Environmental Compliance Inspector Environmental Compliance Inspector Environmental Laws and Regulations Questions and Answers 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Clean Water Act, what is the primary purpose of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program?
- To regulate point source discharges of pollutants into waters of the United States (Correct answer)
- To establish drinking water quality standards for public water systems
- To monitor groundwater contamination from underground storage tanks
- To set air emission limits for industrial facilities near waterways
Correct answer: To regulate point source discharges of pollutants into waters of the United States
The NPDES permit program under the Clean Water Act regulates point source discharges of pollutants into navigable waters by requiring facilities to obtain permits with specific effluent limitations.
Question 2: Which federal statute gives the EPA authority to require cleanup of sites contaminated with hazardous substances and recover costs from responsible parties?
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
- Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
- Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) (Correct answer)
- Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA)
Correct answer: Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)
CERCLA, commonly known as Superfund, authorizes the EPA to clean up contaminated sites and hold potentially responsible parties liable for cleanup costs.
Question 3: What does the term 'cradle-to-grave' tracking refer to in the context of RCRA hazardous waste regulations?
- Monitoring employee health from hiring to retirement at waste facilities
- Tracking hazardous waste from generation through transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal (Correct answer)
- Following the lifecycle of consumer products from manufacture to landfill
- Documenting environmental impact assessments from project inception to completion
Correct answer: Tracking hazardous waste from generation through transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal
RCRA's cradle-to-grave system uses manifests and permits to track hazardous waste from the point of generation through every stage until final disposal.
Question 4: An environmental compliance inspector discovers a facility storing hazardous waste beyond the 90-day accumulation limit without a RCRA permit. What is the facility's regulatory status?
- The facility is operating as a small quantity generator with extended storage privileges
- The facility is in violation and is operating as an unpermitted treatment, storage, and disposal facility (Correct answer)
- The facility has an automatic 30-day grace period before enforcement action begins
- The facility may continue storage if it has submitted a permit application
Correct answer: The facility is in violation and is operating as an unpermitted treatment, storage, and disposal facility
Large quantity generators that exceed the 90-day accumulation period without a RCRA permit are considered unpermitted TSDFs and are in violation of federal regulations.
Question 5: Under the Clean Air Act, what is a Title V operating permit designed to consolidate?
- All applicable federal air quality requirements into a single enforceable document for major sources (Correct answer)
- State implementation plans for criteria pollutant attainment across multiple counties
- Emission reduction credits that can be traded between facilities in a nonattainment area
- Vehicle emission testing requirements for commercial fleet operators
Correct answer: All applicable federal air quality requirements into a single enforceable document for major sources
Title V operating permits consolidate all Clean Air Act requirements applicable to a major source into one comprehensive, federally enforceable permit document.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes the EPA's authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) as amended by the Lautenberg Act of 2016?
- Regulating the disposal of toxic waste in landfills and incinerators
- Evaluating and regulating new and existing chemical substances in commerce based on risk (Correct answer)
- Setting workplace exposure limits for toxic chemicals in manufacturing plants
- Establishing emission standards for toxic air pollutants from stationary sources
Correct answer: Evaluating and regulating new and existing chemical substances in commerce based on risk
TSCA as amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act gives EPA authority to evaluate and regulate both new and existing chemical substances based on risk assessments.
Environmental Compliance Inspector Environmental Compliance Inspector Environmental Laws and Regulations Questions and Answers 2
Under the Clean Water Act, what is the primary purpose of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program?