Exam 46: Environmental Law

A lightning strike causes an explosion at Johnson's Oil refinery, which was located close to Maintown.Fumes from the resulting fires at the plant have sent the nearby townspeople to the hospital for severe respiratory distress.Johnson's Oil will be liable for the townspeople's injuries directly resulting from the fumes.

Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA administrator must establish national air quality standards to regulate air pollutants that endanger public health and welfare.

Which of the following is true about the regulation of pesticide use by the EPA?

List and define the common law causes of action or theories of recovery for environmental damage.

In order for Mitchell, the owner of a cement factory, to obtain a permit from the Colorado Environmental Protection Agency in a PSD area, he must demonstrate that his factory will utilize the best available control technology.

The states initially had primary responsibility for controlling air pollution.

The Clean Air Act requires that the standard of performance for new stationary sources that are constructed or modified after the publication of regulations reflect emissions achievable through application of the best available technological system of continuous emission reduction.

In order for Beth to receive a permit for her plastic factory in a nonattainment area, she must show that the factory's emission rates will be within the average range for the industry.

The EPA may impose criminal fines and seek incarceration or imprisonment for persons who are convicted of violations of some environmental laws.

TSCA includes provisions that:

The most important federal statutes governing hazardous substances include:

Private tort actions have been quite successful in controlling environmental damage.

Which of the following statement(s) is true concerning the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer?

NEPA is a federal act that focuses on particular environmental hazards without stating national environmental policy.

The Clean Water Act imposes civil penalties but not criminal penalties for violations of the Act.

Private tort actions may not be used to recover for environmental damage.

In suing to recover for environmental damage under the common law, plaintiffs generally have had causes of action in:

The term "nuisance" in the law may mean two distinct types of wrongful actions: one a private nuisance, the other a public nuisance.

What are the two major substantive sections of the National Environmental Policy Act?

Under the Superfund Recycling Act of 1999, recyclers are exempt from clean-up cost liability to the government or third parties.