Deck 45: Environmental Law

Question 1

Under NEPA, psychological health effects are considered to be environmental effects.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Although in recent years certain developed countries, such as the United States, have made significant progress in controlling pollutants, this is not the case worldwide.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Under the Superfund Recycling Act of 1999, recyclers may be liable to third parties, but not to the federal or state governments.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The Council on Environmental Quality is not a legislative agency.

Question 5

Public nuisance actions are very commonly used against polluters.

Question 6

NEPA does not apply to the urban environment.

Question 7

A federal agency is required to consider only all reasonable alternatives in an EIS.

Question 8

NEPA is a federal act that focuses on particular environmental hazards without stating national environmental policy.

Question 9

Private tort actions may not be used to recover for environmental damage.

Question 10

The CERCLA or Superfund was enacted to provide authority for cleanup of abandoned or inactive hazardous waste sites.

Question 11

The EPA may not impose civil fines.

Question 12

The Clean Air Act requires the use of reformulated automotive fuels to reduce ozone pollution.

Question 13

The states initially had primary responsibility for controlling air pollution.

Question 14

Trespass differs from private nuisance in that nuisance does not require an interference with a plaintiff's possession of the land.

Question 15

An environmental impact statement is required by NEPA if federal legislation or action will have a significant environmental effect.

Question 16

There has been an explosion at Johnson's Oil refinery because of a lightning strike. Fumes from the resulting fires at the plant have sent the nearby townspeople to the hospital for severe respiratory distress. Johnson's Oil will be liable for the townspeople's injuries directly resulting from the fumes.

Question 17

A new NAAQS does not require each state to submit an SIP.

Question 18

In an action for damages in a private nuisance suit, the plaintiff is required to prove that the defendant's conduct is unreasonable.

Question 19

For an environmental effect to be treated as a public nuisance there must be some interference with the health, safety, or comfort of the public.

Question 20

The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments provide that EPA must establish new NAAQS for major pollutants every five years.

Question 21

Federal legislation exists to provide a comprehensive scheme for regulating toxic substances.

Question 22

The NPDES is a highly effective water emission technology required to be used by the EPA.

Question 23

The EPA may impose criminal fines and seek incarceration or imprisonment for persons who are convicted of violations of some environmental laws.

Question 24

The National Environmental Policy Act:

A) requirements have been, from NEPA's enactment, clearly substantive only.
B) attempts to prohibit uninformed decisions.
C) requirements have been interpreted by the Supreme Court to be primarily substantive rather than procedural.
D) requires that the relevant federal agency attempt to mitigate the adverse effects of a proposed federal action.

Question 25

Because private causes of action have proved to be adequate to recompense and prevent environmental damage, the federal, state, and local governments have chosen to create few statutes designed to protect the environment.

Question 26

In order for Bill to receive a permit for his plastic factory in a nonattainment area, he must show that the factory's emission rates will be within the average range for the industry.

Question 27

In order for Mitchell, the owner of a cement factory, to obtain a permit from the Colorado Environmental Protection
Agency in a PSD area, he must demonstrate that his factory will utilize the best available control technology.

Question 28

The Clean Air Act's 1990 Amendments sought to hasten attainment of certain air quality standards, but failed to address specifically the subject of ozone pollution.

Question 29

If an SIP is not complete, the EPA may treat it as a nullity in whole or in part.

Question 30

The EPA, to view an entire plant as one source to evaluate emissions, uses the "bubble concept."

Question 31

The EPA administrator established air quality standards for seven major classes of pollutants (carbon monoxide, particulates, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, hydrocarbons, ozone, and lead) but the hydrocarbon standard was subsequently withdrawn as no longer being necessary.

Question 32

A nonpoint source is a land use that causes pollution.

Question 33

The scope of the Clean Water Act is very broad.

