Which of the policy tools that you learned about in Week 1 content can be used for each of the policy approaches?
DQ1 Policy approaches and tools
Your course content lists five policy approaches to overcome the tragedy of the commons:
Prescriptive Regulations
Property Rights
Penalties
Payments
Persuasions
Which of the policy tools that you learned about in Week 1 content can be used for each of the policy approaches? Please make sure to read what others have written and add to the discussion about appropriate policy tool usage for each policy approach.
Once this has been done, please take an environmental issue that you are concerned about, and discuss which approach(s) can be most effectively used to address that issue.
The general guidelines for engaging discussions are to share your thoughts on one of the questions above and then those who come later should add to what has already been discussed.
DQ2 Natural Resource versus Pollution Management and how the various federal agencies affect your health and safety
Agencies involved with environmental management falls under two broad categories: natural resource management and pollution management. Can you list the agencies that are involved with natural resource management versus those that are involved with pollution management?
This week we provided Figure 2 as a visual for the relationship between various federal agencies, and how they affect what occurs in our home and at work and the places we visit. Please take a specific activity you do and trace back to how the agencies affect the safety and health of that activity.
DQ3 Investigating state environmental permits
In this week’s module, we noted that states issue the majority of environmental permits. Please find the name of your state environmental agency and name a type of permit that they issue, and how that specific permit affects your life. Please make sure to change the title of your topic to reflect the environmental state agency name you will be discussing. And please read what others have begun and add to the discussion with new insights and connections.
ENMT303 Environmental Regulations and Policy
Week 2 Discussion
DQ1 Connections between Acts and Agencies covered this week and your future careers
In our course content, we covered the titles of the CAA as well as the basics of NEPA and OSH Act and how the agencies created to implement these acts, EPA and OSHA, function.
Look up at least one career you are thinking of pursuing, describe the basis of that career, and explain which of the three acts we covered this week is relevant to that career and/or what type of agency work you would like to pursue.
Please change the title of this topic to clearly state the career you are posting about. This will allow other students interested in the same career to read your post and add relevant information and perspectives to what you began.
DQ2 NEPA, CAA, and EPA
What is the relationship between NEPA, CAA and EPA? Make sure to read what your classmates have written so that you can add something new to the discussion. Make sure to incorporate the major goals for these acts and the actions that have occurred by the agencies administering those acts.
Some specific questions you might want to address include:
What EPA activities require an Environmental Impact Statement according to NEPA?
What federal agencies does NEPA affect and how?
Which act would be most applicable during the construction of a coal-fired power plant? Why?
Is there any are of overlap between NEPA and CAA? Explain your answer.
Which aspect of CAA and NEPA most directly affect your life?
The general guidelines for engaging discussions are to share your thoughts on one of the questions above and then those who come later should add to what has already been discussed.
DQ3 Managing air quality: EPA versus OSHA, and difficulties of reaching attainment
Let’s first begin discussions on what specifically EPA and OSHA do in terms of air quality.
What specifically does EPA and OSHA do for ambient air quality?
Why is it so much more difficult to manage ambient outdoor air than ambient workplace air?
Once this has been clearly addressed, let’s branch out into other aspects of EPA and OSHA:
Does OSHA administer any more the OSH Act? Why or why not?
What about the EPA? What acts does the EPA administer?
What else other than ambient workplace air quality does OSHA affect in the workplace? Your readings this week noted that our national goal to meet NAAQS has still not been met in 2019. When CAA was enacted in 1970, they thought we would meet NAAQS by 1975. So provisions were made in CAA amendments of 1977 — and then again in 1990. What were those provisions? Have they been helpful in meeting NAAQS?
ENMT303 Environmental Regulations and Policy
Week 3 Discussion
DQ1 Connections between Acts and Agencies covered this week and your future careers
This week, we covered the roles of the Army Corp of Engineers and EPA under the CWA, the state and local agencies managing the SDWA, the many actors and agencies in natural resource management, and specifically the involvement of two different federal agencies in the management of the Endangered Species Act.
