Deck 47: Environmental Regulation

Question 1

Until a state assumes partial or complete responsibility for a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) program, the federal government administers the program.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

A developer seeking a local zoning change so she can build a major commercial or residential development may find that she is asked to finance a study of the potential environmental impact of her proposed project, as required under the _____.

A) Federal Water Pollution Control Act
B) Control of Air Toxics Act
C) Clean Air Act
D) National Environmental Policy Act

Answer 2

D
Explanation: A developer seeking a local zoning change so she can build a major commercial or residential development may find that she is asked to finance a study of the potential environmental impact of her proposed project as required under the National Environmental Policy Act. While the federal and state laws requiring the preparation of environmental impact statements appear directed at government actions, it is important to note that the government actions covered often include the granting of permits to private parties. Thus, businesspeople may readily find themselves involved in the preparation of an environmental impact statement.

Question 3

The Clean Air Act requires that new stationary sources, such as factories and power plants, install the best available technology for reducing air pollution.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) empowers the federal government, not the states, with the authority to regulate facilities that generate, treat, store, and dispose of hazardous waste.

Question 5

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority to require that a hazardous waste site be cleaned up by those persons who were responsible for it, either as the owner or operator of the site, a transporter of wastes to the site, or the owner of wastes deposited at the site.

Question 6

According to the Clean Water Act, anyone who discharges wastewater other than just domestic sewage to a publicly owned treatment works (POTW) must obtain an industrial discharge permit from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Question 7

Industrial discharge permits impose limitations known as pretreatment standards because they normally require the discharger to provide some on-site treatment of the wastewater before it enters the sewer system.

Question 8

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA):

A) does not provide citizens the authority to go to court to force compliance with NEPA.
B) commissions a federal agency to assess the environmental impact of a project only after the project is undertaken.
C) does not spend time discussing impacts that cannot be avoided.
D) requires an environmental impact statement for every major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the environment.

Question 9

Under the Clean Air Act, no manufacturer may sell vehicles subject to emission standards without prior certification from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the vehicles meet the required standards.

Question 10

The Kyoto Protocol was drafted with the intention of addressing climate change through collective international action.

Question 11

Which of the following statements is true of an environmental impact statement?

A) It does not discuss the alternatives to a proposed action.
B) It describes the environmental impact of a proposed action.
C) It does not spend time discussing impacts that cannot be avoided.
D) It eliminates the differences between short- and long-term impacts.

Question 12

National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits establish limits on the concentration and amount of various pollutants that can be discharged and require the discharger to keep records, to install equipment to monitor the discharges, and report the monitoring results to the state environmental agency.

Question 13

The private sector is required to set national ambient air quality standards for the major pollutants that have an adverse impact on human health.

Question 14

Under the Clean Air Act, the primary air quality standards are designed to protect the:

A) vegetation and materials.
B) climate and visibility.
C) public's health from harm.
D) economic values.

Question 15

Under the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) only requires states it classifies as major polluters to develop a state implementation plan for meeting the national ambient air quality standards.

Question 16

The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 provides for fines of $5,000 for every barrel spilled, with the amount increasing to $10,000 per barrel if the government successfully demonstrates applicability of the strict liability doctrine.

Question 17

Primary ambient air quality standards are designed to protect vegetation, materials, climate, visibility, and economic values.

Question 18

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) is commonly known as Superfund.

Question 19

Which of the following statements is true of the Environmental Protection Agency?

A) It was created to consolidate the state government's environmental responsibilities.
B) It aims only at pollution problems that can be seen, smelled, or tasted.
C) Much of its initial effort to address environmental problems involved command and control regulation.
D) Over the decade of the 1970s, Congress passed comprehensive new legislation covering air and water pollution only.

Question 20

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not yet set ambient air quality standards for nitrogen oxide or sulfur oxide.

Question 21

The wetland permit program:

A) is administered by the Kyoto Protocol with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) involvement.
B) can limit a landowner's use of property when that use is viewed as injurious to the values protected by the Clean Water Act.
C) specified a list of 189 chemicals for which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to issue regulations requiring the installation of the maximum available control technology.
D) established a program governing the injection of wastes into wells.

