Associate Environmental Professional CH 2

Environmental Regulations

What does the EPA do?

develops and enforces that implement environmental law enacted by congress

Who enforces regulations that implement laws enacted by the state legislature?

state agencies

When does a company need a permit

when emitting pollutants in the air, water soil or disposing of hazardous waste

WHo can issue permits

Federal, state and local governments

who most often administers environmental permits

state governments

What section of the clean air act requires sources of air pollution to obtain operating permits?

Title V of the CAA Amendments of 1990

Who issues Title V permits?

state and local permitting authorities

What are title V permits also referred to as and why?

Part 70 permits because the regulation that establishes this are found in 40 CFR part 70

What is the Endangered Species Act?

prohibits activities affecting threatened and endangered species

Who can permit an exemption to the endangered species act?

US Fish and Wildlife Service

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Marine Fisheries Service

Under what act and section does it state who regulates the wetlands at the federal level?

Army Corps of Engineers regulates discharge into water under the clean water act section 404

Under what act and section does it say who permits to states without EPA permit authorization?

According to the Clean water act 402 the EPA regulates wastewater and storm water from point source

State environmental agencies regulate wetlands under various laws such as…

those related to water pollution, shoreline management and forest practices

Local governments regulate wetlands primarily through…

zoning and similar ordinance

What are Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Permits are designed to do

safe treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous wastes

Who issues Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Permits

authorized states or by EPA Regional Offices

What does the Clean Air Act cover

air quality and air emissions from power plants, industries, and automobiles

When and what was the most significant amendment to the clean air act

1990, adding provisions to control ozone, acid rain, smog, and air toxics

When did the clean air act pass

1995

why and when did the clean air act get amended

create a more rigorous law in 1970

what was the goal of the 1970 amendments of the clean air act

to achieve National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in all states by 1975

Name the dates of the last 2 times the clean air act was amended and why

1977 - set new dates since the NAAQS had not yet been met

1990 - address acid rain, ground-level ozone, stratospheric ozone depletion and air toxics

What is affected by the clean air act

fleet vehicles, transportation networks and emissions from generators and treatment facilities

State Implementation Plans (SIPs)

summarize how every state will control air pollution under the Clean Air Act

Office of Air and Radiation (OAR)

provides resources and technical assistance to tribe

Tribal Authority Rule (TAR)

authority is provided to tribes for the management of air quality on their reservations

• Provisions of the Clean Air Act under which tribes may be eligible for Treatment in a Similar Manner as a State (TAS)

• Eligibility requirements for participating in certain Clean Air Act programs

• The kinds of financial assistance available to tribes interested in pursuing an air quality program.

3 key elements of the clean air act

1. Minimizing outdoor, or ambient concentrations of air pollutants that cause haze, smog, acid rains, and other problems

2. Minimizing emissions of toxic air pollutants that are suspected of, known to, causing cancer or other severe health effects

3. Phasing out manufacturing and utilization of chemicals that harm stratospheric ozone

Six common air pollutants

criteria pollutants: nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, groundlevel ozone, lead, and sulfur oxides

of the six air pollutants which pose the largest health threat

particulate matter and ground-level ozone

Primary standards

refer to the set of limits based on human health

Secondary standards

refer to the set of limits designed for the prevention of environmental and property damage

Attainment area

A geographic area with air quality that is cleaner than the national standard

non-attainment area

Areas that do not meet the national standards

particle pollution or particle matter

fine dust, droplets, soot, and smoke that are formed through chemical reactions

2 examples of how particle pollution is made

1. nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide gases from industrial facilities, motor vehicles, and electric power generation react with water vapor and sunlight to create particles

2. unpaved roads

4 health impacts of particle pollution

1. asthma

2. chronic bronchitis

3. coughing

4. reduced lung function/shortness of breath

what year and what size did the epa change the airborne particle limit to

1997 PM 2.5

What is ground level ozone found in and its impact

primary component of smog and damages crops, lung inflammation, respiratory infection, and worsened asthma

when are ozone levels at their highest

summer days

2 chemicals that help create ground level ozone

1. nitrogen oxides

2. volatile organic compounds

Where are volatile organic compounds released

chemical manufacturing plants, cars burning gasoline, petroleum refineries, industrial facilities, and solvents used for paint

how are nitrogen oxides created

when cars are other sources, such as industrial boilers and power plants burn fuels, including oil, coal, or gasoline