Question 34

The Clean Water Act:

A) establishes one scheme that is to be used for both existing and new sources of pollution.
B) applies to all navigable waters in the United States, but not to freshwater wetlands or nonnavigable intrastate waters.
C) carries civil penalties of up to $37,500 per day per violation, as well as possible criminal penalties.
D) provides for one program for both point and nonpoint sources of pollution.

Question 35

From the industry's perspective, under the Clean Air Act it is better to be considered a new source than an existing one since the standard governing existing stationary sources is more stringent than the standard governing new sources.

Question 36

An approved SIP is treated as both state and federal law.

Question 37

In 2002 an act promoting the purchase, development, and use of industrially polluted property was signed into law.

Question 38

The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System may require that discharge permits be obtained from:

A) the EPA.
B) the Army Corps of Engineers.
C) an individual state.
D) All of these.

Question 39

The Clean Water Act imposes civil penalties but not criminal penalties for violations.

Question 40

Phoenix, Arizona may be classified as a PSD area with respect to some pollutants, but not with respect to others.

Question 41

Which of the following is true about the regulation of pesticide use by EPA?

A) A pesticide may be legally registered if it will perform its intended function without posing unreasonable risk to humans or the environment.
B) The EPA may balance the economic and social costs and benefits of use of a pesticide in deciding whether to register it.
C) Both of these.
D) Neither of these.

Question 42

Common problems with private causes of action to control environmental damage include all but which one of the following?

A) Costs associated with private litigation are high.
B) Even if a private plaintiff is successful, recovery may be limited to monetary damages, leaving the defendant free to continue to pollute.
C) Statutes typically require that only a public representative, such as the attorney general, may bring suits to protect the environment from private and public nuisance and strict liability for abnormally dangerous activities.
D) Tort actions typically do not provide relief for aesthetic, as opposed to physical, injury.

Question 43

In May of 1994, Jones went to C & C Bank to apply for a loan on a home he wanted to purchase. C & C Bank loaned the money to Jones because he had excellent credit. C & C never inspected the property Jones was purchasing. Two weeks later, five rusty and leaking 55-gallon drums of a toxic substance were found buried in a creekbed in Jones' backyard. Jones and the Bank's position with regard to liability for cleanup on the property would be:

A) liability would be imposed by CERCLA as strict liability for owners of contaminated property even if they acquired the property without knowledge of contamination.
B) they would not be liable because they were innocent landowners as provided for in SARA, and they would have an automatic defense.
C) that, if the Bank and Jones made an appropriate inquiry into the previous ownership and uses of the property before purchase, they may not be liable.
D) if it could be proven that neither Jones nor the bank unlawfully disposed of the toxic waste, they could not be found liable under CERCLA.

Question 44

In suing to recover for environmental damage, under the common law, plaintiffs generally have had causes of action in:

A) nuisance.
B) trespass.
C) strict liability.
D) All of these.

Question 45

The term "scoping" concerning EIS procedures includes:

A) consulting relevant state environmental agencies to determine significant issues to be addressed by the EIS.
B) consulting relevant federal agencies to determine the significant issues to be addressed by the EIS.
C) preparing a final decision that no EIS is required.
D) only agency consultation and no public comment.

Question 46

Acid rain:

A) is precipitation containing high levels of phosphoric acid.
B) is caused primarily by emissions from automobile parts manufacturers and petroleum refineries.
C) is regulated by 1980 amendments to the Clean Air Act.
D) federal regulation permits companies to bank or sell their emission allowances.

Question 47

The scope of an EIS:

A) does not apply to psychological effects.
B) does not apply to the urban environment.
C) is narrowly construed.
D) applies to a broad range of environmental effects.

Question 48

The 1977 amendments to the Clean Water Act divided pollutants into all but which of the following categories?

A) Toxic
B) Nontoxic
C) Conventional
D) Nonconventional

Question 49

The most important federal statutes governing hazardous substances include:

A) SARA and FIFRA.
B) CEQ and FIFRA.
C) SARA and CERCLA.
D) CERCLA and CEQ.

