC — Supported an economic impact analysis of the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program on the U.S. economy. The analysis included direct, indirect, and induced impacts created by immigrant investors’ investments on gross domestic product, employment, and taxes.

Economic Analysis Support for the Security Threat Assessment and Universal Fee Rule, Arlington, Virginia — Supported the analysis and drafting of 10 regulatory flexibility analyses for various aviation-, railroad-, and cargo-related populations subject to modifications to the rules governing the security threat assessment process.

Quality Management System Support: Expert Review of Regulatory Evaluations, Arlington, Virginia — Contributed to independent reviews of 10 completed regulatory impact analyses that were prepared by federal analysts. These regulatory impact analyses were prepared for rulemakings covering topics such as flight crew alerting, automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast out avionics, fuel tank flammability, and crew resource management training (among others). Work involved reviewing the structure, content, and approach used in each regulatory impact analysis, and identifying where the analyses differ from known best practices.

Estimating the Return on Preparedness Investment—Developing Methods to Determine Costs, Washington, DC — Developed a methodology to estimate the costs of building and maintaining emergency preparedness capabilities. The work focused on the methodological designs needed to determine the costs of various strategies and resources needed to achieve and maintain particular capabilities.

Economic Development Impact of an Emergency Response Management System, Dominican Republic — Conducted a benefit–cost analysis of deploying an enhanced 9-1-1 emergency management system in the Dominican Republic. The study addressed the potential impacts of the public safety investment on reducing the costs of floods and other natural disasters, crime, fires, transportation accidents, and medical emergencies. The study evaluated the impacts on the country’s infrastructure, human capacity, technology transfers, productivity, and market reform.

Medical Cannabis Dispensary Applications, San Leandro, California — Served as the project manager and subject matter expert for the development and review of San Leandro’s medical cannabis dispensary application process. The project involved performing dispensary application development and review as well as regulatory compliance analysis, including expert panel review of technical application areas; corporate structure; financial management; cultivation; security; operations; drug diversion; patient access; communications; review of tax returns and credit reports for several hundred individual applicant team members; report development; and meeting coordination and facilitation.

Evaluation of Medical Marijuana Dispensary Applications, Massachusetts — Served as a subject matter expert for the commonwealth’s medical marijuana dispensary application review process of the Medical Use of Marijuana Program. The tasks included expert panel review of technical areas, including corporate structure, financial management, cultivation, security, operations, drug diversion, patient access, and communications; review of tax returns and credit reports for several hundred individual applicant team members; GIS and mapping support; report development; and meeting coordination and facilitation.

Supporting Analyses for the 10th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation, Arlington, Virginia — Performed a detailed analysis of the current basic allowance for housing (BAH) rate forecasting process, budget development, and the reasons for the historical shortfalls in the BAH appropriation.  Showed that, contrary to the hypothesis of Congress, the rate-setting process was not the major factor driving the shortfalls. Rather, shortfalls in the BAH appropriation were principally due to errors in the mechanism through which the eligible population was estimated.

Advanced Economic Support for Federal Highway Analyses, Washington, DC — Provided advanced economic support on several projects involving economic analysis of federal highway policies and programs. For example, developed a vector autoregression as part of an empirical study of the impact of public infrastructure investment on private investment. Other projects included literature reviews of economic techniques to analyze multimodal infrastructure and research and analysis related to the external costs of highway users.

Medical Cannabis Dispensary Applications, San Leandro, California — Served as the project manager and subject matter expert for the development and review of San Leandro’s medical cannabis dispensary application process. The project involved performing dispensary application development and review as well as regulatory compliance analysis, including expert panel review of technical application areas; corporate structure; financial management; cultivation; security; operations; drug diversion; patient access; communications; review of tax returns and credit reports for several hundred individual applicant team members; report development; and meeting coordination and facilitation.

Evaluation of Medical Marijuana Dispensary Applications, Massachusetts — Served as a subject matter expert for the commonwealth’s medical marijuana dispensary application review process of the Medical Use of Marijuana Program. The tasks included expert panel review of technical areas, including corporate structure, financial management, cultivation, security, operations, drug diversion, patient access, and communications; review of tax returns and credit reports for several hundred individual applicant team members; GIS and mapping support; report development; and meeting coordination and facilitation.

