Deck 21: Environmental Law

Question 1

To establish a private nuisance, plaintiff must show the pollution is a reasonable interference with the use and enjoyment of the plaintiff's property.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Before the 1970s there were no major federal laws concerning environmental protection.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

A polluter who discharges chemical wastes on the ground may be held liable for damage only if negligence can be established.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The law of negligence can be used to protect the environment.

Question 5

The principal difference between a public and private nuisance is often the number of people affected.

Question 6

The book Silent Spring played a significant role in raising public concerns about the environment in the 1960s.

Question 7

To implement and enforce federal environmental mandates, Congress authorized and empowered the EPA.

Question 8

Under the theory of strict liability for abnormally dangerous activities, the defendant's liability is based on intent to damage.

Question 9

The EPA has primary responsibility for four major external environmental problems: air, water, land pollution, and pollution associated with products.

Question 10

The first major federal laws to protect the environment were passed in the 1950s.

Question 11

A trespass occurs when there is a non-physical invasion of someone's personal belongings.

Question 12

The ability of the EPA to enforce pollution regulations is hampered by its small size, compared to most other federal regulatory agencies.

Question 13

The book Silent Spring played a significant role in raising public concerns about the environment in the 1990s.

Question 14

Private nuisance actions are commonly brought by government attorneys to attack destructive environmental practices.

Question 15

The principal difference between trespass and nuisance is that a trespass occurs whenever there is a physical invasion of plaintiff's property.

Question 16

Riparian rights refer to legal rights held by persons who inhabit property on the border of a body of water.

Question 17

Riparian water rights holds that all persons in the country have an equal right of access to water and equal right of use of waters.

Question 18

In the 1907 case Georgia v. Tennessee Copper Co., the Supreme Court held that a smelter had to control its pollution, otherwise it could be enjoined to stop operations because it was harming people in Georgia.

Question 19

A polluter who discharges toxic chemical wastes on the ground or into water is strictly liable for damage to a neighbor's water supply.

Question 20

Among the common law doctrines available, private citizens bringing actions against polluting businesses relied most heavily on the law of nuisance.

Question 21

The National Ambient Air Quality Standards allows the EPA to address indoor air pollution issues.

Question 22

The National Ambient Air Quality Standards focus on six outdoor pollutants.

Question 23

In Whalen v. Union Bag & Paper Co., the New York Court of Appeals held that a pulp mill could be forced to cease operations if it polluted a creek, even if it was not negligent.

Question 24

People who live along rivers may use the river's water in a reasonable manner and are legally obliged by riparian law to pass the water along in usable form.

Question 25

State Implementation Plans must provide schedules and timetables for compliance with emission levels.

Question 26

The Supreme Court has held that the Clean Air Act was designed to give states great freedom, with minimal federal interference, to design air pollution controls.

Question 27

In Whalen v. Union Bag & Paper Co., the New York Court of Appeals held that a pulp mill made such a significant economic contribution that it could not be forced to pay one small farmer damages for emitting pollutants into a creek that he used.

Question 28

Each state is required to develop a State Implementation Plan to define control efforts necessary to achieve air quality in the state.

Question 29

The EPA is authorized by Congress to regulate air pollution to "achieve optimal public health."

Question 30

The EPA is authorized to regulate air pollution by the Clean Air Act of 1970 and its 1977 and 1990 amendments.

Question 31

In Boomer v. Atlantic Cement Co., homeowners sued a cement company that created a lot of air pollution, based on nuisance theory, and were successful in getting an injunction to stop the pollution.

Question 32

Mercury is a major air pollutant regulated under the Clean Air Act's NAAQS.

Question 33

The National Ambient Air Quality Standards focus on nine major outdoor pollutants.

Question 34

The National Ambient Air Quality Standards are based on plant locations, pollution control cost, reasonableness of pollution, and similar factors.

Question 35

Dihydrogen oxide is a major air pollutant regulated under the Clean Air Act.

Question 36

Lead is a major air pollutant regulated under the Clean Air Act.

Question 37

In Whalen v. Union Bag & Paper Co., the New York Court of Appeals held that a paper pulp mill had to pay a farmer monetary damages for polluting a creek he used.

