Environmental Compliance Flashcards

A manufacturing facility discovers it has been unknowingly discharging a chemical not listed in its NPDES permit. What is the MOST appropriate immediate compliance action?

Answer: Self-report the discharge to the regulatory authority and cease or reduce the discharge

Self-reporting unauthorized discharges promptly to regulators is required by law and can mitigate penalties; continued violations or dilution are prohibited practices.

Which regulatory concept allows facilities to exceed individual emission limits for some pollutants if they offset those exceedances with reductions in other pollutants of equal or greater environmental benefit?

Answer: Emissions Trading or Bubble Policy

The bubble policy and emissions trading programs allow facilities to treat multiple emission points as a single 'bubble,' enabling internal trades between sources.

Under TSCA Section 6, EPA has the authority to restrict or ban which substances when they present unreasonable risk?

Answer: Existing and new chemical substances or mixtures

TSCA Section 6 gives EPA broad authority to regulate both existing and new chemical substances or mixtures that present unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment.

What is the significance of a 'de minimis' exemption in environmental compliance?

Answer: It allows minor or trivial quantities or activities to be excluded from regulatory requirements

De minimis exemptions exclude from regulatory coverage activities or quantities so small they pose negligible environmental or health risk, reducing compliance burdens for trivial sources.

Which document must a facility prepare when it handles hazardous materials above threshold quantities and must coordinate with local emergency responders?

Answer: Tier II Chemical Inventory Report

Tier II reports under EPCRA Section 312 require facilities to annually submit chemical inventory information to state and local emergency planners and fire departments.

Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), what is required before a federal agency takes action that may affect a listed species?

Answer: Formal consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or NOAA Fisheries

Section 7 of the ESA requires federal agencies to consult with USFWS or NOAA Fisheries to ensure their actions are not likely to jeopardize listed species or destroy critical habitat.

What compliance obligation does the annual Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) reporting under EPCRA Section 313 impose on covered facilities?

Answer: Reporting quantities of listed toxic chemicals released to the environment or transferred off-site

TRI reporting requires covered facilities to annually report the amounts of listed toxic chemicals they release to air, water, and land, or transfer off-site for treatment or disposal.