Question 22

The _____ establishes a program governing the injection of wastes into wells.

A) Clean Water Act
B) Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act
C) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
D) Safe Drinking Water Act

Question 23

The primary responsibility for enforcing air quality standards lies with:

A) the federal government.
B) the states.
C) local governments.
D) international agencies.

Question 24

Under the Clean Water Act, the primary responsibility for preventing, reducing, and eliminating water pollution lies with:

A) international agencies.
B) the federal government.
C) the Environmental Protection Agency.
D) the states.

Question 25

The _____ is the organization responsible for certifying that an organization meets the requirements of ISO 14001.

A) National Safety Council
B) National Institute of Standards and Technology
C) American National Standards Institute
D) American Society for Quality

Question 26

Which of the following statements is true of the Clean Air Act?

A) It requires that industrial facilities undergo major physical changes that result in significant increases in emissions of air pollutants.
B) It includes repair and replacement activities as well as increases in hours of production in the definition of modification.
C) It excludes vinyl chloride, benzene, and radionuclides.
D) It requires the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate the emission of toxic air pollutants.

Question 27

Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, most of the wastes defined as hazardous are subject to:

A) a "cradle to the grave" tracking system.
B) refrain from following any procedures in the handling of the wastes.
C) proper disposal without treatment and storage.
D) on-site treatment before it enters the sewer system.

Question 28

Which of the following is a true statement about the Clean Water Act?

A) It was the 1970 amendment to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA).
B) It provides that a discharge permit has to be obtained from the Army Corps of Engineers in order to deposit or discharge "refuse" into a navigable waterway.
C) It had a goal to have no discharges of pollutants into the nation's waters by 1985.
D) It provides the federal government with the primary responsibility for preventing, reducing, and eliminating water pollution.

Question 29

The Clean Air Act requires that new stationary sources such as factories and power plants:

A) install the best available technology for reducing air pollution.
B) install a system that raises the amount of hydrocarbons emitted by automobiles.
C) may sell vehicles subject to emission standards if the tests are not performed on prototype vehicles.
D) rely on already existing technology to meet the standards.

Question 30

Which of the following is true of the Safe Drinking Water Act?

A) A public water system is defined to include any supplier of water to the public that has 30 or more service connections or serves 250 people or more at least 180 days a year.
B) The standards must be met by "public water systems" and apply at the point the drinking water enters the water distribution system.
C) The standards are not applicable to private water suppliers that provide water to their citizens.
D) While states are required to enforce the drinking water standards, the federal government does not have the right to enforce them.

Question 31

Anyone who discharges industrial wastewater from a point source into a river must:

A) do so in compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
B) obtain a permit from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
C) obtain a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.
D) follow standards prescribed by the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972.

Question 32

The _____ was drafted with the intention of addressing the issue of global warming through collective international action.

A) National Environmental Policy Act
B) Clean Water Act
C) Kyoto Protocol
D) Copenhagen Consensus

Question 33

The _____ of 1886 provided that in order to deposit or discharge "refuse" into a navigable waterway, a discharge permit had to be obtained from the Army Corps of Engineers.

A) River and Harbor Act
B) Clean Water Act
C) Federal Water Pollution Control Act
D) National Pollution Discharge Elimination Act

Question 34

Under the Clean Air Act, _____ standards for air quality are designed to protect vegetation, materials, climate, visibility, and economic values.

A) complementary
B) primary
C) elementary
D) secondary

Question 35

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA):

A) establishes a program governing the injection of wastes into wells.
B) has the responsibility for designating disposal sites and establishing the rules governing ocean disposal.
C) provides the federal government and the states with the authority to regulate facilities that generate, treat, store, and dispose of hazardous waste.
D) requires identification and assessment of sites in the United States where hazardous wastes had been spilled, stored, or abandoned.

Question 36

The 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act:

A) brought in civil penalties for violating the law-a minimum of $2,500 for a first offense up to $50,000 per day and two years in prison for subsequent violations.
B) does not deal with acid rain, while the 1970 Act did.
C) require the availability of oxygenated fuels in specified areas of the country that are having difficulty meeting the air quality limits at least part of the year.
D) require electricity-generating facilities to build tall smokestacks so that emissions are dispersed over a broader area.