Valuation of Climate-Related Amenities in Property Markets, Washington, DC — Served as the principal econometrician for the development of an empirical model to quantify the relationship between specific climate attributes and property values using the hedonic modeling framework. The purpose of this effort was to better understand how climate change affects human behavior by quantifying how much people value climate amenities in their living decisions. This framework can then be used for projecting the economic impacts of climate change using climate model predictions for how global warming can affect different regions in the U.S.

Estimating the Economic Benefits of Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment, Washington, DC — Served as the principal econometrician for an effort to develop a framework for estimating the benefits of brownfields cleanup and redevelopment. The analytical framework involved developing a hedonic housing value model to analyze the market capitalizations of brownfields on surrounding neighborhoods. The analysis showed that proximity to brownfields had a substantial negative impact on housing prices, and all else equal, cleaning up brownfields significantly improved neighborhoods and local housing markets.

Livability Index, Washington, DC — Served as the lead statistical programmer for the development of a livability index website that scores more than 200,000 neighborhoods and communities across the U.S. using 60 different measures of livability impacting the lives of residents. The website can be accessed at https://livabilityindex.aarp.org/.

Worst-Case Scenario Modeling: Fatalities and Injuries, Washington, DC — Led worst-case scenario modeling of vessel-related accidents resulting in fatalities and/or injuries using the extreme value theory framework.

Advanced Economic Support for Federal Highway Analyses, Washington, DC — Provided advanced economic support on several projects involving economic analysis of federal highway policies and programs. For example, developed a vector autoregression as part of an empirical study of the impact of public infrastructure investment on private investment. Other projects included literature reviews of economic techniques to analyze multimodal infrastructure and research and analysis related to the external costs of highway users.

Metropolitan Disaster Planning, Washington, DC — Conducted a study to explore the applicability of the American Housing Survey in disaster planning contexts. The project included developing a simulation methodology to assess the impacts to critical variables in post disaster situations and later applied it to the Miami–Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Enlistment Early Warning System, Arlington, Virginia — Used the ARMAX modeling framework to estimate labor supply models for each of the armed services. In addition, wrote source code to produce 12-month forecasts of high-quality enlistments for each of the armed services as well as automated risk analysis simulations. These forecasts were then used by the Department of Defense as an early warning of potential shortfalls in military enlistment.

Indirect Costs of Military Manpower, Arlington, Virginia — Used econometric techniques to evaluate the indirect costs incurred by the Department of Defense when additional personnel join the armed services. The results of these analyses were used to evaluate how personnel costs should be estimated for the Future Years Defense Program.

TRICARE Health Insurance Beneficiary Ghosts, Arlington, Virginia — Developed a discrete choice model (i.e., multinomial conditional logit) using individual- and choice-specific factors to evaluate health care demand of the TRICARE insurance options relative to private sector health insurance. The coefficient estimates from these models were then used to estimate a series of forecasts to evaluate the future budget appropriation amounts for Department of Defense health care programs.

Valuation of Climate-Related Amenities in Property Markets, Washington, DC — Served as the principal econometrician for the development of an empirical model to quantify the relationship between specific climate attributes and property values using the hedonic modeling framework. The purpose of this effort was to better understand how climate change affects human behavior by quantifying how much people value climate amenities in their living decisions. This framework can then be used for projecting the economic impacts of climate change using climate model predictions for how global warming can affect different regions in the U.S.

Estimating the Economic Benefits of Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment, Washington, DC — Served as the principal econometrician for an effort to develop a framework for estimating the benefits of brownfields cleanup and redevelopment. The analytical framework involved developing a hedonic housing value model to analyze the market capitalizations of brownfields on surrounding neighborhoods. The analysis showed that proximity to brownfields had a substantial negative impact on housing prices, and all else equal, cleaning up brownfields significantly improved neighborhoods and local housing markets.

