Question 1

Which of the following was the result on appeal in AMW Materials Testing Inc., Anthony Antoniou v. Town of Babylon & North Amityville Fire Company Inc., the case in the text in which the plaintiffs claimed that the defendants were liable for cleanup of a hazardous site after a fire on the basis that the defending town and fire department had control of the facility during the time that the fire department was responding to the fire?

Accepted Answer

The court recognized that in order to be held liable, an operator must "manage, direct, or conduct operations specifically related to pollution," and that the defendants did not meet that standard.

Question 2

Which of the following enforces the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act?

Accepted Answer

The EPA enforces RCRA.

Question 3

What is considered a public water supply system under the Safe Drinking Water Act?

Accepted Answer

Public water supply systems are systems having at least 15 service connections or serving 25 or more persons.

Question 4

Referencing the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, which of the following are standards that will protect the public welfare (crops, buildings, and animals) from any known or anticipated adverse effect associated with a pollutant?

Accepted Answer

Secondary standards are limits needed to protect the public welfare (crops, building, and animals) from any known or anticipated adverse effect associated with a pollutant.

Question 5

Which of the following is required of industries emitting pollutants covered by the 1990 Air Toxics Program?

Accepted Answer

Substances that are likely to cause an increase in mortality or in serious, irreversible illness, even when emitted in small amounts, are regulated by the Air Toxics Program of the 1990 CAA amendments. To protect the public, Congress identified 189 hazardous air pollutants, including asbestos, benzene, mercury, and vinyl chloride. Industries emitting them were ordered to phase in the use of pollution control equipment that meets the maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standard.

Question 6

Which of the following is an item an Environmental Impact Statement should contain?

Accepted Answer

An EIS must contain a detailed statement of:1. The environmental impact of the proposed action.2. Any adverse environmental effects that cannot be avoided.3. Alternatives to the proposed action.4. The relationship between local short-term uses of the human environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity.5. Any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources in the proposed activity should it be implemented.

Question 7

What are the 1972 amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act commonly called?

Accepted Answer

The 1972 amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) are commonly known as the Clean Water Act (CWA).

Question 8

Which of the following is false regarding the management of nonhazardous solid waste?

Accepted Answer

Managing nonhazardous solid waste has always been a responsibility of the states.

Question 9

A state implementation plan established following the establishment of National Ambient Air Quality Standards must address the means by which the state is going to ensure that the pollutants in the air within its boundaries will meet the primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards within ______ of their establishment.

Accepted Answer

Once the administrator of the EPA establishes the NAAQS, each state has nine months to draft a state implementation plan (SIP) addressing how it will ensure that pollutants in the air within its boundaries meet the primary NAAQS within three years and the secondary standards within a reasonable time.

Question 10

Which of the following describes goals of the Clean Water Act?

Accepted Answer

The technology-forcing goals (of the Clean Water Act) were to be achieved through a system of permits and effluent discharge limitations.

Question 11

Which of the following is a federal law that protects the quality of the water we drink?

Accepted Answer

The Safe Drinking Water Act protects the quality of the water we drink.

Question 12

Which of the following was passed to (1) clean up existing hazardous sites and (2) respond to hazardous material spills?

Accepted Answer

Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) to (1) clean up existing hazardous sites and (2) respond to hazardous material spills.

Question 13

Which of the following identifies states that did not meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards?

Accepted Answer

States did not meet the original NAAQS within the mandated time, so the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments addressed these so-called nonattainment areas.

Question 14

Once the administrator of the EPA establishes National Ambient Air Quality Standards, each state has _____ to draft a state implementation plan.

Accepted Answer

Once the administrator of the EPA establishes the NAAQS, each state has nine months to draft a state implementation plan (SIP) addressing how it will ensure that pollutants in the air within its boundaries meet the primary NAAQS within three years and the secondary standards within a reasonable time.

Question 15

Referencing the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, ______ standards are standards necessary to protect the public health, including an adequate margin of safety.

Accepted Answer

Primary standards are those necessary to protect the public health, including an adequate margin of safety.

Question 16

Which of the following is a federal law whose purpose is to protect and improve the quality of the air through the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, mobile-source performance standards, and new-source performance standards?

Accepted Answer

The purpose of the Clean Air Act is to protect and improve the quality of the air through the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, mobile-source performance standards, and new-source performance standards.

Question 17

Which of the following is a federal law that protects the quality of water in navigable waterways?

Accepted Answer

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act protects the quality of water in navigable waterways.

Question 18

Every ______ the EPA must review the scientific evidence to determine whether new discoveries have shown that the National Ambient Air Quality Standards should be changed.

Accepted Answer

The EPA is required to review the primary and secondary NAAQS every five years in the context of new scientific evidence.

Question 19

Which of the following focuses on handling waste from creation through disposal?

Accepted Answer

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulates hazardous and nonhazardous waste, but its primary purpose is controlling hazardous waste. The act does not explicitly reduce the amount of hazardous waste created but, instead, ensures that the waste is safely handled from creation through disposal.

Question 20

Under the ______ program, generators of hazardous waste must maintain records that list the amount and type of all hazardous waste produced, how it is to be transported, and how it will ultimately be disposed.

Accepted Answer

Under the manifest program, generators of hazardous waste must maintain records called manifests that list the amount and type of all hazardous waste produced, how it is to be transported, and how it will ultimately be disposed.

Quiz 46: Environmental Law