The Air Quality Index (AQI)

air cleanliness monitoring

3 ways to reduce air pollution

1. turn off lights

2. carpool

3. rechargeable batteries

Breathe Life campaign

encourage global leaders and communities to implement solutions that will decrease air pollution for more sustainable and a healthier future

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)

1980, focuses on abandoned hazardous waste sites

Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA)

1986, amendment to CERCLA, a new initiative by the EPA that deals with underused, less contaminated sites that are too hazardous to work on

Superfund

tax on petroleum and chemical industries and set up broad federal authority for responding directly to releases of hazardous waste often used to clean up abandoned hazardous waste sites

Who cleans up a superfund site

EPA and the State directly or by the Potentially Responsible Party (PRP)

What is a Potentially Responsible Party (PRP)

PRPs are liable for clean up at a Superfund site if they disposed of wastes or if they owned lands that became contaminated

What sites are considered superfunds, what issues come from this

sites that are listed on the National Priorities List (NPL), sites not addressed in most states are facing contaminated sites

3 key elements of CERCLA

1. trust fund for clean up efforts while no party can be identified

2. restrictions regarding abandoned and closed hazardous sites

3. liability of persons responsible for hazardous waste

Short-term removals

actions may be taken to address releases or threatened releases requiring prompt response

Long-term remedial

actions permanently and significantly reduce the dangers associated with releases or threats of releases of hazardous substances that are serious, however, not immediately life-threatening at only sites on the EPA's National Priorities List (NPL)

National Contingency Plan (NCP).

procedures needed to respond to releases and threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants and the NPL

Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) amended…

CERCLA on October 17, 1986

Who guides the CERCLA response effort, National Contingency Plan (NCP)

National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan

National Contingency Plan (NCP)

blueprint of the federal government to respond to both releases of hazardous substances and oil spills

what 3 main things does CERCLA establish

1. set up program for reporting spills

2. emergency clean response

3. programming for permanent clean up of uncontrolled releases at abandoned sites

Superfund clean up S1

Site assessment- EPA decides level of urgency and reviews historical information

Superfund clean up S2

NPL Site listing - determines sites that warrant cleanup

Superfund clean up S3

site characterization - evaluation of the impact of contamination site to environment and human health and cost of treatment

Superfund clean up S4

remedy decisions - record of the cleanup alternatives aimed to clean up a superfund site following a proposed clean up plan

Superfund clean up S5

remedial action - comprehensive cleanup plans are developed and implemented including engineering drawings and construction

Superfund clean up S6

Construction completion - physical cleanup activities at a site have been finished and the site qualifies for deletion from the NPL

Superfund clean up S7

post construction completion - routine monitoring of a site; routine reviews of the site to ensure cleanup continues to be effective

Superfund clean up S8

National priorities list deletion - EPA deletes cleanup goals from the NPL

Superfund clean up S9

redevelopment - Reuse consideration at a site can happen at any point in the Superfund cleanup process

natural resource damage assessment (NRDA)

process of gathering, accumulating, and analysis of information to asses the impact to the natural resource

what year was the clean water act passed

1972

National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)

permit process for municipal and industrial point source discharges into US waterways with an emphasis on the regulation of non-point sources of pollution (stormwater)

What is the criteria for the CWA to cover a body of water

protection for restoring and maintaining the physical, chemical, or biological integrity of traditional navigable waters, territorial seas, and interstate waters is protected if it is within what is known as the 100-year flood plain -- or an area that has a 1 per cent chance of flooding each year -- but is not more than 1,500 feet from a waterway

What are the constraints of bodies of water covered by CWA

1. doesn’t apply to formations like ditches, where there is not a consistent flow of water

2. applies to 60% of the waters in the US

3. shallow subsurface connections and any type of groundwater, erosional features, or land use

4. agricultural stormwater discharges

what was the clean water act called orginally

federal water pollution control act amendments

3 key elements of the CWA

1. reduced health threats from water pollution

2. control of polluted run off

3. promotion of water quality

What does the CWA include

Protection of water quality at beaches, wetlands from run off and increase access to pollution data

Who regulates the CWA

The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR)

2020, which comprises how the CWA will be enforced and which waters are protected

WOTUS jurisdictional water include

1. territorial seas

2. traditional navigable waters

3. lakes and ponds of jurisdictional waters

4. wetlands adjacent to jurisdoctional waters

what isn’t included in WOTUS

1. ground water

2. stormwater runoff

3. artificially created bodies

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

1976 - regulating the storage and use of hazardous materials, and then storage and disposal of the wastes created from their use

What does the RCRA allow the EPA to do

permitting the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste; c