What agency or organization in natural resource management peaked your interest? Make sure to articulate a clear connection to the course content. What specifically peaked your interest and what careers could you explore due to your interests?
Please change the title of this topic to clearly state the career you are posting about. This will allow other students interested in the same career to read your post and add relevant information and perspectives to what you began.
DQ2 CWA and SDWA and key terms and concepts within these acts
Some questions for you to consider as you discuss the CWA and SDWA:
How would you explain the key concepts for the CWA in less than two minutes?
What about the SDWA? What was so great about a bill that 533 out of 535 members of Congress voted to pass it? What are the basics of the SDWA and what are its accomplishments? Why was SDWA needed when we already had the CWA?
Take a look at these 73 contaminants with their maximum contaminant levels (MCL) and their public health goals. Which chemical you have heard about or have worked with? Why are the MCL and the MCLG (the public health goals) not the same?
What are your thoughts about a public health goal of zero mg/L for a number of these contaminants? For example, how can we achieve zero for chemicals we use in our society such as the herbicide Alachlor? How do we measure “zero”? What role does scientific uncertainty play in determining regulatory limits?
What are the issues with the terms “navigable water”, “waters of the United States”, and “significant nexus”?
We saw the difficulty of agreeing who needs to have a permit to discharge waters into water bodies, with questions about whether we need permits to discharge into isolated wetlands and ditches. How would you address this question given what you know about the water cycle? What occurs to discharges into ditches and isolated wetlands? If you were writing the CWA, would you have included groundwater in the legislation? Why or why not?
In his lecture on “Safe Drinking Water: Science and Law”, Professor John Wargo discussed his drinking water sources of his private well and his bottled water. Are those sources regulated? Explain why or why not. What other regulations might come into play for managing safe drinking water sources given what you know about the water cycle?
Remember that you do not need to answer all questions! What you need is to help your classmates address one of these questions or integrate several responses to make a connection or share a different perspective or make a gentle correction or ask a relevant question. Make sure to discuss these questions before taking the weekly quiz!
DQ3 Managing our natural resources
How do we resolve the desires and needs of all these different groups? Take a look at Professor Wargo’s lecture and then discuss in class what you have seen or experienced, concerning how land use and conservation laws affect our every day lives. How does ideology of land use rights (libertarianism, authoritarian, utilitarian, preservationist) affect how we view natural resource laws? How are property rights defined? Do you agree with Professor Wargo that property rights are really a set of relationships, and hence, you cannot think of rights without thinking about obligations?
Do you agree that the ESA is the most powerful natural resource legislation in the U.S.? Why or why not?
ENMT303 Environmental Regulations and Policy
Week 4 Discussion
DQ1 Foundations in Federal Rulemaking
As you might expect in this introductory course on environmental policy, the policymaking process has been presented to you in a streamlined manner. In fact, the daily work of making policy is rich with complexity and the simpler rulemaking process explained in the Learning Resources, in the real world of politics and law-making, has many points of entry and exit.
STEP 1: To gain a better sense of the complexity, closely compare the two attached documents: SIMPLE_DIAGRAM_RULEMAKING and COMPLEX_DIAGRAM_RULEMAKING (PDF format).
STEP 2: PART A: For your Main post this week, choose a process step in the SIMPLE DIAGRAM. Study the step in relation to the preceding and next steps. Be sure you understand the process step. Explain the “simple” process step in your own words.
STEP 3: PART B: Examine the same process step in the COMPLEX DIAGRAM. In your words, explain the additional information that you learned about this process step after studying the COMPLEX DIAGRAM.
SIMPLE DIAGRAM RULEMAKING
COMPLEX DIAGRAM RULEMAKING
DQ2 Touring the Federal Register
This week, you will explore Proposed Rules at the Federal Register available under the Office of the Federal Register at https://www.federalregister.gov
Step 1. Visit the main webpage for the Federal Register at:
https://www.federalregister.gov
Step 2. Scroll down to the “Search Federal Register Documents Since 1994”
Step 3. You can search in the Search window and limit to Proposed Rule PR *OR* scroll down further to choose one of the categories in the left frame: Environment, Science and Technology, or Health & Public Welfare. After selecting a category in the left frame, a list of Suggested Searches will appear in the right frame. Select one of these options to see a full list of available documents in the Federal Register. Scroll to locate documents that are Proposed Rules indicated by PR. (Other document indicators are R-Rule, N-Notice, and PD-Presidential Document.)
