CEP Regulatory Framework & Compliance 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which provision of the Clean Air Act requires states to develop plans to attain and maintain NAAQS?
- Title IV Acid Rain Program
- State Implementation Plans under Title I (Correct answer)
- Title V Operating Permits
- New Source Performance Standards
Correct answer: State Implementation Plans under Title I
State Implementation Plans (SIPs) are required under Title I of the CAA and must demonstrate how each state will achieve and maintain air quality standards.
Question 2: Under the National Historic Preservation Act Section 106, federal agencies must consult with the State Historic Preservation Officer when a project may:
- Cost more than $1 million in federal funds
- Affect properties listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (Correct answer)
- Involve construction in a floodplain
- Require an Environmental Impact Statement
Correct answer: Affect properties listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places
Section 106 requires federal agencies to consider effects on historic properties listed in or eligible for the National Register before approving undertakings.
Question 3: The 'no net loss' policy in the United States is primarily associated with which resource?
- Old-growth forests
- Wetlands (Correct answer)
- Prime farmland
- Coastal dunes
Correct answer: Wetlands
The federal 'no net loss' policy for wetlands aims to balance unavoidable wetland losses with restoration or creation of equivalent wetland acreage and function.
Question 4: Which federal act governs the control of toxic substances before they enter commerce and requires pre-manufacture notification?
- RCRA
- TSCA (Correct answer)
- FIFRA
- EPCRA
Correct answer: TSCA
The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires manufacturers to submit Pre-Manufacture Notices to EPA before producing new chemical substances.
Question 5: A 'biological opinion' issued under ESA Section 7 that concludes jeopardy exists must include:
- A permit to proceed with mitigation measures
- A Reasonable and Prudent Alternative to avoid jeopardy (Correct answer)
- An automatic project cancellation order
- A referral to the Endangered Species Committee
Correct answer: A Reasonable and Prudent Alternative to avoid jeopardy
When a jeopardy biological opinion is issued, it must include a Reasonable and Prudent Alternative (RPA) that allows the project to proceed without causing jeopardy.
Question 6: Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), facilities must report annual releases of toxic chemicals through:
- Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plans
- Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Form R (Correct answer)
- Tier II Chemical Inventory Reports
- Risk Management Plans
Correct answer: Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Form R
EPCRA Section 313 requires facilities to submit TRI Form R reports to EPA and states annually for listed toxic chemicals above threshold quantities.
Question 7: Which legal doctrine holds that states cannot enforce environmental regulations that are less stringent than federal minimums, but may adopt stricter standards?
- Commandeering doctrine
- Federal floor preemption (Correct answer)
- Dormant Commerce Clause
- Supremacy of field preemption
Correct answer: Federal floor preemption
Federal floor preemption sets federal environmental standards as a minimum baseline, allowing states to adopt more protective but not less protective requirements.
CEP Regulatory Framework & Compliance 3
Which provision of the Clean Air Act requires states to develop plans to attain and maintain NAAQS?