Environmental Law and Legislation University of New Haven Mid Term Exam Summer 2016 PART 1 - PART 2 PART 3 - Multiple Choice (10%) Short Answers (40%) Long Answers (50%) PART I - Multiple choice (choose the appropriate answers to each question) 1. The branch of the government that writes regulations is the: a. b. c. d. 2. RCRA regulates all except a. b. c. d. 3. Legislative Judicial Executive Administrative Generators of hazardous waste Suppliers of material that becomes hazardous waste Transporters of hazardous waste Facilities that treat, store or dispose of hazardous waste. The Basel Convention restricts a. b. c. d. 4. Shipment of hazardous waste among countries. Release of carbon dioxide into the environment Dumping of pollutants into waterways. Release of CFCs into the environment The cap and trade system permitted under the Clean Air Act permits: a. A company to discharge excessive amounts of a pollutant into the air as long as it makes a payment to the government. b. A company to sell its rights to release lead into the environment to a company which does not discharge lead into the air. c. A company which discharges less than the allowed amount of lead to sell a credit to a company which discharges more than the allowed level of lead into the air. d. Two companies to trade allowances for different pollutants 5. A manifest must be used when handling hazardous waste by all except: a. b. c. d. . 6. A Constitutional provision which is the basis for many environmental laws is: a. b. c. d. 7. Spill and overflow control Upgrade of certain existing tanks Registration Burying of all aspects of the system The Clean Water Act applies to all except a. b. c. d. 10. Its use addresses future harm. Its use requires litigation. The plaintiff must have standing. The plaintiff must prove wrongdoing on the part of the defendant The regulation of underground storage tanks requires all but a. b. c. d. 9. The search and seizure clause. The interstate commerce clause. The right to due process of law. The supremacy clause. Which is the incorrect statement regarding the use of common law remedies to address environmental issues? a. b. c. d. 8. A transporter of hazardous waste A large quantity generator A facility that treats, stores or disposes of hazardous waste. A facility that manufactures scrubbers for smoke stacks. A wetlands on the coast of Long Island The Mississippi River An aquifer beneath a federal park San FranciscoBay Violations of a NPDES permit could include all except a. Exceeding effluent limits b. Failure to monitor discharges c. Pouring polluted water onto the ground. d. Discharging without a permit. PART 2: Short Answers. (Answer the questions in the space provided) 1. What is the Public Trust Doctrine and how is it used in the area of environmental law? Public trust doctrine states that the use of resources, certain assets/property such as shorelines by the public regardless of private property ownership. It is used to guarantee access to body of waters protect beaches and recriational lakes a wellstructured and implementation of public trust doctrine benefits the public regarding usage of natural resources and land near water bodies. There has been increased number of cases where different communities seek the return of their property that as now became privatised. And it is used to prevent private ownership to save water life and common public access to beaches. 2. Explain the roles of the EPA and the state's regarding setting standards for the clean water act. Environment protection agency (EPA) is established to protect human health, environment and natural resources. EPA together with state government runs more effectively to address many environmental problems. Clean water act was amended in 1972 to protect water from depleting of hazardous pollutants released by industries. Clean water fund is created and supported by EPA to provide financial support for better sewerage facilities. Connecticut's DEP & EPA together played an important role in setting some effective and efficient programmers and set rules to industries to follow. Any Violation of the rules by industries may lead to penalties. 3. Discuss the issue of what \"waters\" are subject to the Clean Water Act. a) b) c) d) Clean Water Act protects streams that flow part of the year. traditional navigable water. interstate waters. a water body does not have surface connection to the another water body. 5. What are the NAAQSs and what are their primary and secondary standards? National Ambient Air Quality Standards (40 CFR part 50) are the standards established by US EPA under the authority of Clean Air Act to protect outside air and public health and environment from pollutants considered harmful to public. NAAQS takes necessary precautions to set air quality standards for CO, NO, Pb, SO2 & pollutants released as smoke from vehicles. Primary and secondary standards are set to control the depletion of these gases SO2, PM10, PM2.5,O3,NO2 by the industries at a certain level and form at a regular time interval basis. Primary standards are set to safeguard public health from Respiratory diseases due to hazardous gases released in atmosphere. Secondary standards are set to protect public welfare and animals and forests. 6. Define the concept of \"cradle to grave\" as it relates to environmental law. Cradle to Grave means the regulations framed to manage hazardous waste from start to end of life cycle, it is also known as life cycle assessment. These includes production, transportation, storage and disposal of hazardous waste. Environmental problem has become more complex and its protection has become a strategic issue. It has been widely recognized as an environmental management tool for the future. now a day's industries produce some form of waste in the process of production. And not every waste is hazardous i.e. some type of waste is being managed by implementing Waste management programs designed by RCRA. 7. What is a SIP, by whom is it established, and what is its purpose? SIP Stands for State Implementation Plan. SIP means list of rules, technical documentation and agreements framed by US for every single state to clean up polluted areas. It is a US plan for complying with the federal clean Air Act, administered by the Environmental protection Agency. The main purpose of the SIP is to check whether NAAQS are practiced effectively and efficiently and whether the primary and secondary standards are properly maintained. 