Question 50

The CERCLA trust fund is financed by a:

A) tax on chemical feedstocks.
B) surtax on businesses with annual incomes over $2 million.
C) tax on petroleum.
D) All of these.

Question 51

The Clean Water Act requires the EPA administrator to do what, regarding new sources?

A) Establish federal standards of performance that reflect the greatest degree of effluent reduction achievable through application of the best available control technology.
B) Modify standards to reflect effluent limitations for existing sources.
C) Identify state waters that will not meet the Act's requirements.
D) All of these.

Question 52

CERCLA is an Act that:

A) regulates current and future generation, transportation, and disposal of hazardous waste.
B) granted to state governments the authority to take removal action in response to a release of hazardous substances.
C) requires the federal government to establish a National Contingency Plan.
D) All of these.

Question 53

Lostowne was economically depressed until Sally's Firecracker Corp. moved their factory there. Test explosions and the acrid smell of sulfur were interfering with Bob's enjoyment of the old family home. Bob sues Sally for nuisance and motions the court to issue an injunction to close down the factory. In determining whether the injunction is appropriate the court will:

A) consider the public interest in the jobs created by Sally and the economic upturn in Lostowne.
B) consider the gravity of harm to Bob and his family.
C) consider the social value of Sally's business.
D) All of these.

Question 54

NEPA requires that the EIS contain:

A) an analysis of the relationship between local short-term uses of the environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity.
B) reversible and retrievable commitments of resources involved.
C) only a brief outline of the adverse environmental effects of a proposed action.
D) All of these.

Question 55

In 1976, RCRA was enacted by Congress:

A) to provide a comprehensive scheme of treatment for hazardous solid waste.
B) and it requires the EPA to establish a manifest system to be used by generators of hazardous waste.
C) Both of these.
D) Neither of these.

Question 56

To establish a private nuisance, a plaintiff:

A) must show that the defendant has substantially and unreasonably interfered with the use and enjoyment of the plaintiff's land.
B) must show that, in an action for damages in conjunction with private nuisance, the defendant's conduct was unreasonable.
C) need not show that the interference was unreasonable.
D) need only show that the quiet enjoyment of plaintiff's land was impacted.

Question 57

TSCA includes provisions that:

A) regulate the manufacture of new chemicals.
B) allow for the registration of pesticides.
C) require that exports be labeled "not registered for use in the United States of America."
D) All of these.

Question 58

Which of the following statement(s) is/are true concerning the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer?

A) The United States, Mexico and Canada signed it.
B) It was not signed by the United States but was signed by 23 other countries.
C) It is a treaty that requires all signatories to reduce their production and consumption of all chemicals.
D) It is a treaty that requires all signatories to reduce their production and consumption of only CFC's.

Question 59

EPA's initial inventory of existing chemicals, completed in 1980, listed approximately how many chemicals?
a. 5,000
b. 55,000
c. 189
d. 1,890,000

Question 60

Which of the following best describes the manifest system?

A) It is the best available technology requirement as described in the Clean Air Act.
B) It is the national pollution policy as set forth in NEPA.
C) It is the registration system required by TSCA.
D) The manifest is a form on which a generator certifies that the toxicity of waste has been reduced to the greatest degree that is economically practicable.

Question 61

What is the Council on Environmental Quality?

Question 62

What do the two major substantive sections of the National Environmental Policy Act address?

Question 63

List and define the common law causes of action for environmental damage.

Question 64

Petrol Corp. owns several drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico, refineries, service stations, and tanker trucks for transporting their products. Petrol Corp. hires an environmental manager to keep the company in compliance with various environmental laws. What laws will the environmental manager need to study and why?

Question 65

What is the purpose of the Montreal Protocol?

Question 66

Is strict liability a legal concept available for environmental lawsuits? If so, what are the elements that the plaintiff must prove?

Question 67

Discuss common problems related to private causes of action with reference to the environment.

Question 68

Milly owns a car rental business that nets over $2 million. How is Milly contributing to the CERCLA trust fund?