NEPA, Water, and Hazards Flashcards
(36 cards)
- It is an evaluation and notification process –not a direct decision-making decision process
- This Act established a national policy for the environment and the establishment of a Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)=
=CEQ regulations and agency procedures tells the Federal agencies what they must do to comply with the procedures and the goals of the Act
National Environmental Policy Act (1969)
Impacts of the project, when considered individually or cumulatively does not have significant effects on the quality of the human environment
These actions are typically exempt from the need for more detailed environmental reviews/NEPA
Categorical Exclusions (CEX)–
EIS > EA > CEX
- provides sufficient information to the decision-maker on potential environmental effects of the project and if appropriate, its alternatives to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI).
- The proposed action involves environmental impacts that are not significant.
- If the action proposed is not a CEX or qualify for a FONSI, the federal agency or agencies must prepare an EIS
Environmental Assessments
EIS > EA > CEX
Addresses:
* Environmental impacts
* Adverse effects
* Irreversible/irretrievable use of resources
* Alternatives to proposed action, including “no action” option
* The maintenance and enhancement of Long term productivity adn the relationship between short-term uses of the human environment
* Means to mitigate adverse environmental effects
*for proposed actions with significant impacts on the environment
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
EIS > EA > CEX
- Lead federal agency is responsible for initiating the first step –Federal Register Notice of Intent for the EIS to begin the SCOPING PROCESS (public, agencies, talking to interest parties)
- The SCOPING PROCESS is the first opportunity for the agency to involve the public in its planning efforts
- The scoping process provides an opportunity for citizens to provide input on the range of issues to be addressed in the Environmental Impact Statement(EIS)
- Next step to collect and evaluate the environmental information that is gatheredn(field review, maps)
EIS preparation
Public Involvement occurs at three stages for an EIS
-Initial scoping (i.e. agencies/public identify EIS issues and alternatives to be addressed)
–Comment period for the draft EIS
–Comment on the final EIS prior to the Record of Decision (ROD)
Regulates “non-stationary” sources=
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
New Source Performance Standards (NSPS)
Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD)
Non-Attainment Areas
Air Quality Control Regions (AQCR)
National Emissions Std on Hazardous Air Pollutants
State Implementation Plan (SIP)
ISTEA – Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (1991)
TEA-21 – Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (1998)
CMAQ – Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality
=pollution sources that are not fixed in location, meaning they can move or change position. These sources are often referred to as mobile sources, such as vehicles, airplanes, trains, and other mobile machinery.
In contrast, stationary sources are fixed sources of pollution like factories, power plants, and refineries
Clean Air Act –1970, 1977, 1990
Under the Clean Air Act, States and MPOs must demonstrate, through the conformity process, that the transportation investments, strategies and programs they choose, taken as a whole, have air quality impacts consistent with those contained in the State Implementation Plans (SIP) for achieving the National Ambient Air Quality Standards
Main Objectives
- Protect the Nation’s Drinking Water
- Protect Public Health
*Protection of underground water sources
*Water Quality Standards for drinking water
*Mandates State Wellhead Protection Program
*Regulates underground injection wells
*Delineation of sole source aquifer
*Well Classification
Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)1974
protecting the quality of navigable water by ensuring they are fishable and swimmable
Controls all sources of water pollution
- Industrial waste
- Municipal waste
- Agricultural waste
NPDES permit (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) is permitting program for “point source” discharges (Section 402)
Amount of waste discharges are regulated for both Ambient & Effluent water quality
“Ambient Standard” = for receiving body water quality
“Effluent Standard” = for sending source water quality
*INTENT – Ambient regulations should be met if Effluent regulations in full effect
*NON-POINT: Land use controls may be applied to non-point sources of water pollution such as stormwater runoff from agricultural & urban areas
Clean Water Act - 1977
Control of pollution from dredged or filled materials into navigable waters
*US Army Corps of Engineers given the authority and jurisdiction for permitting
*General & individual permits
Clean Water Act – Section 404, NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System)
Toxic Substance Control Act - ‘76
This pans PCBs: “Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a group of manmade chemicals that were commonly used in industrial and building applications before 1980”
RCRA - ‘76: Resource Conservation Recovery ACt
Classifies hazardous wastes into how bad they are
4 categories: ignitability, reactivity, corrosivity and toxicity
“Cradle-to-grave” tracking
Hazardous material management Plans by State
Vs. Hazard Mitigation Planning
Landfill solid waste regulation
CERCLA/Superfund, The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act - 1980
Superfund; requires responsible party to remove or pay for the clean up
**“Cradle to grave” **regulation of sites
SARA, ‘86: Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act that revised and extended CERCLA, adding the “Community Right-to-Know Act”
Emergency planning and preparedness, hazardous materials inventory
List of hazardous materials is usually tracked by fire departments
Toxic chemical release reporting
Other Environmental Laws
in the water-rich ——United States, the riparian system developed from the English Common Law.
– “reasonable use” –
Eastern U.S. Water Law
arid —–United States, the “prior appropriation” doctrine developed from the local customary practices of western settlers.
–“first in time, first in right a.k.a., prior appropriation
Western U.S. Water Law
Water rights can be sold in the West but not in the East (water in the East is “public”)
A permeable geologic formation, either rock or sediment, that when saturated with groundwater is capable of transporting water through the formation.
Aquifer
Other key term: confining layer
An aquifer in which the permeable media (sand and gravel) starts at the land surface or immediately below the soil profile.
Shallow/Surficial Aquifer
An aquifer which supplies at least 50 percent of the drinking water consumed in the area overlying the aquifer.
Sole source Aquifer
The surface of a body of unconfined groundwater at which the pressure is equal to that of the atmosphere; defined by the level where water within an unconfined aquifer stands in a well
The upper surface of the zone of saturation
Water Table
The surface and subsurface area surrounding a water well or wellfield supplying a public water system, through which contaminants are reasonable likely to move toward and reach such well or wellfield.
Regulatory boundary that is typically larger than a zone of contribution in order to be conservative in water protection
Wellhead protection area
The entire area around a well or wellfield that is recharging or contributing water to the well or wellfield.
Zone of Contribution
channel of a river or other water source and adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than a designated height; communities must regulate development in these areas to ensure that there are no increases in upstream flood elevations
Regulatory floodway
Wildfire Mitigation - fire protection zone
Zone 1: encircles the structure and all its attachments (wooden decks, fences, and boardwalks) for at least 30 feet on all sides.
Zone 2: is 30 to 100 feet from the home, and plants in this zone should be low-growing, well irrigated and less flammable.
Zone 3: is 100 to 200 feet from the home and this area should be thinned, although less space is required than in Zone 2.
First step to ensure hospitals are built to withstand natural disasters?
Site selection based on physical characteristics (soil, seismic constraints, identifying types of hazards in that location)
For existing hospital structures, designate safe zones or build them
Emergency Management: 4 PHASES
- Preparedness in handling an emergency
- Response and responding safely to save lives and prevent further property damage
- Recovery - actions taken to return to normal or safer situation
- Mitigation - preventing future emergencies or minimizing their effects
Which Federal government agency provides funding, risk assessment, and mitigation strategies for hazard mitigation and disaster recovery?
FEMA
FEMA reports to the Secretary of Homeland Security; It started with the Congressional Act of 1803