Question 37

Which of the following is true for air pollution controls on transportation provided by the Clean Air Act?

A) Under the Clean Air Act, no manufacturer may sell vehicles subject to emission standards without prior certification from the EPA that the vehicles meet the required standards.
B) The 1970 Clean Air Act required a reduction by 1976 of 60 percent in the amount of the carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons emitted by automobiles.
C) To satisfy the requirements of the 1970 Clean Air Act, manufacturers could rely on already existing technology to meet the pollution control standards.
D) The 1970 Clean Air Act does not provide for the regulation and registration of fuel additives such as lead.

Question 38

ISO 14001 concerns _____.

A) guidelines for environmental auditing-audit procedures
B) life cycle assessment-principles and guidelines
C) guidelines for environmental auditing-general principles
D) environmental management systems-specification with guidance for use

Question 39

Under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, _____.

A) there are primary drinking water standards, which provide minimum levels of quality for water to be used for human consumption
B) any dredging or filling activity in a wetland that is part of the navigable waters of the United States requires a permit before the activity can be commenced
C) a permit system has been set up for regulating the dumping of all types of materials into ocean waters
D) there was a requirement for all ocean dumping of municipal sludge and industrial wastes to be terminated by the end of 1991

Question 40

Which of the following statements is true of volatile organic compounds?

A) They are substances which combine with nitrogen oxides to become ozone.
B) They are substances which release chlorines and deplete ozone.
C) They are substances which control air pollution.
D) They are also known as catalytic converters.

Question 41

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requires persons who generate, treat, store, or transport specified quantities of hazardous waste to notify the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of that fact and to:

A) obtain an ID number that must be placed on a manifest that accompanies all shipments.
B) refrain from following any procedures in the handling of the wastes.
C) eradicate the process of handling hazardous wastes.
D) dispose of hazardous wastes without waiting for permits.

Question 42

Describe Superfund's "community right to know" requirement.

Question 43

"Community right to know" legislation:

A) requires an industry to disclose to the community the presence of certain listed chemicals.
B) is the law that regulates dumping of all types of material into ocean waters.
C) is the legislation that protects quality of ambient air through national ambient air quality standards.
D) establishes a cradle-to-the-grave regulatory system.

Question 44

Ayush owned property which he discovered was contaminated with hazardous waste. He learned that Bayle Inc. had owned the property thirty years earlier, and had used it as a disposal site for manufacturing chemicals. Ayush also learned that Solly Trucking Inc. had hauled the chemicals to the site under contract with Bayle. Under these circumstances, which of the parties can be liable for the costs of cleaning up the site under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)?

A) Only Bayle is potentially liable under the CERCLA.
B) Only Ayush is potentially liable under the CERCLA.
C) Only Bayle and Solly are potentially liable under the CERCLA.
D) Ayush, Bayle, and Solly are all potentially liable under the CERCLA.

Question 45

What is the consequence of placing a site on the National Priority List for cleanup under "Superfund"? Who can be responsible for cleanup costs of such a site?

Question 46

Discuss the provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Question 47

Explain the Clean Air Act's approach for dealing with air pollution, including the role of the states.

Question 48

In terms of the attempt of government and industry to find sites for new waste facilities, NIMBY refers to:

A) a national and international measurement organization which regulates environmental emissions in North American neighborhoods.
B) a syndrome in which people want the wastes from their community disposed of in any place but their own.
C) national industrial measures for barren industrial yards.
D) a national institution for the maintenance of biological and irrigational yield.

Question 49

Employees of a company that illegally disposes of hazardous waste without a proper permit may:

A) not be held criminally liable for their acts if their acts were undertaken on behalf of the corporation.
B) not be held criminally liable for their acts unless they acted without the knowledge or approval of the corporation.
C) be held criminally liable under Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for actions undertaken on behalf of the corporation.
D) be held liable to a minimum of $25,000 for a first offense up to $150,000 per day and five years in prison for subsequent violations.

Question 50

What are the major requirements a person who generates, treats, stores, or transports significant quantities of hazardous waste must meet?