CFA Environmental Impact & Safety Regulations 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which federal law primarily governs the storage and handling of hazardous chemicals, including many fertilizers, at fixed facilities?
- Clean Water Act
- Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) (Correct answer)
- Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
Correct answer: Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA)
EPCRA (also known as SARA Title III) requires facilities to report hazardous chemical inventories and release data to local emergency planners and the public.
Question 2: A fertilizer applicator notices runoff from a recently treated field entering a drainage ditch during a rainstorm. Under the Clean Water Act, this runoff is most accurately categorized as:
- Point source pollution
- Nonpoint source pollution (Correct answer)
- Ambient pollution
- Effluent discharge
Correct answer: Nonpoint source pollution
Agricultural field runoff that enters waterways without a discrete conveyance pipe or channel is classified as nonpoint source pollution under the Clean Water Act.
Question 3: What is the primary purpose of a Nutrient Management Plan (NMP)?
- To maximize crop yield by applying the highest possible fertilizer rates
- To balance nutrient applications with crop needs while minimizing environmental losses (Correct answer)
- To document pesticide applications for regulatory compliance
- To schedule irrigation timing relative to fertilizer applications
Correct answer: To balance nutrient applications with crop needs while minimizing environmental losses
An NMP is designed to optimize nutrient use efficiency and reduce losses to the environment by matching application rates to crop uptake requirements.
Question 4: Ammonium nitrate stored in bulk quantities above threshold levels must be reported under EPCRA Section 302 because it is classified as an:
- Extremely Hazardous Substance (EHS) (Correct answer)
- Toxic Release Inventory chemical
- Regulated pollutant under the Clean Air Act
- Priority pollutant under the Clean Water Act
Correct answer: Extremely Hazardous Substance (EHS)
Ammonium nitrate is listed as an Extremely Hazardous Substance under EPCRA Section 302, triggering emergency planning notification requirements above threshold planning quantities.
Question 5: Which best management practice most directly reduces phosphorus loss from fertilized fields via surface runoff?
- Split nitrogen applications
- Subsurface tile drainage installation
- Vegetative buffer strips along waterways (Correct answer)
- Soil pH adjustment with lime
Correct answer: Vegetative buffer strips along waterways
Vegetative buffer strips intercept surface runoff and trap sediment-bound phosphorus before it reaches adjacent water bodies.
Question 6: Under OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard (HazCom 2012), which document must accompany each chemical product and provide safety, handling, and emergency response information?
- Material Transfer Document
- Safety Data Sheet (SDS) (Correct answer)
- Chemical Inventory Log
- Environmental Impact Statement
Correct answer: Safety Data Sheet (SDS)
The Safety Data Sheet (SDS), formerly called MSDS, is required under HazCom 2012 and provides 16 standardized sections covering chemical hazards and safe handling.
Question 7: A soil test shows a field is already at the maximum agronomic rate for phosphorus. Applying additional phosphorus fertilizer would most likely violate which regulatory principle?
- The nitrogen budget standard
- The 4R nutrient stewardship right rate principle (Correct answer)
- The FIFRA label rate requirement
- The CWA effluent limitation guideline
Correct answer: The 4R nutrient stewardship right rate principle
The 4R framework's Right Rate principle specifies applying nutrients at rates that match crop need without over-applying, particularly when soils are already phosphorus-saturated.
CFA Environmental Impact & Safety Regulations 2
Which federal law primarily governs the storage and handling of hazardous chemicals, including many fertilizers, at fixed facilities?