CPESC Regulatory Compliance & Environmental Laws 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A construction site operator wants to terminate coverage under an NPDES Construction General Permit. Which condition must be met before a Notice of Termination (NOT) can be submitted?
- All BMPs must be inspected one final time
- Final stabilization has been achieved and any temporary BMPs have been removed (Correct answer)
- The project owner has sold the property to a new owner
- The local municipality has issued a certificate of occupancy
Correct answer: Final stabilization has been achieved and any temporary BMPs have been removed
Permit coverage cannot be terminated until final stabilization is achieved (typically 70% perennial vegetative cover or equivalent) and all temporary erosion controls have been removed.
Question 2: Under Executive Order 11990, federal agencies must take steps to minimize the destruction, loss, or degradation of:
- Prime and Unique Farmlands
- Wetlands (Correct answer)
- Floodplains
- Endangered species habitat
Correct answer: Wetlands
Executive Order 11990 (Protection of Wetlands) requires federal agencies to avoid, to the extent possible, adverse impacts to wetlands in federally conducted or supported activities.
Question 3: A contractor is working under a Section 404 Nationwide Permit (NWP). Which condition requires re-evaluation of NWP eligibility and potentially an Individual Permit?
- The project disturbs more than 1 acre of upland area
- The project causes more than minimal adverse effects to waters of the US (Correct answer)
- The project involves more than 3 construction phases
- The project generates stormwater discharge during rainfall events
Correct answer: The project causes more than minimal adverse effects to waters of the US
Nationwide Permits authorize activities with no more than minimal individual and cumulative adverse environmental effects; exceeding that threshold requires an Individual Permit.
Question 4: The 'common plan of development' concept in NPDES stormwater regulations means that:
- All contractors on a site share a single SWPPP regardless of acreage disturbed
- Multiple smaller disturbances that are part of a larger project are aggregated for permit threshold purposes (Correct answer)
- A developer can use the same permit across multiple non-contiguous sites
- Local land use plans supersede NPDES permit requirements for planned developments
Correct answer: Multiple smaller disturbances that are part of a larger project are aggregated for permit threshold purposes
Under the 'common plan of development' doctrine, individually small disturbances that are part of a larger planned development are combined to determine if the 1-acre permit threshold is exceeded.
Question 5: A state receives federal funding for a highway project that will disturb 25 acres of land. Under NEPA, what level of environmental review is most likely required?
- Categorical Exclusion (CE)
- Environmental Assessment (EA) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) (Correct answer)
- Programmatic Environmental Review only
- No NEPA review because state funds are involved
Correct answer: Environmental Assessment (EA) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
Large highway projects with significant federal involvement and potential for major environmental impacts typically require at minimum an EA, and often a full EIS under NEPA.
Question 6: Which CWA provision gives states authority to place conditions on or deny federal permits for activities that may violate state water quality standards?
- Section 303(d) TMDL Program
- Section 401 Water Quality Certification (Correct answer)
- Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines
- Section 319 Nonpoint Source Program
Correct answer: Section 401 Water Quality Certification
CWA Section 401 requires applicants to obtain state water quality certification that the proposed activity will comply with state water quality standards before a federal permit is issued.
Question 7: Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), construction activities that result in the unintentional destruction of active bird nests may require:
- Payment of a per-nest mitigation fee to US Fish and Wildlife Service
- Pre-construction nest surveys and avoidance of clearing during nesting season (Correct answer)
- Relocation of nests to a designated migratory bird refuge
- Federal prosecution and permanent project shutdown
Correct answer: Pre-construction nest surveys and avoidance of clearing during nesting season
Best management practices for MBTA compliance include conducting pre-construction breeding bird surveys and scheduling vegetation clearing outside the nesting season to avoid 'take' of migratory birds.
CPESC Regulatory Compliance & Environmental Laws 5
A construction site operator wants to terminate coverage under an NPDES Construction General Permit.
Which condition must be met before a Notice of Termination (NOT) can be submitted?