Environmental

Question 1

How long does draft EIS have to be available to public comment?

Answer 1

45 days.

Question 2

How long is the EIS waiting period

Answer 2

30 days

Question 3

NEPA vs EPA

Answer 3

NEPA passed in 1969. Established Council on Environmental Quality. EPA established in 1970 by executive order. Nixon

Question 4

National Heritage Areas

Answer 4

Places where natural, cultural and historic resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally important landscape.

Question 5

What is Carrying capacity?

Answer 5

A biological concept indicating the maximum population size of a species that could be sustained in perpetuity within the environment, given the availability of food, water, habitat, etc.

The concept of carrying capacity is used in city planning to discuss the maximum population and employment that could be carried within a particular community.

Question 6

What is a wellhead protection area?

Answer 6

a surface and subsurface land area regulated to prevent contamination of a well or well-field supplying a public water system. An ordinance protecting this would address primary, secondary and tertiary recharge areas.

Question 7

Who is Rachel Carson?

Answer 7

the author of Silent Spring, which was published in 1962. In the book, Carson examined the dangers of chemical pesticides, such as DDT, on plants, animals, and humans. The book greatly influenced the way people think about the environment.

Question 8

What are Effluent Standards?

Answer 8

Are set restrictions on the discharge of pollutants into the environment. Effluent guidelines reduce the discharge of pollutants that have serious environmental impacts. The EPA has effluent guidelines for more than 50 categories.

Question 9

What is Point Source Pollution?

Answer 9

is discharged directly from a specific site, such as a sewage treatment plant or an industrial pipe.

Question 10

What is Non-point Source Pollution?

Answer 10

is contaminated runoff from many sources.

Question 11

What is an Estuary?

Answer 11

is an area where freshwater meets saltwater

Question 12

What is the The Clean Water Act of 1972?

Answer 12

The Act requires anyone wanting to discharge pollutants into a body of water to obtain a permit. It also regulates the amount of water that can be discharged and the types of pollutants that can be released.

Question 13

What is the Clean Air Act?

Answer 13

1970 and made major revisions in 1977 and 1990. The Act has provisions that cut off federal funding for metropolitan areas that are not in attainment. In non-attainment areas, new pollution sources are allowed only if there is a reduction in pollutants greater than the pollutants contributed by the source.

Question 14

What six pollutants does the Clean Air Act monitor?

Answer 14

Ozone
Particulate Matter
Carbon Monoxide
Nitrogen Dioxide
Sulfur Dioxide
Lead

Question 15

What is the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA)?

Answer 15

Created the Council of Enviro Quality

EPA requires Federal agencies to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for all major Federal actions that may significantly affect the quality of the human environment.

Can do a EA to see if a EIS is needed. FONSI means no EIS.

Question 16

The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899

Answer 16

Considered the oldest environmental law in the U.S

Prohibited the construction of any bridge, dam, dike, or causeway over any navigable waterway in the U.S. without Congressional approval.
The Act also required Congressional approval for all wharves, piers, or jetties, and the excavation or fill of navigable waters.

Question 17

What is the Water Pollution Control Act of 1948?

Answer 17

Allowed the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service, in cooperation with other entities, to prepare a program for eliminating or reducing the pollution of interstate waters/ tributaries and improving the sanitary condition of surface and underground waters.

Question 18

The Water Quality Act of 1965

Answer 18

established the Water Pollution Control Administration within the Department of the Interior. This was the first time water quality was treated as an environmental concern rather than a public health concern.

Question 19

The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972

Answer 19

focused efforts to reduce polluted runoff in 29 coastal states.

Question 20

he Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972

Answer 20

amended the Water Pollutant Act of 1948. The amendments broadened the government’s authority over water pollution and restructured the authority for water pollution under the Environmental Protection Agency. The Act changed the enforcement from water quality standards to regulate the number of pollutants being discharged from particular point sources.

Question 21

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)
of 1980

Answer 21

created a $1.6 billion Superfund to clean up abandoned hazardous waste sites and requires major industries to report annual releases of toxic wastes into the air, water, or ground. Superfund is the common name for CERCLA. There are more than 1,200 superfund sites across the U.S. A tax on the petroleum and chemical industries provide funding to help pay for the cleanup of superfund sites.

Question 22

Safe Drinking Water Act

Answer 22

was passed in 1974 and has been amended several times since. This law protects both the sources of drinking water and the end product.

Question 23

What is an Environmental Assessment?

Answer 23

is required to determine whether there is a significant environmental impact

Question 24

What is an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)?

Answer 24

EIS is for federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. If the environmental assessment determines that there is a significant impact, then an environmental impact statement is required.

Question 25

What is Scoping?

Answer 25

Scoping is often the first contact between proponents of a proposal and the public. A scoping meeting introduces both sides of an issue and engages interested parties. The purpose of scoping is to assist the preparers of the EIS to explain the project to the public and affected agencies. The participants respond with their own concerns about significant issues and suggestions of alternatives

Question 26

4 Sections of an EIS

Answer 26

1) Introduction, which includes a statement of the Purpose and Need of the Proposed Action;

2) Description of the Affected Environment;
Range of Alternatives to the proposed action.

3) Alternatives are considered the “heart” of the EIS;
4) Analysis of the environmental impacts of each of the possible alternatives.

Question 27

5 topics each EIS must address

Answer 27

1) The probable impact of the proposed action;
2) Any adverse environmental effects that cannot be avoided;
3) Alternatives to the proposed action;
4) Relationship between local short-term uses of the environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity of the land;
5) Any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources that would be involved in the proposed action.

Question 28

Define Oligotrophic

Answer 28

deep lake with few nutrients little organic matter