Livability Index, Washington, DC — Served as the lead statistical programmer for the development of a livability index website that scores more than 200,000 neighborhoods and communities across the U.S. using 60 different measures of livability impacting the lives of residents. The website can be accessed at https://livabilityindex.aarp.org/.

Worst-Case Scenario Modeling: Fatalities and Injuries, Washington, DC — Led worst-case scenario modeling of vessel-related accidents resulting in fatalities and/or injuries using the extreme value theory framework.

Advanced Economic Support for Federal Highway Analyses, Washington, DC — Provided advanced economic support on several projects involving economic analysis of federal highway policies and programs. For example, developed a vector autoregression as part of an empirical study of the impact of public infrastructure investment on private investment. Other projects included literature reviews of economic techniques to analyze multimodal infrastructure and research and analysis related to the external costs of highway users.

Metropolitan Disaster Planning, Washington, DC — Conducted a study to explore the applicability of the American Housing Survey in disaster planning contexts. The project included developing a simulation methodology to assess the impacts to critical variables in post disaster situations and later applied it to the Miami–Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Enlistment Early Warning System, Arlington, Virginia — Used the ARMAX modeling framework to estimate labor supply models for each of the armed services. In addition, wrote source code to produce 12-month forecasts of high-quality enlistments for each of the armed services as well as automated risk analysis simulations. These forecasts were then used by the Department of Defense as an early warning of potential shortfalls in military enlistment.

Indirect Costs of Military Manpower, Arlington, Virginia — Used econometric techniques to evaluate the indirect costs incurred by the Department of Defense when additional personnel join the armed services. The results of these analyses were used to evaluate how personnel costs should be estimated for the Future Years Defense Program.

TRICARE Health Insurance Beneficiary Ghosts, Arlington, Virginia — Developed a discrete choice model (i.e., multinomial conditional logit) using individual- and choice-specific factors to evaluate health care demand of the TRICARE insurance options relative to private sector health insurance. The coefficient estimates from these models were then used to estimate a series of forecasts to evaluate the future budget appropriation amounts for Department of Defense health care programs.

Feasibility Analysis of the Cancer Research Workforce, Washington, DC — Conducted a workforce analysis to understand how the National Cancer Institute (NCI) can best train researchers at designated career stages in the appropriate disciplines to meet future cancer research workforce needs. The analysis provided a profile of the current cancer workforce supply and demand as well as the foundation for developing a full workforce planning model.

Green Jobs Labor Market Research, Washington, DC — Supported a labor market analysis as part of a green jobs survey for leaders of the state workforce agencies from the State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the District of Columbia.  The analysis covered the entire region; the Washington, DC metro area; each individual state; each local Workforce Investment Area; and state-specific related research on the green workforce. The analysis involved the quantification and categorization of green jobs, existing and future job opportunities, number of job vacancies, recruiting challenges, geographic distribution of the jobs, and analysis of wages and education requirements.

Alternative Energy Economy Survey and Analysis, Ohio — Contributed to a statewide survey and analysis of the Ohio alternative energy economy. In addition to the survey effort, the project included a market/forward-looking assessment for each of the key alternative energy technologies and a discussion of state and federal policy barriers and supports. The survey was designed to create a baseline census for the state’s alternative energy establishments, including manufacturers, installers, and research and design consultants.

Natural Resource Damage Litigation Support Services Related to Land Loss, Confidential Sites, Louisiana — Supporting the assessment of impacts of historical oil and gas development activities on coastal resources for specific sites in Louisiana.

Natural Resource Damage Litigation Support Services, Confidential Sites, Mid-Atlantic United States — Assisting in the defense of several statewide claims for damages to natural resources from historical releases of semivolatile organic compounds with potential injury to ecological services and human uses of resources.

Natural Resource Damage Litigation Support Services, Confidential Sites, Midwestern United States — Assisting in the defense of a statewide claim for damages to natural resources from historical releases of semivolatile organic compounds with potential injury to ecological services and human uses of resources. Cases in multiple states in the region.

Natural Resource Damage Litigation Support Services, Confidential Sites, Northeastern United States — Assisting in the defense of several statewide claims for damages to natural resources from historical releases of semivolatile organic compounds with potential injury to ecological services and human uses of resources.