Step 4. Select a Proposed Rule that interest you.
Step 5. PART 1 DISCUSSION SUBMISSION: Provide a screenshot of the Proposed Rule including the following information: Agency, CFR/USC Law or Act, Title of the Proposed Rule, Summary, and Dates. In addition to the screenshot, list the following in the body of your post for this week.
Agency
CFR/USC Law or Act
Title of the Proposed Rule
Dates
Step 6: PART 2 DISCUSSION SUBMISSON: In your own words, explain the following content for the Proposed Rule that you chose:
Problem/Issue
Goals and Solutions
Technology or Logistics requirements to meet the goals or implement the solutions
DQ3 Code of Federal Regulations
In this topic, you get a chance to explore your favorite environmental topic. Perhaps, you are concerned about nuclear waste, or salmon dying in the Northwest, or maybe there is a water quality issue in your neighborhood and you wonder what the federal regulations say about the particulate levels.
STEP 1: View the video below “Keyword Searching the CFR on govinfo.gov. ” Practice conducting Advanced searches for your favorite topic.
STEP 2: Choose one of the environmental, safety, and health CFR Titles below that relates closest to your favorite topic. Conduct an Advanced Search using your favorite topic and the CFR Title. Limit your search to 2010 or more recent.
Title 7: Agriculture Title 21: Food and Drugs Title 33: Navigation and Navigable Waters Title 43: Public Lands: Interior
Title 9: Animals and Animal Products Title 27: Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms Title 36: Parks, Forests, and Public Property Title 44: Emergency Management and Assistance
Title 10: Energy Title 29: Labor Title 40: Protection of Environment Title 49: Transportation
Title 18: Conservation of Power and Water Resources Title 30: Mineral Resources Title 42: Public Health Title 50: Wildlife and Fisheries
STEP 3: Provide the following information:
Your favorite topic
Corresponding CFR Title
Year cutoff for your search
Number of search results found
Share 2-3 pieces of new information you learned about the legislative and/or regulatory aspects of your favorite topic.
Attach a screenshot of your search results, showing your Advanced Search fields
ENMT303 Environmental Regulations and Policy
Week 5 Discussion
DQ1 Connections between legislations and agencies covered this week and your life and present and future careers
This week, we covered the basics of TSCA, RCRA, CERCLA, and the Lautenberg Act. Share one to two sentences that you can use to tell your family and friend about one of these legislations and how it affects your life. And then share a few sentences on which legislation would most likely affect a career you are thinking of for environmental management. You should add to what your classmates have begun rather than repeat similar thoughts. For example, if you agree with what TSCA is about, you can provide a different example of how it affects your life.
We also saw the 20 minutes RCRA Training by the U.S. Army Garrison Redstone as part of our content this week. What are your thoughts about the training video? Has anyone been to a RCRA training?
Please change the title of this topic to clearly state the career you are posting about. This will allow other students interested in the same career to read your post and add relevant information and perspectives to what you began.
DQ2 Putting things into context: relationships and situations
What is the relationship between TSCA, RCRA, CERCLA, and Lautenberg Act? Make sure to read what your classmates have written so that you can add something new to the discussion. Make sure to incorporate the major goals and actions for each of these legislations. Please discuss what agencies are responsible for rule making for these legislations and any specific rules you have learned about from these agencies as part of your work in this class or any other aspect of your life.
Please provide a timeline of these acts and the events that brought our attention to the need to implement these acts.
Also, please discuss the importance of the TCLP in determining what is a hazardous waste under RCRA.
