NCEES Regulatory Compliance 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Clean Water Act (CWA), which permit program regulates the discharge of pollutants from point sources into navigable waters of the United States?
- Safe Drinking Water Act permit
- NPDES permit (Correct answer)
- RCRA operating permit
- Title V air permit
Correct answer: NPDES permit
The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program under the CWA controls water pollution by regulating point source discharges.
Question 2: Which federal agency administers the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) and sets workplace safety standards for most private-sector employers?
- EPA
- OSHA (Correct answer)
- NIOSH
- MSHA
Correct answer: OSHA
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), within the Department of Labor, administers and enforces the OSH Act for most private-sector workplaces.
Question 3: A facility stores more than 10,000 lbs of a highly hazardous chemical. Under OSHA's Process Safety Management (PSM) standard (29 CFR 1910.119), what is the facility required to develop?
- A spill prevention control and countermeasure plan
- A process hazard analysis and written PSM program (Correct answer)
- An emergency response plan under EPCRA
- A risk management program under CAA Section 112(r)
Correct answer: A process hazard analysis and written PSM program
PSM requires facilities with threshold quantities of highly hazardous chemicals to develop a comprehensive written program including process hazard analysis.
Question 4: Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), who can be held strictly liable for cleanup costs at a contaminated site?
- Only the party that caused the contamination
- Only the current site owner
- Current owners, past owners, generators, and transporters of hazardous substances (Correct answer)
- Only parties with an EPA enforcement agreement
Correct answer: Current owners, past owners, generators, and transporters of hazardous substances
CERCLA imposes strict, joint and several liability on current owners/operators, past owners/operators, generators, and transporters of hazardous substances.
Question 5: Which regulation requires facilities that manufacture, process, or otherwise use listed toxic chemicals above threshold quantities to submit annual Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reports?
- RCRA Section 3002
- EPCRA Section 313 (Correct answer)
- CAA Section 112
- CWA Section 311
Correct answer: EPCRA Section 313
EPCRA Section 313 (Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act) established the TRI reporting requirement for toxic chemical releases.
Question 6: A professional engineer discovers that a client's facility is in violation of a state environmental regulation. What is the PE's primary obligation under most state engineering ethics codes?
- Immediately report the violation to the state environmental agency without notifying the client
- Advise the client of the violation and recommend corrective action (Correct answer)
- Ignore the violation if it does not pose immediate danger
- Withdraw from the project without explanation
Correct answer: Advise the client of the violation and recommend corrective action
PEs must inform clients of regulatory violations and recommend corrective measures, balancing professional obligations with public protection duties.
Question 7: Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), a facility that generates more than 1,000 kg of hazardous waste per calendar month is classified as a:
- Very Small Quantity Generator (VSQG)
- Small Quantity Generator (SQG)
- Large Quantity Generator (LQG) (Correct answer)
- Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator (CESQG)
Correct answer: Large Quantity Generator (LQG)
RCRA classifies generators producing more than 1,000 kg/month as Large Quantity Generators, subject to the most stringent regulatory requirements.
NCEES Regulatory Compliance 2
Under the Clean Water Act (CWA), which permit program regulates the discharge of pollutants from point sources into navigable waters of the United States?