Lesson 10 - Natural Resources and Environmental Quality

Question 1

When was the first Earth Day?

Answer 1

April 22, 1970.

Question 2

What is the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California?

Answer 2

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California was created in 1927 in order to create the Colorado River Aqueduct. It was built between 1933 and 1941 and is owned and operated by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. It ran a water pipeline to Los Angeles.

Question 3

Who is Rachel Carson?

Answer 3

Rachel Carson was 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. This book greatly influenced the way people think about the environment.

Question 4

Pollution Terms

Answer 4

Effluent Standards 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.

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

Non-point Source Pollution is contaminated runoff from many sources.

Potable Water is water that is safe to drink.

Question 5

Types of Water Bodies

Answer 5

Aquifer is one or more strata of rock or sediment that is saturated and sufficiently permeable to yield economically significant quantities of water to wells or springs. An aquifer includes any geologic material that is currently used or could be used as a source of water within the target distance limit.

Estuary is an area where freshwater meets saltwater.

Lagoon is a shallow body of water that is located alongside a coast.

Marsh is a type of freshwater, brackish water or saltwater wetland found along rivers, ponds, lakes, and coasts. It does not accumulate appreciable peat deposits and is dominated by herbaceous vegetation.Massapequa Reservoir (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

Reservoir is a pond, lake, tank, or basin that can be used for the storage and control of water, and can be either natural or man-made.

Surface Water includes rivers, lakes, oceans, ocean-like water bodies, and coastal tidal waters.

Swamp is a freshwater wetland that has spongy, muddy land and a lot of water.

Watershed is a region drained by, or contributing water to, a surface water body.

Wetlands include swamps, marshes, bogs, and other similar areas. They are areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands can be natural or constructed.

Question 6

Types of Energy Sources

Answer 6

There are a variety of energy sources from oil, natural gas, nuclear, coal, etc. Renewable energy sources include solar, wind, geothermal, etc. Planners should be familiar with the types of energy sources and the pros and cons of the uses of these energy sources.

Question 7

Clean Water Act

Answer 7

The Clean Water Act was passed in 1977, as an amendment to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972. This Act requires anyone wanting to discharge pollutants into a body of water to obtain a permit to do so. It also regulates the amount of water that may be discharged and the types of pollutants that may be released.

Question 8

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

Answer 8

In order to discharge pollutants into the water, a Point Source Discharge Permit must be obtained from the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). To learn more about NPDES, visit the River Network website.

Question 9

Clean Air Act

Answer 9

The Clean Air Act was passed in 1970 with major amendments in 1977 and 1990. The federal government sets ambient standards and the states must devise methods that enables these standards to be met. Air cannot be contained in one location, so Air Quality Control Regions (AQCR) were created to measure air quality in air sheds. Like the Clean Water Act, the law requires a permit to release pollutants into the air. The Act monitors six pollutants:

Ozone
Particulate Matter
Carbon Monoxide
Nitrogen Dioxide
Sulfur Dioxide
Lead

The Clean Air 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. As of September 2002, there were 124 non-attainment areas.

According to the EPA, national emissions of the six most common air pollutants have been reduced substantially since 1970.

Question 10

Prevention of Significant Deterioration

Answer 10

Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) relates to air quality and requires that a project will not increase emissions above a specified PSD increment.

Question 11

Ambient Air Quality Standards

Answer 11

Ambient Air Quality Standards are the maximum air contaminant concentrations allowed in the ambient air.

Question 12

National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

Answer 12

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) resulted in the creation of the Council on Environmental Quality. The Act requires that the environmental impacts of a project be considered. An Environmental Assessment is required to determine whether there is a significant environmental impact. One of the major requirements of the act was to require the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). An EIS is required for federal projects 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 13

The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899

Answer 13

The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 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 wharfs, piers, or jetties, and the excavation or fill of navigable waters.

Question 14

Water Pollution Control Act of 1948

Answer 14

The Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 allowed the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service, in cooperation with other governmental entities, to prepare a comprehensive program for eliminating or reducing the pollution of interstate waters and tributaries and improving the sanitary condition of surface and underground waters. The Act allowed the Federal Works Administrator to assist government agencies in constructing treatment plants that could help to prevent discharges of inadequately treated sewage and other wastes into interstate waters or tributaries.

Question 15

Clean Water Act of 1966

Answer 15

The Clean Water Act of 1966 provided construction grants for wastewater treatment facilities.

Question 16

Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972

Answer 16

The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, later amended in 1990, focused efforts to reduce polluted runoff in 29 coastal states.

Question 17

Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972

Answer 17

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 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 regulating the amount of pollutants being discharged from particular point sources.

Question 18

Endangered Species Act of 1973

Answer 18

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 provided protection of animal and plant species that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designate as threatened or endangered. This act was later amended in 1988.

Question 19

Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA) of 1978

Answer 19

The Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA) of 1978 promoted alternative energy sources, energy efficiency, and reduced dependence on foreign oil. It also created a market for non-utility power producers and requires competition in the utility industry.

Question 20

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976

Answer 20

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976 provided EPA with the ability to control hazardous waste from the “cradle-to-grave.” This includes the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste, as well as the management of non-hazardous solid wastes. The 1986 amendment covered environmental issues associated with underground storage tanks for fuel and other hazardous substances.

Question 21

Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976

Answer 21

The Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 provided EPA with responsibility for reporting, record-keeping and testing requirements, and restrictions relating to chemical substances and/or mixtures. Certain substances are generally excluded, including food, drugs, cosmetics and pesticides.

Question 22

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)

Answer 22

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) was originally passed in 1947 and established procedures for registering pesticides with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and established labeling provisions. FIFRA was rewritten in 1972 when it was amended by the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act (FEPCA). The law has been amended numerous times since 1972, including some significant amendments in the form of the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996. FIFRA currently mandates that EPA regulate the use and sale of pesticides to protect human health and the environment.

Question 23

Safe Drinking Water Act

Answer 23

Safe Drinking Water Act ensures that drinking water is safe. This law was passed in 1974 and has been amended several times since. This law not only protects the end product, but also protects the sources of drinking water.

Question 24

Brownfields

Answer 24

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Brownfields are “real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties takes development pressures off of undeveloped, open land, and both improves and protects the environment.”

Question 25

Superfund sites

Answer 25

Brownfields are often called superfund sites. Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (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. The federal government provides cleanup funds through the Superfund. Additionally, many states have created funds to help cleanup property.

Question 26

Environmental Justice

Answer 26

Executive Order 12898 was issued by President Clinton in 1994 and requires that federal agencies strive to make achieving environmental justice part of their mission by addressing the disproportionate adverse environmental and human health impacts of its policies, programs and activities on minority and low-income populations. EPA has an Office of Environmental Justice that guides government agencies in meeting environmental justice goals. Environmental justice can be seen in local land use planning decisions, for example in the siting of a toxic waste facility or other locally undesirable land uses.

In part the environmental impacts of this type of use can be mitigated through performance standards in the zoning ordinance and appropriate setback requirements. In deciding where to site these uses it is important to consider social equity and environmental justice.

Environmental justice can also be reflected in a community’s comprehensive plan identifying strategies to promote environmental justice. This can mean engaging traditionally underrepresented groups in the development of comprehensive and neighborhood plans.

Question 27

Environmental Indicators

Answer 27

Candidates should also be familiar with the EPA’s Environmental Indicators which are shared in the EPA’s annual state of the environment report.