Environmental Compliance Inspector FREE Environmental Compliance Inspector Federal Environmental Regulations Questions and Answers 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under RCRA Subtitle C, which of the following is required before a facility can treat, store, or dispose of hazardous waste?
- A state business license
- An EPA-issued RCRA permit (Correct answer)
- A local zoning variance
- A voluntary environmental audit
Correct answer: An EPA-issued RCRA permit
RCRA Subtitle C requires facilities managing hazardous waste to obtain a RCRA permit from EPA or an authorized state agency.
Question 2: What is the primary purpose of a Title V operating permit under the Clean Air Act?
- To authorize construction of new emission sources
- To consolidate all applicable air emission requirements into a single document (Correct answer)
- To exempt facilities from state air quality standards
- To replace the need for continuous emissions monitoring
Correct answer: To consolidate all applicable air emission requirements into a single document
Title V permits compile all applicable Clean Air Act requirements for a facility into one federally enforceable document.
Question 3: Which federal statute establishes the Superfund program for cleaning up contaminated sites?
- Clean Water Act
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
- Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Correct answer)
- Toxic Substances Control Act
Correct answer: Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
CERCLA, commonly known as Superfund, authorizes EPA to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances and hold responsible parties liable.
Question 4: Under the Clean Water Act, what does an NPDES permit regulate?
- Groundwater extraction rates
- Point source discharges of pollutants into waters of the United States (Correct answer)
- Non-point source agricultural runoff
- Wetland mitigation banking transactions
Correct answer: Point source discharges of pollutants into waters of the United States
The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program regulates point source discharges of pollutants into navigable waters.
Question 5: Which EPA regulation requires facilities to report releases of hazardous substances exceeding reportable quantities?
- EPCRA Section 313
- CERCLA Section 103 (Correct answer)
- RCRA Subtitle D
- TSCA Section 5
Correct answer: CERCLA Section 103
CERCLA Section 103 requires immediate notification to the National Response Center when a release of a hazardous substance exceeds its reportable quantity.
Question 6: What is the maximum civil penalty per day per violation that EPA can assess under most major environmental statutes after recent inflation adjustments?
- Up to $25,000
- Up to $50,000
- Over $100,000 (Correct answer)
- Up to $10,000
Correct answer: Over $100,000
After inflation adjustments, maximum civil penalties under statutes like the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act now exceed $100,000 per day per violation.
