CPP Risk Management & Mitigation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the 'Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)' most commonly known as, and when does it affect permitting?
- Superfund; it affects permitting when a project site has or may have contamination requiring cleanup or when acquiring potentially contaminated property (Correct answer)
- The Clean Streams Law; it affects stormwater permits
- The Resource Conservation Act; it affects solid waste permits
- The National Contingency Plan; it triggers emergency permits
Correct answer: Superfund; it affects permitting when a project site has or may have contamination requiring cleanup or when acquiring potentially contaminated property
CERCLA (Superfund) imposes strict, joint, and several liability for hazardous substance cleanup; permitting professionals must assess Superfund liability when siting projects on or near contaminated properties.
Question 2: What is a 'Phase I Environmental Site Assessment' and how does it relate to risk management in permitting?
- A records review and site inspection to identify Recognized Environmental Conditions (RECs) and CERCLA liability risks, conducted before property acquisition or development (Correct answer)
- A soil sampling study required for all construction permits
- A federal EPA inspection of contaminated sites
- A permit application for remediation of contaminated sites
Correct answer: A records review and site inspection to identify Recognized Environmental Conditions (RECs) and CERCLA liability risks, conducted before property acquisition or development
A Phase I ESA (ASTM E1527-21) identifies RECs through historical records, regulatory database review, and site inspection; finding no RECs supports an 'innocent landowner' defense under CERCLA.
Question 3: What is an 'adaptive management' approach in environmental permitting?
- A framework for adjusting permit conditions and mitigation measures based on monitoring data and feedback to achieve environmental goals under uncertainty (Correct answer)
- A management approach that adapts permit fees to market conditions
- A federal program for managing national parks
- A method for accelerating permit timelines by adapting schedules
Correct answer: A framework for adjusting permit conditions and mitigation measures based on monitoring data and feedback to achieve environmental goals under uncertainty
Adaptive management builds monitoring and decision triggers into permits, allowing conditions to be adjusted as new information shows whether management actions are achieving their objectives.
Question 4: Which Clean Water Act program requires industrial facilities to develop Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) plans?
- 40 CFR Part 112 (Oil Pollution Prevention) requires SPCC plans for facilities with oil storage above threshold quantities that could discharge to navigable waters (Correct answer)
- NPDES General Permit for industrial stormwater
- RCRA Subtitle C hazardous waste regulations
- CAA Risk Management Plan requirements
Correct answer: 40 CFR Part 112 (Oil Pollution Prevention) requires SPCC plans for facilities with oil storage above threshold quantities that could discharge to navigable waters
40 CFR Part 112 requires SPCC plans for facilities storing ≥1,320 gallons of oil (or ≥660 gallons in a single container) if a discharge could reach navigable waters.
Question 5: What is the 'reasonable worst case scenario' concept in risk assessment for hazardous facility permits?
- An EPA methodology under Risk Management Planning (RMP) that models the worst-case credible release of hazardous chemicals to assess off-site impacts (Correct answer)
- The worst possible outcome regardless of probability used in all environmental permits
- A FEMA methodology for flood risk assessment
- A construction risk assessment methodology for worker safety
Correct answer: An EPA methodology under Risk Management Planning (RMP) that models the worst-case credible release of hazardous chemicals to assess off-site impacts
EPA's RMP rule (40 CFR Part 68) requires facilities with regulated substances to analyze worst-case release scenarios and alternate scenarios to assess community risk and plan emergency responses.
Question 6: What is 'permit by rule' and how does it manage regulatory risk for routine operations?
- A pre-established permit category where operations meeting specified criteria are automatically authorized without individual application, reducing compliance uncertainty (Correct answer)
- A rule allowing one permit to cover all operations at a facility
- A rule that exempts small businesses from permitting requirements
- A waiver of permit requirements during declared emergencies
Correct answer: A pre-established permit category where operations meeting specified criteria are automatically authorized without individual application, reducing compliance uncertainty
Permit-by-rule provisions (common in air and stormwater programs) authorize routine, low-risk activities under preset conditions, streamlining compliance and reducing permitting risk for qualifying operations.
CPP Risk Management & Mitigation 2
What is the 'Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)' most commonly known as, and when does it affect permitting?