Deck 50: Environmental Law and Land Use Controls

Question 1

A civil nuisance may be terminated by abatement or closure by government authority, while a criminal nuisance is not subject to such action.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The EPA is the primary federal agency responsible for the enforcement of environmental laws.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

"Superfund" is another name for a hazardous waste fund.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Planting trees or erecting a fence, although otherwise lawful, constitutes a public nuisance when it creates a traffic hazard by obscuring an intersection.

Question 5

Nuisances may be classified as either private nuisances or public nuisances.

Question 6

Many federal statutes concerned with the environment authorize the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to adopt standards and regulations to carry out the provisions of the statutes.

Question 7

The persons affected by a nuisance may obtain an injunction to stop the nuisance.

Question 8

Under the Clean Water Act, the EPA has developed effluent guidelines, which are ranges for discharges organized according to industrial groups and for specific plants in each of these groups.

Question 9

Only government agencies can sue for violations of an environmental protection control.

Question 10

Funds from the Superfund are used to pay the cost of eliminating or containing condemned waste sites.

Question 11

Administrative agencies do not control the area of environmental protection because such agencies are incapable of dealing with the complicated technical issues typically involved in such actions.

Question 12

Conduct that unreasonably interferes with the enjoyment of land is a nuisance.

Question 13

Both companies and their employees are subject to criminal penalties for violations of federal environmental laws.

Question 14

The EPA lacks the authority to have polluting activities halted through the use of injunctions.

Question 15

Private citizens have the right to sue for injunctions against companies that are in violation of federal environmental quality statutes.

Question 16

The federal government is not subject to any type of environmental quality regulation

Question 17

Solid waste disposal regulations today deal almost entirely with recycling.

Question 18

Both the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior are given responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act.

Question 19

The Noise Control Act sets the standards for lawn mowers, automobiles, and other devices often found in suburban neighborhoods.

Question 20

The first federal legislation that dealt with air pollution was the Air Pollution Control Act of 1955, which was simply a statutory recognition of a concern about air quality.

Question 21

"Superfund" is a creation of which of the following?

A) the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)
B) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
C) the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
D) the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Question 22

Due diligence usually consists of searching public records and inspecting the land.

Question 23

The Endangered Species Act gives which of the following cabinet-level officers the authority to protect various species?

A) the Secretary of the Interior only
B) the Secretary of Commerce only
C) both the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce
D) none of the above

Question 24

The zoning power permits any regulation that is conducive to advancing public health, welfare, and safety.

Question 25

Spot zoning may result in such inequality as to be condemned by the courts.

Question 26

The object of zoning is to ensure an orderly physical development of the geographic area that is regulated.

Question 27

If a restrictive covenant is valid, it binds only the original grantee in the deed that created the covenant.

Question 28

__________ of the federal environmental laws carry criminal penalties for violations.

A) All
B) Most
C) Only a few
D) None

Question 29

Which federal agency has primary responsibility for enforcing environmental laws?

A) the Environmental Protection Agency
B) the Council of Environmental Quality
C) the Superfund Panel
D) none of the above

Question 30

Public zoning and restrictive covenants in deeds have a similar purpose, but each has a different source of authority.

Question 31

Which federal agency is most often authorized to adopt standards and regulations to carry out the provisions of environmental statutes?

A) FTC
B) ICC
C) EPA
D) SEC

Question 32

Due diligence is defined as to the process by which the buyer of property conducts a thorough investigation of the property and its uses to determine whether environmental or nuisance problems exist.

Question 33

What federal act regulates the federal government in terms of its operations and impact on the environment?

A) the Environmental Protection Act
B) the National Environmental Policy Act
C) the Clean Water Act
D) the Resource Recovery Act

Question 34

A nuisance:

A) is created by every interference that has an effect on others.
B) is established when the plaintiff shows harm as the result of the defendant's conduct.
C) arises only by an interference that is great enough to be condemned as unreasonable.
D) cannot arise from a lawful activity or business that is conducted in a lawful manner.

Question 35

If any uncertainty exists in the interpretation of a restrictive covenant, the covenant will be construed strictly in favor of the free use of the land.

Question 36

When the desired use of land is in harmony with the general nature of surrounding areas, a zoning variance is usually granted.

Question 37

A right to a nonconforming use of land cannot be lost through abandonment.

Question 38

The process by which the buyer conducts a thorough investigation of the property and its current and former uses to determine whether there are any problems with respect to environmental law or nuisance is called:

A) continuing the nuisance.
B) due diligence.
C) nuisance per se.
D) nuisance per fact.

Question 39

Computers and related wire transmissions may be subject to nuisance abatement actions if their electrical currents cause an unreasonable level of interference with adjacent landowners' use of their property.

Question 40

What is a principal purpose of the Superfund?