8. Define \"externality\" and give an example of an externality related to the environment. Externality refers to acts of production affecting people who are not directly involved in those acts either it may be positive or negative. It refers to pollution of all kinds. A negative externality is an activity that imposes negative effect on unrelated third party for example air pollution from burning coal and their fossils etc. A positive externality imposes positive effect on unrelated third party for example saving petrol by using electric vehicles. PART 3 Long Answers Fact pattern 1 Stan Murray likes to mine for gold using a gravity separation process known as sluicing. This involves putting the dirt from which the gold is extracted in a sluicing box and running water from a stream over it. The lighter sand, dirt and clay are suspended in the wastewater and released into the stream. A. The EPA decides to regulate sluice mining. Stan and the manufacturer of the box dispute EPA's authority. What are the issues? 1) Who Prevails, and Why: The EPA Decides to regulate sluice mining as an industrial subcategory under the clean water Act as the lighter sand, dirt and clay are suspended in the water. The manufacturer of the box dispute EPA's authority, Claiming they are not point sources and pollutants such as dredged spoil, solid waste, garbage chemical wastes were not being added to the water and do not use navigable waters 2) Will They prevail: After the hearing procedure, the EPA decides that settling ponds are the practicable control technology available for sluicing point sources and that settleable solids of 0.2 milligrams per liter of discharge is an achievable standard disapproval, saying that the EPA failed to use a cost-benefit analysis in determing BPT 3) Courts Reaction : The recirculation of the process waste water in the sluice box is the best available technology. The petitioners do not deny that pumped recirculation rinsing technology is available, but they challenge its economic achievability 4) Does this argument change the judicial outcome : The petitioner argue that any pollutants present in the sluice box discharges should not be best available technology limitations because the pollutants are forming in a naturally solid form and are not toxic. 5) Releases of sand, dirt along the river could have devasting effect on the water, being in such business the founder attains high risk of liability under the clean water Act as well as under environmental laws and regulations for any resultant water pollution 6) In desperation the Murrays contend that the EPA may not regulate sluicing operations because the rules conflict with their water rights. By priority of possession, rights to the use of water for mining, manufacturing, agricultural and other purposes have vested and accrued and the same are recognized and the decisions of courts and the owners of such vested rights shall be protected and maintained in the same. Fact Pattern 2 Joe's Power Co. has been operating in Ohio since 1965. Joe's Power Co. produces energy by burning coal. The operation of this plant causes sulfur oxides to be released into the atmosphere. Joe's Power Co. has put pollution control devises on its smoke stakes. However, it has failed to meet the federal NAASQs and the area around the plant is in non-attainment. The federal government wants the state of Ohio (which granted Joe's Power Co.'s permit to operate) to require that Joe's Power Co. install a new type of pollution control which will cost Joe's Power Co. a substantial amount of money but will reduce the amount of sulfur oxide discharged by Joe's Power Co. Question: What are the rights and responsibilities of the federal government and of the state of Ohio. Is there anything else you would need to know to determine these rights and responsibilities? Answer: NAAQS criteria pollutant ambient levels are measured by monitors placed in city areas to determine if standards are met and the area is \"in attainment\". Once the standard is finalized, states are required to develop state implementation plan that demonstrate how each state will attain NAASQ by using a combination of state & Federally imposed controls and measure effecting emission sources. As per NAASQ the amount of sulfur dioxide(SO2) released should be within the limits listed in 40 C.F.R.50.17a & 40 C.F.R.50.5a i.e. both primary and secondary standard type i.e. 75 ppb &0.5 ppb (1,300 g/m) and it is its responsibility to monitor whether the process is being carried out as per prescribed rules. Pollution control devices on smoke stacks have become old to control the release of SO2 through the burning of coal in to the atmosphere and it has failed to meet the federal NAASQS and it is the responsibility of the federal government to make Ohio state which granted the joe's power and co permitted is now required to make joes power and co to install new type of pollution control against the SO2 released in the burning of coal process. And here the state implementation plan (SIP) is formed and its responsibility to control the release of hazardous pollutants into the air. The responsibility of the Ohio state is to make sure that the joe's power and co has Installed the new pollution control devices so that the release of sulfur dioxide is reduced and if the same was not practiced by the industry the state should levy penalty and hold the license and stop production