We have all heard about toxic substances such as lead, asbestos, plutonium, Atrazine, and benzene. All these chemicals are known to be toxic, and yet, they are not regulated universally under any of the acts you learned about this week for hazardous chemicals management. Please discuss under which conditions/situations each chemical would be regulated, which act would be responsible for regulating that chemical under that specific situation, or if we have not discussed the act that the specific chemical would fall under.
DQ3 Which legislations and agencies are responsible for these environmental issues?
Below are specific environment and environmental health issues for us to discuss as a class. Please discuss what legislation this specific problem is relevant to (including subtitles) and what specific rules/regulations and agencies are responsible for this environmental issue.
Heavy metals in industrial processing
Coal ash spill from unlined pond
Abandoned land contaminated with benzene
Underground storage tank
New chemical production
Installation of a new municipal waste landfill
Storage of hazardous waste
As always, please read what your classmates have discussed prior to your participation and add value to the discussion with relevant connections to our course content.
ENMT303 Environmental Regulations and Policy
Week 6 Discussion
DQ1 Inspections and the Agricultural Industry
Topic 1 – Inspections and the Agricultural Industry
Inspection of the agricultural industry is a key responsibility of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). To help members of the agricultural industry, environmental managers, safety officers, and the public understand expectations and requirements about inspections, the USDA has provided several regulatory and compliance educational resources.
Choose only one of the two options, Option 1 or Option 2, below.
OPTION 1:
STEP 1: Choose one video from one of the USDA Regulatory Education Video Seminars available at the link below:
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/regulatory-compliance/regulatory-education-video-seminars
STEP 2: Provide Title of the video as the title of your Main post. Add the URL of video in the body of your Main post. What is the overall purpose of this video? Explain the purpose in your own words.
Complete STEPS 3-5 below.
OPTION 2:
STEP 1: Go through the Food Defense 101 Training course, answer the questions below (STEPS 2-5), and submit your Certificate of completion with your Main post
STEP 2: What is the overall purpose of Food Defense 101 course? Explain the purpose in your own words.
Complete STEPS 3-5 below.
Food Defense 101 Training and Certificate
https://www.fda.gov/food/food-defense-tools-educational-materials/food-defense-101-front-line-employee
Select Launch FOOD DEFENSE
STEP 3: What processes or procedures did you learn about? Be specific and provide a detailed description of the procedures or processes addressed.
STEP 4: How would the information be used by the agricultural industry or members of the public? Be specific and provide clear, comprehensive coverage of how the information supports compliance with regulations as well as how it benefits the health and safety of food, food products, animal welfare, or other agriculture-related products.
STEP 5: Share any additional insights that you learned. (For Option 2, be sure to submit your Food Defense 101 Certificate with your Main post.)
DQ2 FDA, CPSC, and Recalls
Topic 2 – FDA, CPSC and Recalls
Federal legislation that creates agencies like the Food and Drug Administration is aimed at securing public safety in the face of an uncertain and constantly changing market of products aimed at consumers. New products of all sorts are on the market daily and everyone gets excited to see new and innovative ideas, but there can be consequences. Recalls are necessary to protect consumers from products known to cause illness, injury, or even death.
STEP 1: Select from one of the three Recall websites listed below, and select one recalled product from within the past year. Title your post with the name of the product.
Food Safety and Recalls https://www.foodsafety.gov/
FDA Recalls https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Recalls https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls
NOTE: Answers to questions in STEPS 2-4 may require additional research.
STEP 2: Why was the product recalled? What was the problem with the product?
STEP 3: How many people were impacted by the defective productive? In what way were they impacted? Discuss any injuries, illnesses, or deaths that resulted.
STEP 4: Which government agency was involved in the recall? How was that agency involved? How did they respond? By what means did they inform the public?
STEP 5: Cite all sources and provide URLs used to answer questions Step 2-4
DQ3 Pesticides, FIFRA, and Food
Topic 3 – Pesticides, FIFRA, and Food
The EPA regulates pesticides and is responsible for setting the tolerances for the amount of pesticides that remain in or on food, called residues. The tolerances are also called ‘maximum residue limits.’
