NCEES Regulatory Compliance 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), a major stationary source in a nonattainment area must obtain a permit demonstrating Lowest Achievable Emission Rate (LAER). This requirement applies under which permitting program?
- Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD)
- New Source Review (NSR) Nonattainment NSR (Correct answer)
- Title V Operating Permit
- NESHAP program
Correct answer: New Source Review (NSR) Nonattainment NSR
Nonattainment NSR (New Source Review) requires new or modified major sources in nonattainment areas to meet LAER and offset their emissions.
Question 2: Under RCRA Subtitle C, which of the following best describes a 'characteristic' hazardous waste?
- Waste listed by EPA because of its origin in a specific industrial process
- Waste that exhibits ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity (Correct answer)
- Waste generated in quantities above the LQG threshold
- Waste requiring a manifest regardless of quantity generated
Correct answer: Waste that exhibits ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity
Characteristic hazardous wastes are defined by four measurable properties: ignitability (D001), corrosivity (D002), reactivity (D003), and toxicity (D004–D043).
Question 3: A state professional engineering license is issued by the state's Board of Professional Engineers. Under the principle of comity, a PE licensed in one state can practice in another state without examination through:
- Reciprocity or endorsement, based on substantially equivalent standards (Correct answer)
- Automatic interstate compact that applies in all 50 states
- A federal engineering license issued by NCEES
- Temporary recognition good for one project only
Correct answer: Reciprocity or endorsement, based on substantially equivalent standards
Reciprocity (endorsement) allows a PE licensed in one state to obtain licensure in another without re-examination, provided the original license was obtained by equivalent standards.
Question 4: Which federal law requires employers to notify employees of their rights to a safe workplace and prohibits retaliation against workers who report safety violations?
- Federal Mine Safety and Health Act
- OSH Act Section 11(c) (Correct answer)
- EPCRA Section 322
- TSCA Section 8(e)
Correct answer: OSH Act Section 11(c)
OSH Act Section 11(c) protects employees who exercise rights under OSHA, including filing complaints, from employer retaliation.
Question 5: A licensed PE stamps drawings for a project and later learns the drawings contain a significant error. Under most state engineering practice acts, the PE should:
- Quietly correct the error without disclosure to minimize liability
- Immediately notify the client and relevant authorities, and issue corrected drawings (Correct answer)
- Transfer responsibility to the contractor who built from the drawings
- Wait to see if the error causes harm before taking action
Correct answer: Immediately notify the client and relevant authorities, and issue corrected drawings
PEs have an ethical and legal duty to correct errors promptly and notify affected parties to prevent harm, consistent with their public safety obligation.
Question 6: Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 5, a manufacturer planning to introduce a new chemical substance must submit a Premanufacture Notice (PMN) to the EPA how many days before manufacture or importation?
- 30 days
- 45 days
- 90 days (Correct answer)
- 180 days
Correct answer: 90 days
TSCA Section 5 requires a 90-day PMN review period before a new chemical substance can be manufactured or imported into the United States.
Question 7: Which concept in environmental law holds that a party may be liable for cleanup costs even if their actions were legal at the time the contamination occurred?
- Negligence per se
- Strict liability without regard to fault (Correct answer)
- Contributory negligence
- Proximate cause doctrine
Correct answer: Strict liability without regard to fault
CERCLA imposes strict liability, meaning parties can be held responsible for contamination cleanup regardless of whether their actions were negligent or legal at the time.
NCEES Regulatory Compliance 4
Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), a major stationary source in a nonattainment area must obtain a permit demonstrating Lowest Achievable Emission Rate (LAER).
This requirement applies under which permitting program?