Question 38

Ozone is a major air pollutant regulated under the Clean Air Act.

Question 39

State Implementation Plans must provide funding for industry to meet compliance requirements.

Question 40

The National Ambient Air Quality Standards have been developed for every air pollutant emitted by industry that contributes to air pollution and that may endanger public health and welfare.

Question 41

Mobile sources of air pollution are a major concern of the Clean Air Act.

Question 42

The 1990 Clean Air Act required the EPA to develop regulatory standards for about 191 toxic air pollutants.

Question 43

To build a plant in an attainment or PSD area, the owner must obtain an air pollution offset that will insure a net air quality improvement.

Question 44

Air pollution permits are needed only for projects that cost more than $100 million.

Question 45

New construction in a PSD area must use best available control technology (BACT).

Question 46

Businesses that wish to build new plants in nonattainment areas must agree to use the Highest Achievable Rate of Emissions (HARE) before EPA will permit the building.

Question 47

The Clean Air Act establishes standards for the construction of new industrial plants depending on the local air quality.

Question 48

The EPA and Congress are moving to mandate carpooling in all large cities to reduce auto emissions.

Question 49

State Implementation Plans for air pollution must be amended when the EPA changes its pollution standards.

Question 50

Prevention of Significant Deterioration areas include national parks and wilderness areas.

Question 51

Vehicles are generally recognized as a major source of ozone pollution.

Question 52

Vehicles are generally recognized as a major source of mercury pollution.

Question 53

States must issue air pollution permits to emission sources, but EPA can overrule state permit decisions.

Question 54

The California auto emission standards, the toughest in the nation, are gradually becoming the national standard.

Question 55

The 1990 Clean Air Act requires the EPA to develop "maximum emission rates" for 191 substances declared to be hazardous air pollutants.

Question 56

A new plant can be built in a nonattainment area if, among other things, the air pollution from the new plant is offset by reductions in the same type of pollutant from other plants in the area.

Question 57

The 1990 Clean Air Act imposes rigid controls on nuclear power plants for the purpose of reducing acid rain.

Question 58

Air pollution permits are not required for agricultural operations.

Question 59

Air pollution permits are not needed for stores and buildings not related to production processes that emit pollutants.

Question 60

Air pollution in Prevention of Significant Deterioration areas exceed pollution levels allowed by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

Question 61

Suits may be brought by citizens to enforce environmental statutes if government agencies do not act to enforce them.

Question 62

While most water pollution sources are regulated, publicly owned sewage treatment works are not.

Question 63

Firms that emit waste water into water bodies must have a discharge permit.

Question 64

States are responsible for designating the intended use of all surface water.

Question 65

Under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, companies that violate environmental laws may face reduced penalties if they have an internal environmental compliance program.

Question 66

Under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, companies that violate environmental laws may face reduced penalties if they voluntarily report violations of the law.

Question 67

Water emission standards are set by the EPA individually for each industry.

Question 68

Under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, companies that violate environmental laws may face reduced penalties if they volunteer to donate money to environmental education programs.

Question 69

Under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, companies that report violations of the law by other firms in their industry will receive bounty payments.

Question 70

The federal government pays for a lot of the construction costs for local sewage treatment plants.

Question 71

The structure of pollution laws in China is quite similar to the laws in the U.S.

Question 72

Pollution regulation in China look tough on paper but are not enforced much.

Question 73

The Clean Water Act orders the EPA to set a technical standard for pollution control for each industry.

Question 74

Criminal violations of federal environmental laws result in about a hundred convictions annually.

Question 75

Criminal violations of federal environmental laws are possible but almost never occur in practice.

Question 76

The Clean Water Act ordered the EPA to require all industrial polluters to reduce effluent emissions by 90 percent over a ten year period.

Question 77

Control of point source water pollution has been the primary goal of federal water pollution law.

Question 78

Point sources of water pollution include industrial pipes, ditches, and agricultural and urban runoff.

Question 79

The Clean Water Act makes it unlawful for businesses, but not individuals, to discharge pollutants into navigable waters.

Question 80

Waste water that has been treated at a sewage treatment plant may not be discharged into a river or lake.