Chapter 10: Environmental Regulation and Sustainability

Flashcards covering key statutory definitions, common law doctrines, administrative policies, and regulatory standards from Chapter 10: Environmental Regulation and Sustainability.

Nuisance

A common law tort defined as the unreasonable interference with another party's use and enjoyment of their property, remediable through damages, an injunction, or a judicial balancing test.

Moving to the Nuisance

A common law defense doctrine examined in Spur Industries, Inc. v Del E. Webb Dev. Co. (1972) that occurs when a plaintiff develops or purchases land in proximity to an existing nuisance and subsequently seeks an injunction.

State Implementation Plan (SIP)

A comprehensive plan that states are required to adopt under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970 and submit to the EPA for approval to meet national ambient air quality standards.

Nonattainment Areas

Designated geographical areas under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977 that fail to meet federal air quality standards, requiring strict emissions controls and offsets for new industrial plants.

Bubble Concept

An economic regulatory guideline that treats an entire plant or industrial complex as being under an imaginary bubble, allowing new operations to begin only if total emissions under the bubble are offset by reductions elsewhere in the area.

Emissions Offset Policy

An air pollution regulation requiring any increase in emissions from a newly constructed or expanded plant in a nonattainment area to be matched and neutralized by reductions from existing sources.

Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) Areas

Regions with clean air where the EPA holds the statutory authority to review proposed construction to ensure that new plants demonstrate that their operation will not cause significant deterioration of air quality.

Federal Implementation Plan (FIP)

An EPA-drafted and federally mandated plan imposed to reduce pollution in cities or states that fail to submit an adequate State Implementation Plan (SIP).

Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT)

The statutory standard of emission control technology required under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 for curbing toxic emissions, as analyzed in Michigan v EPA.

Clean Power Plan

An administrative regulation addressing interstate pollution and assigning upwind and downwind liability that led to coal plant closures before being challenged on ultra vires grounds.

Paris Accord 2015

An international climate agreement aimed at curbing global warming that the United States previously abandoned following executive withdrawal.

Emissions Permit Market

A market-based regulatory system established under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments permitting facilities to purchase, sell, and trade government-issued allowances for sulfur dioxide and other emissions.

Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899

An early federal statute that prohibited discharges into navigable waters without a permit, frequently used for environmental enforcement prior to modern pollution control statutes.

Water Quality Act of 1965

Federal legislation that created the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration (FWPCA) and required states to establish water quality standards, but lacked enforcement mechanisms.

Effluent Guidelines

Industry-specific limits and permissible ranges established under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 governing conventional, nonconventional, and toxic discharges into surface waters.

National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)

A Clean Water Act permitting system requiring dischargers to implement Best Conventional Treatment (BCT) or Best Available Treatment (BAT) for direct discharges and their functional equivalents.

Safe Drinking Water Act

A 1986 federal statute mandating minimum national drinking water standards, with individual states holding primary enforcement responsibility.

Oil Pollution Act of 1990

Federal legislation enacted following the Exxon Valdez spill that mandates responsible parties clean up oil spills or reimburse the federal government, applying to all navigable waters up to $200\,\text{miles}$ offshore.

Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA)

A federal law passed in response to chemical dumping that empowers the EPA to regulate the manufacture, processing, distribution, and disposal of toxic chemical substances.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA)

A federal statute regulating the treatment, storage, and disposal of solid and hazardous waste through a permit-based tracking system to prevent illegal dumping.

CERCLA (Superfund)

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, which allows the federal government to clean up toxic dump sites and hold responsible parties liable for costs.

Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs)

The four classes of parties liable under CERCLA: current owners/operators, owners/operators at the time of contamination, transporters of hazardous waste, and arrangers of transport or disposal.

Asset Conservation, Lender Liability, and Deposit Insurance Protection Act of 1966

A federal statute protecting commercial lenders from CERCLA cleanup liability provided they do not participate in the active management or operational control of the debtor's facility.

All Appropriate Inquiries

Statutory environmental due diligence required under CERCLA section $101(35)(B)$ within $1\,\text{year}$ prior to property acquisition, with components such as inspections and lien searches updated within $180\,\text{days}$.

EPA Self-Audit Guidelines

An administrative policy providing penalty relief when violations are uncovered through voluntary due diligence, reported within $10\,\text{days}$, and fully corrected within $60\,\text{days}$.

Brownfields

Abandoned, idled, or underused industrial and commercial sites where redevelopment is hindered by the presence or potential threat of hazardous substances and fear of CERCLA liability.

National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA)

A federal statute requiring all federal agencies to prepare and file Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) before undertaking any major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

A formal document required under NEPA detailing the environmental impact, unavoidable adverse effects, alternatives, short-term versus long-term consequences, and irreversible commitments of a proposed federal project.

Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1977

A federal statute requiring commercial mining operations to restore and reclaim land surfaces following extraction activities.

Noise Control Act of 1972

Federal legislation authorizing the EPA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish limits and regulate aircraft noise pollution.

Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA)

Federal legislation requiring all primary and secondary schools to inspect buildings for asbestos, maintain a duty to disclose, and implement corrective remediation plans.

Endangered Species Act (ESA)

A strict federal statute that prohibits harming endangered wildlife species and strictly bars actions that modify or disturb their critical habitats.

Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)

An executive branch agency that sets national environmental policies, makes recommendations to the President, and formulates guidelines for NEPA compliance.

Citizen Suits

Civil litigation brought by environmental advocacy organizations—such as the Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund, and League of Conservation Voters—to enforce compliance with federal environmental statutes.

ISO 14000

A comprehensive series of voluntary international environmental management standards established by the International Organization for Standardization.

LEED Certification

A globally recognized green building certification system designating verified environmental standards, sustainability, and energy efficiency in building design and construction.