Environmental Consulting Fundamentals

Investigation, Remediation, and Brownfields Redevelopment, Second Edition

Benjamin Alter

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9780429875434
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Environmental Law
• Index: Law

This book is a primer for those interested in a career in this dynamic, multidisciplinary field as well as a handy reference for practicing consultants. Combining theory and practice advice into a concise, readable format, the book is an accessible introduction to the types of projects you will encounter as an environmental consultant and lays the groundwork for what you'll need to know in this challenging and rewarding profession. Also available with this book, under the Additional Resources tab, are PowerPoint lectures that correspond with each chapter.

New in the Second Edition

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• Covers the latest environmental issues, including emerging contaminants, and the latest technological advances in environmental investigation and remediation

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• New chapters dedicated to vapor intrusion investigation and mitigation and to Brownfields redevelopment and project financing.

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• An expanded chapter describing the staffing, budgeting, and execution of environmental projects.

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• Descriptions of the remediation processes under RCRA and Superfund

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• Descriptions on how each chapter's subject matter applies to the job of the environmental consultant.

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• Dozens of new figures, photographs, and tables designed to enhance the reader's understanding of the subject matter.

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• Problems and questions to be used for homework assignments or classroom discussions.

Section II

Site Investigations and Remediations

3

Framework of Environmental Regulations

More than almost any other business, the business of environmental consulting is driven by regulations. A complete description of all federal regulations, not to mention the myriad of state and territorial environmental regulations, would require its own book. In this chapter, we limit our discussion to the legal framework, history, and scope of the major federal environmental regulations that pertain to the topics discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book.

3.1 The Formation of United States Environmental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and Health Administration

3.1.1 Pre-history of Environmental Regulations

Prior to 1969, environmental laws were geared primarily to the protection of navigable waterways and the conservation of natural resources. The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, the oldest federal environmental law in the United States, prohibited the dumping of refuse into a navigable water body or its tributaries without a permit. This act also prohibited the excavation, filling, or altering of any port, harbor, or channel, without a permit.

Beginning with the tenure of Gifford Pinchot in 1898 and the formation of the U.S. Forest Service under the Roosevelt Administration in 1905, the conservation of natural resources became the primary environment-related goal of the federal government. A series of laws aimed towards the conservation of natural resources was passed in the ensuing decades, the most notable of which was the Wilderness Act of 1964, whose mission was to preserve designated national forest lands in their natural condition.

The first federal law aimed at chemical hazards was the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, known as FIFRA, which was first enacted in 1947 and revised and expanded in subsequent years. The Act, FIFRA, originally was oriented towards consumer protection and required pesticide manufacturers to register their products. The Delaney Clause of FIFRA, which took effect in 1958, required that manufacturers of consumer products demonstrate that their products would not cause cancer in people or animals.

Meanwhile, the first half of the twentieth century saw an explosion of growth in the invention and usage of synthetic chemicals in the industrialized countries of the world. Sanitary engineers who were used to dealing with naturally occurring chemicals that would biodegrade naturally were unaccustomed to dealing with synthetic chemicals, many of which would not biodegrade naturally and therefore would persist in the environment. Many of these chemicals proved to be hazardous to a wide variety of flora and fauna (especially humans) and posed a growing health threat in the world’s industrialized countries.

The general public gained awareness of this threat after author Rachel Carson published Silent Spring in 1962. In that landmark book, Ms. Carson documented the degradation of the environment caused by these chemicals, and warned that, if we humans are to live among these chemicals, we should be aware of their effects on us. Her wake-up call helped to launch the modern environmental movement.

3.1.2 Establishment of the United States Environmental Protection Agency

The passage of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 1969 set the stage for modern environmental regulations. NEPA created the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) within the executive branch of the United States government. For the first time, an environmental law in the United States acknowledged the “profound impact” of man’s activity on the environment and the “critical importance of restoring and maintaining environmental quality to the overall welfare and development of man.” Chief among the new requirements under NEPA was the requirement to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for actions contemplated by the federal government that may have a “significant impact” on the environmental quality in the area. The National Environmental Policy Act is discussed in greater detail in Chapter 13.

Following on the heels of NEPA was the establishment of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Soon after its inception, the USEPA began to develop a regulatory framework to protect the environment of existence, the USEPA passed six major laws, with major amendments and reauthorizations in subsequent years. With one exception, major laws implemented by USEPA are forward-looking, that is, designed to prevent future environmental degradation. The one backward-looking law is the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), more commonly known as Superfund. These laws are described below.

Table 3.1 below is an incomplete list of major federal environmental laws passed since 1970. Many of these laws, amendments, and reauthorizations are discussed in this chapter.

TABLE 3.1
Major Environmental Laws after Establishment of USEPA

1970	Clean Air Act Amendments
1972	Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments (Clean Water Act) Federal Environmental Pesticides Control Act of 1972 (amended FIFRA)
1973	Endangered Species Act
1974	Safe Drinking Water Act
1976	Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
1977	Clean Air Act Amendments Clean Water Act Amendments
1980	Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) (Superfund)
1984	Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (RCRA Amendments)
1986	Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) (.a.k.a. Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act [EPCRA])
1987	Water Quality Act
1990	Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 Oil Pollution Act of 1990 Pollution Prevention Act
2002	Brownfields Act
2005	Energy Policy Act

Source: Kraft, M.E., Environmental Policy and Politics, HarperCollins College Publishers, 1996.

3.1.3 Establishment of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 established the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, better known as OSHA. This administration’s primary responsibility is to protect the health and safety of workers in the workplace. The primary role of OSHA in environmental investigations and remediations regards the protective measures to be taken by workers at sites with hazardous wastes or some other environmental hazard. Therefore, this book discusses OSHA regulations within the context of environmental investigations and remediations.

3.2 Legal Framework of Federal Environmental Regulations

In the United States, laws are passed by Congress and signed by the president. The president also can issue executive orders, which bypass congressional approval. Once a law or an executive order is in place, it is sent to the appropriate department, which is charged with creating regulations designed to carry out the directives in the law or executive order. Once the regulations have been finalized, the department that issued the regulations is responsible for enforcing them.

At the federal level in the United States, the USEPA is tasked with promulgating and enforcing regulations designed to protect the environment. The USEPA is not a cabinet department, although its chief administrator is usually part of the executive branch’s cabinet.

3.2.1 Code of Federal Regulations

Regulations promulgated by the USEPA appear in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), which can be accessed at www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html. Each regulation has a numerical title, which refers to the department that administers the regulations. R...