Environmental Compliance Inspector Regulations & Legislation 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), which entity is primarily responsible for cleaning up an oil spill?
- The U.S. Coast Guard
- The responsible party (owner/operator) (Correct answer)
- The Environmental Protection Agency
- The state environmental agency where the spill occurred
Correct answer: The responsible party (owner/operator)
OPA establishes that the responsible party—the owner or operator of the vessel or facility—is primarily liable for removal costs and damages from an oil spill.
Question 2: Which provision of the Clean Water Act requires facilities to develop and implement Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) plans?
- Section 307
- Section 311 (Correct answer)
- Section 402
- Section 404
Correct answer: Section 311
Clean Water Act Section 311 addresses oil and hazardous substance pollution prevention, under which EPA promulgated the SPCC rule (40 CFR Part 112).
Question 3: The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for actions that are:
- Categorically excluded from environmental review
- Likely to have a significant effect on the human environment (Correct answer)
- Subject to a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)
- Located in attainment areas under the Clean Air Act
Correct answer: Likely to have a significant effect on the human environment
NEPA requires an EIS when a federal action is likely to significantly affect the quality of the human environment, as determined through an environmental assessment.
Question 4: Under 40 CFR Part 261, a solid waste is classified as hazardous if it exhibits which characteristic?
- Radioactivity
- Ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity (Correct answer)
- Infectiousness or pathogenicity
- Persistence or bioaccumulation potential
Correct answer: Ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity
EPA regulations identify four hazardous waste characteristics: ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and toxicity (ICRT).
Question 5: Which EPA regulation requires large water systems to conduct Lead and Copper Rule testing at customer taps?
- Safe Drinking Water Act Surface Water Treatment Rule
- Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) under the SDWA (Correct answer)
- Clean Water Act Effluent Guidelines
- RCRA Underground Storage Tank regulations
Correct answer: Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) under the SDWA
The Lead and Copper Rule, promulgated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, requires public water systems to monitor drinking water at customer taps for lead and copper.
Question 6: A company that transports hazardous materials by highway must comply primarily with which federal regulations?
- RCRA Subtitle C requirements
- DOT Hazardous Materials Regulations (49 CFR Parts 100-185) (Correct answer)
- OSHA Hazard Communication Standard
- EPA SPCC regulations
Correct answer: DOT Hazardous Materials Regulations (49 CFR Parts 100-185)
The Department of Transportation's Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMRs) at 49 CFR Parts 100-185 govern the transportation of hazardous materials by highway, rail, air, and water.
Question 7: Under the Clean Air Act, a Title V operating permit is required for sources that emit:
- Any amount of a regulated air pollutant
- Above major source thresholds of regulated air pollutants (Correct answer)
- Only hazardous air pollutants listed under Section 112
- Greenhouse gases at any threshold
Correct answer: Above major source thresholds of regulated air pollutants
Title V permits are required for major sources, which are facilities that emit or have the potential to emit above specified thresholds of regulated air pollutants.
