clean air act

Assignment Instructions

In this unit, you learned about some major environmental laws and regulations related to air, water, and hazardous waste. In this assignment, you will demonstrate what you have learned about these topics. Compose an essay in which you give a brief overview of the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA or Clean Water Act), and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

In addition, you should include the following information:

• Explain the purpose of a CAA risk management plan and an outline of the major sections of a 112(r) plan.
• Describe the purpose of pre-treatment categorical standards and how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) permit writers use these when preparing wastewater discharge permits.
• Describe the differences between a conditionally exempt, small, and large quantity generator. Include the types of records to be maintained for each generator category.
• Give one example of each of the acts, and explain why that example is personally important to you.

Your essay must be at least two pages in length, and you must use at least two academic sources, one of which must come from the CSU Online Library. Your essay should include an introduction and be clearly and logically organized. APA formatting is required. All sources used, including the course textbook, must be referenced. Paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying in-text citations.

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The tutorials below may be helpful to you when completing this assignment.

 Introductions and Conclusions Tutorial : The transcript for this resource can be found within the “Notes” tab to the right of the presentation.

How to Find Peer-Reviewed Resouces video: (Transcript for Peer-Reviewed Resources video)

Resources

The following resource(s) may help you with this assignment.

• Citation Guide
• CSU Online Library Research Guide
• Submit Writing Center Request

SAMPLE STUDENT ANSWER

Laws Regulating Environmental Protection Agency

The Environmental Protection Agency is a significant organization when it comes to environmental protection in the US. The agency was created by President Nixon in 1971. The role of the agency is to create and enforce laws and regulations to protect human health and the environment. The agency’s mission is to ensure Americans have a clean environment, including the water, land, and air they use.

However, the agency cannot function without legislation. There are pieces of legislation that have been passed to give EPA direction and help it function well including the Clean Air Act (CAA), Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The purpose of the assignment is to briefly discuss the laws and their purposes.

The CAA is a comprehensive federal law regulating emissions from mobile and stationary sources. This law authorizes Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to protect public welfare and health and regulate hazardous air pollutants emissions (Aldy et al., 2022). The law was designed to minimize the increase in pollution from explained or new stationary sources (industrial plants and power plants) and motor vehicles.

FWPCA also known as Clean Water Act (CWA) was the first water pollution law passed in the US. The law established funding mechanisms for water treatment facilities and develop water quality standards (Smith, 2022). The law ensures that water consumed by Americans is of high quality and safe for human consumption.

            RCRA is a federal law that provides the EPA authority to develop regulations on how to dispose of waste (Haight et al., 2013). The law provides the EPA authority to regulate how to transport, treat, store, and dispose of hazardous waste. It also established the framework for non-hazardous solid waste management. The law was amended in 1986 to provide EPA authority to address environmental issues resulting from underground petroleum tanks and other hazardous substances (Cecot, 2021).

A CAA Risk Management Program (RMP) is a rule that implements section 112(r) Clean Air Act 1990 amendments. The plan needs organizations to use the extremely hazardous substance to create a risk management plan. The organizations should always revise the plans and resend them to the EPA for re-evaluation every five years (Haight et al., 2013). The 112 (r) plan is designed to help organizations prevent releases and accidents through a program of response, preparedness, and prevention.

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It has three key sections. The first section should identify the potential impact of a chemical accident. The second section shows the steps the organization will take to prevent the accident. The third section identifies the emergency response procedures in case an accident happens.

The categorical pretreatment standards’ purpose is to specify the concentration, pollutant properties, or quantity of pollutants that may be discharged to publicly owned treatment works (POTWs). The EPA uses the standards to provide permits for specific entities where discharge characteristics are variable.

EPA categorized generators into three categories in its regulations. According to the agency, generators might be large quantities, small quantities, or very small quantity generators. Very Small Quantity Generators (VSQGs) generate one kilogram or less per month or 100 kilograms or less per month of acutely hazardous waste (Haight et al., 2013).

Small Quantity Generators (SQGs) generate less than 1,000 kilograms but more than 100 kilograms of hazardous waste per month. Large Quantity Generators (LQGs) generate more than one kilogram or 1000 kilograms of acutely hazardous waste per month (Haight et al., 2013). The LQGs are needed to prepare and submit a biennial hazardous waste report and detailed written contingency plans. SQGs and VSQGs do not have any maintained records.

CWA is so personal to me. In my community, water had high lead content. The local government used CWA to improve the quality of water in my community. Many people contracted diseases due to the high lead in the water and that is why I feel emotional talking about water quality.

In conclusion, the three laws have improved the authority of EPA to protect US environment. CAA helps in improving the quality of air. CWA ensures Americans drink and use quality water. RCRA ensures that waste is properly disposed.

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References

Aldy, J. E., Auffhammer, M., Cropper, M., Fraas, A., & Morgenstern, R. (2022). Looking back at 50 years of the Clean Air Act. Journal of Economic Literature, 60(1), 179-232.

Cecot, C. (2021). The federal enforcement threat: The effect of overfiling under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, 18(3), 534-568.

Haight, J. M., Butler, T. S., Caccavale, S., Fink, W. S., Freeman, J., & Jos, A. J. (2013). Environmental Safety and Health Regulations. American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP). https://online.vitalsource.com/books/9781885581808

Smith, D. (2022). Clean water act at 50: Celebrating the golden anniversary of the blue policy. Journal of Environmental Quality.