C2B-KS26

Question 1

Environmental Protection Agency

Answer 1

The mission of the EPA is to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment—air, water, and land.

Question 2

Some of the laws written by Congress that provide the authority of the EPA to write regulations;

Answer 2

Clean Air Act (CAA)

Clean Water Act (CWA)

Toxic Substances Control Act

Endangered Species Act

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) aka Superfund

Question 3

Clean Air Act (CAA)

Answer 3

comprehensive federal law that regulates air emissions from stationary and mobile sources. Among other things, this law authorizes EPA to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to protect public health and public welfare and to regulate emissions of hazardous air pollutants.

Question 4

Clean Water Act (CWA)

Answer 4

• establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and regulating quality standards for surface waters. The CWA made it unlawful to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters, unless a permit was obtained.

Question 5

Toxic Substances Control Act

Answer 5

• The objective of the Toxics Substances Control Act (TSCA) is to allow EPA to regulate new commercial chemicals before they enter the market, to regulate existing chemicals (1976) when they pose an unreasonable risk to health or to the environment, and to regulate their distribution and use.

Question 6

Endaneered Species Act (ESA)

Answer 6

• provides a program for the conservation of threatened and endangered plants and animals and the habitats in which they are found. The law requires federal agencies, in consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and/or the NOAA Fisheries Service, to ensure that actions they authorize, fund, or carry out are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any listed species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of designated critical habitat of such species. Species include birds, insects, fish, reptiles, mammals, crustaceans, flowers, grasses, and trees.

Question 7

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

Answer 7

• was one of the first laws ever written that establishes the broad national framework for protecting our environment.

NEPA’s basic policy is to assure that all branches of government give proper consideration to the environment prior to undertaking any major federal action that
significantly affects the environment.

NEPA requirements are invoked when airports, buildings, military complexes, highways, parkland purchases, and other federal activities are proposed.

Environmental Assessments (EAs) and Environmental Impact Statements (EISs), which are assessments of the likelihood of impacts from alternative courses of action, are required from all Federal agencies and are the most 
visible NEPA requirements.

Question 8

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

Answer 8

more commonly known as Superfund - The Superfund cleanup process is complex.

It involves the steps taken to assess sites, place them on the National Priorities List, and establish and implement appropriate cleanup plans. This is the long-term cleanup

Question 9

Federal Aviation Administration

Answer 9

Visit the Federal Aviation Administration for more information.

Mission Statement/About — The mission of the FAA is to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world.

Airport Compliance - Airport sponsors agree to certain obligations when they accept Federal grant funds or Federal property transfers for airport purposes. The FAA enforces these obligations through its Airport Compliance Program.

Question 10

Airport Compliance Program

Answer 10

• The FAA’s Airport Compliance Program ensures airport
  sponsors comply with the Federal obligations they assume when they accept Federal grant funds or the transfer of Federal property for airport purposes. The program serves to protect the public interest in civil aviation and ensure compliance with applicable Federal laws, FAA rules, and policies.

Question 11

Airport Improvement Program

Answer 11

• provides grants to public agencies — and, in some cases, to private owners and entities — for the planning and development of public-use airports that are included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS).

Question 12

Airport Design and Engineering Standards

Answer 12

— reference for engineering, design, and construction standards for various airport related equipment facilities, and structures including some of the following topics :

Airport Design
Airport Drainage
Airport Layout Plans
Airport Master Plans

Question 13

U.S. Army Corp of Engineers

Answer 13

Visit the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website for more information.

Mission Statement/About - Provide vital public engineering services in peace and war to strengthen our Nation’s security, energize the economy, and reduce risks from disasters.

The Services to the Public include the following;

1. Coastal Protection - beach fills and nourishment to protect against storm surge and wave-generated erosion; construction of shore structures, such as sea walls and
   breakwaters, to protect against flooding and erosion; and best practices sand management, like regional sediment management.
2. Disaster Preparedness and Response - able to help save hundreds of lives and millions of dollars in property damage every year from natural and manmade
   disasters.
3. Environmental Protection and Restoration — includes rivers, lakes, wetlands, and the coast.
4. Flood Protection — utilization of flood risk management through planning, forecasting and preparation.
5. Hydropower — largest operator of hydroelectric plants in the U.S. with 75 Corps plants.
6. Navigable Waterways — primary navigation responsibilities include planning and constructing new navigation channels and locks and dams, and dredging to maintain channel depths at U.S. harbors and on inland waterways.
7. Regulatory - regulatory efforts are designed to protect a wide variety of aquatic resources, including wetlands, rivers, streams, tidal waters, coral reefs, shellfish beds,
   and the oceans.
8. Water Supply - As one of the nation’s largest water supply agencies, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plays a major role in ensuring that Americans have enough water to meet their needs. The Corps has 136 multiple purpose projects that contain storage for water supply in 25 states.

Question 14

How many division does the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Have?

Answer 14

There are 8 Divisions of the Corps in the United States;

Question 15

Which division of the Army Corps of Engineers is California in?

Answer 15

• California is in the South Pacific Division, headquartered in San Francisco
• There are 3 districts in California, San Francisco Sacramento and Los Angeles,
• it’s worth a visit to their websites.

Question 16

The Regulatory Program of the USACE administers and enforces the following:

Answer 16

Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (Federal) —a Corps permit is required for work on structures in, over, or under navigable waterways of the U.S.

Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (Federal) — a Corps permit is required for the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the U.S.

Many bodies of water and wetlands in the nation are subject to the Corps’ Section 404 regulatory authority.

Remember that we discussed the Wetlands Project Permittine Guide published by the County of Ventura Planning Division in Knowledge Statement #1.

Question 17

U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Answer 17

a. Visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife website for more information.

Mission Statement/About - The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife is to work with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.

Enforces federal wildlife laws including the Endangered Species Act.

Question 18

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Answer 18

a. Visit the website Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). (We discussed FEMA in KS #2)

Mission Statement/About - FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Question 19

U.S. Coast Guard

Answer 19

Visit U.S. Coast Guard website for more information.

Mission Statement/About - The U.S. Coast Guard is one of the five armed forces of the United States and the only military organization within the Department of Homeland
Security.

Question 20

The missions of the U.S Coast Guard most relevant to design and construction are;

Answer 20

Living Marine Resources - ensuring the country’s marine protected species are provided the protection necessary to help their populations recover to healthy, sustainable levels.

Marine Environmental Protection Program - develops and enforces regulations to avert the introduction of invasive species into the maritime environment, stop unauthorized ocean dumping, and prevent oil and chemical spills.

Question 21

The following agencies fall under the umbrella of CAL EPA:

Answer 21

• Air Resource Board
• Dept of Pesticide regulation
• Dept of Toxic Substances Control
• Office of Environmental Health and Hazard Assessment
• State Water resources Control Board

Question 22

Superfund

Answer 22

or Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) is a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances as well as broadly defined “pollutants or contaminants”