A) to establish environmentally-friendly zoning plans
B) to establish appropriate eminent domain compensation
C) to pay the cost of eliminating or containing condemned waste sites
D) to pay the cost of funding environmental impact statements for public projects

Question 41

With regard to the law concerning nuisance:

A) the law recognizes legal remedies for a public, but not private, nuisance.
B) the courts do not balance the protection of the plaintiff against the social utility of the activity.
C) the fact that the plaintiff suffered annoyance or inconvenience is sufficient to establish a nuisance.
D) a finding that conduct is socially desirable may outweigh harm to a particular plaintiff.

Question 42

Peter has been subjected to an unreasonable amount of noise from his neighbor, who constantly plays his stereo at full volume. Peter is angry about his neighbor, but he is even angrier about the excessive pollution being emitted by a local factory that burns old tires in direct violation of a state statute prohibiting such conduct. Do the acts of Peter's neighbor and the factory constitute nuisances? If they do, give Peter assistance on any possible courses of action to eliminate the problems.

Question 43

Public zoning:

A) establishes uniformity of land use.
B) establishes uniformity of land use subject to the exception of preexisting nonconforming uses.
C) establishes uniformity of land use subject to the exceptions of preexisting nonconforming uses and subsequently granted variances.
D) allows each landowner to make the most profitable use of the land.

Question 44

Megan owns a manufacturing business in a nonattainment area under federal air pollution law. She wishes to triple the size of the manufacturing operation using land she just purchased next to her current location. What must Megan demonstrate in order to secure a permit to operate in the nonattainment area?

Question 45

Which statement is incorrect concerning the law of nuisance?

A) Not every interference with the use or enjoyment of property is a nuisance.
B) Even if an activity is otherwise lawful, it is the effect on others that determines whether there is a nuisance.
C) The proper use of land does not constitute a nuisance as to a neighbor, even though the neighbor does not like the use.
D) A plaintiff may obtain damages from the party who has committed a nuisance, but the plaintiff cannot have the nuisance enjoined.

Question 46

A zoning restriction:

A) constitutes an eminent domain "taking."
B) entitles the landowner to compensation.
C) will not lower the value of the land it concerns.
D) can prevent the landowner from making the most profitable use of the land.

Question 47

A nonconforming use:

A) that is discontinued for a period of less than thirty (30) days may be resumed.
B) has a right to continue for only five (5) years.
C) has a constitutionally-protected right to continue.
D) that continues for more than one (1) year cannot be lost by abandonment.

Question 48

Which of the following is a possible remedy for a nuisance?

A) termination by police authority
B) injunction
C) money damages
D) all of the above

Question 49

Valid restrictive covenants will bind future owners of the land if:

A) they are published in the Federal Register.
B) there is a notation in the deed referencing the restrictive covenants.
C) they are published in a newspaper of general circulation.
D) they are filed with the attorney general of the state in which the land is located.

Question 50

The Jarvis family owned its land for more than 150 years. The Jarvis family traditionally farmed the land and for that purpose maintained farm animals. As years passed, most of the surrounding farms were sold by the owners and the area turned out to be a close-in suburb of a major city. A zoning ordinance was passed that prohibited maintaining a barn or farmyard animals on the land. The Jarvis family was advised that they were unaffected by this ordinance because theirs would be considered a nonconforming use. The members of the Jarvis family lost interest in farming and sold off all their animals. Seven (7) years later, a family member desired to raise a few pigs on the property. Angry neighbors asserted that the family has lost the right to do so. What is your opinion?

Question 51

When a zoning ordinance is adopted, any property used for a purpose that does not conform to the zoning ordinance:

A) must be demolished.
B) must no longer be used for a nonconforming use or purpose.
C) may be used for any use that does not conform to the zoning regulation.
D) may continue to be used for the same nonconforming use.

Question 52

Which of the following statements is correct concerning restrictive covenants?

A) Restrictive covenants that have not been enforced or observed are nevertheless valid and enforceable.
B) Restrictive covenants take precedence over conflicting statutes.
C) Restrictive covenants generally impose some limitations on the landowner's use of the property.
D) If any uncertainty exists in the interpretation of a restrictive covenant, the covenant will be interpreted liberally in favor of the limited use of the land.

Question 53

A criminal nuisance may be terminated by:

A) abatement.
B) closure by government authority.
C) abatement or closure by government authority.
D) none of the above, since the law only recognizes civil (not criminal) remedies for nuisance.

Question 54

It is probable that a zoning variance would be granted:

A) even though many of the neighboring property owners object.
B) on the ground of hardship, regardless of whether the landowner created the hardship.
C) to an outside advertiser to build a billboard that would make the advertiser more money.
D) when the desired use of the land is in harmony with the general nature of the surrounding areas.