Environmental Law Exam 2

These flashcards contain essential vocabulary terms related to environmental science, their definitions, and important regulatory frameworks.

Anoxic

no oxygen in water

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s)

Highly toxic products whose production was banned by United States federal law in 1978, and by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2001.

Disinfection by products (DBP’s)

Form when naturally occurring organic carbon reacts with a chemical disinfectant such as chlorine.

Riparian Rights

Doctrine pertaining to properties adjacent to a waterway that governs the use of surface water and gives all owners of land contiguous to streams, lakes, and ponds equal rights to the water.

Appropriative Rights

Rights for someone who takes water for use on non-riparian land, or who uses water not naturally available on riparian land.

National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)

National standards focusing on six criteria pollutants: particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, ozone, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons.

State Implementation Plans

A collection of regulations and documents used by a state, territory, or local air district to implement, maintain, and enforce the NAAQS.