The EPA has the authority to regulate these residues under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) which was initially enacted in previous version in 1947 and amended substantively in 1972 and 2003. FIFRA was initially administered by the United States Department of Agriculture but was transferred to the EPA in 1970.
The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) is the Federal statute that governs the registration, distribution, sale, and use of pesticides in the United States. With certain exceptions, a pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest, or intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant, or desiccant, or any nitrogen stabilizer.
Key Federal Facility Responsibilities Under FIFRA
In brief, under FIFRA, Federal Facilities are required to:
Sell or distribute pesticides only as set forth in §12 of FIFRA
Properly follow pesticide labeling instructions
Use any pesticide under an experimental use permit consistent with the provisions of the permit
Ensure that applicators are properly trained and, wherever necessary, certified to use restricted use pesticides and are using appropriate personal protective equipment
Properly manage pesticide storage facilities
Dispose of pesticide residues and waste in accordance with required and recommended procedures
Maintain records of applications of restricted use pesticides, except when applied by a certified applicator who is a private contractor.
At facilities where pesticides are produced, sold or distributed, allow entry, inspection, copying of records or sampling authorized by FIFRA
SOURCE: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/federal-insecticide-fungicide-and-rodenticide-act-fifra-and-federal-facilities
FIFRA Objective: Ensure that, when applied as instructed, pesticides will not generally cause unreasonable risk to human health or the environment.
Execution: Provisions in FIFRA require the EPA to establish programs to require pesticides be labeled (40 CFR Part 156) and packaged to prevent accidents and exposure (40 CFR Part 157), as well as set standards for workers that handle pesticides (40 CFR Part 170), restricted use, storage, disposal, transportation, and recall (sections §11-19 of the Act).
STEP 1: Decide on one of the pesticides listed below. Provide the pesticide name as the title of your Main post. There are 25 pesticides listed so please strive to avoid duplication with another classmate.
Glufosinate
Decan-1-ol
Metolachlor
Chlorothalonil
2,4-D
Methyl bromide
Trifluralin
Chlorpyrifos
Chloropicrin
Dichloropropene
Paraquat
Dicamba
Mancozeb
Metan potassium
Metolachlor-S
Acephate
Propanil
Ethephon
Acetochlor
Atrazine
Copper hydroxide
Hydrated lime
Pendimethalin
Metam
Glyphosphate
STEP 2: Go to https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ to search for one of the pesticides. Select one of the search results that most closely matches the use of the chemical as a pesticide. You can confirm its use as a pesticide by selecting the search result and scrolling to Content #7 of the Compound Summary at PubChem. Provide the URL of your search results.
STEP 3: What is the molecular formula of the pesticide? What is the IUPAC name of the pesticide? See Content Section #2. What is the CAS number for the pesticide? CAS is the Chemical Abstracts Service and a CAS number is a unique identifier.
STEP 4: What type of pesticide is it? What is its purpose? See the Compound Summary Introduction and Content Sections 6, 7, 11 and 12 to assist in answering this question.
STEP 5: Use various information available in the Compound Summary at PubChem to discuss the pesticide’s toxic effects and tolerance levels. What is the evidence for toxicity? Discuss data evidence from different subjects such as humans and animals. Cite sources used to answer this question.
ENMT303 Environmental Regulations and Policy
Week 7 Discussion
DQ1 Connections between P2, EJ, and future careers
Below are some questions to help you discuss connections between P2, EJ, and future careers:
What have you learned about P2 and EJ that interests you most this week and why? What did you think about what Dr. Ryan Emanuel found out about his own tribal history when he began to work on EJ issues? Which of the programs in the Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center reading about the programs that have resulted from P2 legislation interests you most and why?
In addition to sharing the personal connections between your readings and your life and interests, please discuss how P2 and EJ are related.
Were you surprised that there were no regulations to force anyone to prevent pollution? Instead, there are a number of monetary incentives for states to provide assistance to help with source reduction. What policy tools did the Pollution Prevention Act use? Are similar tools used for EJ with E.O. 12898?
DQ2 Discussion of key terms and concepts
This week, we encouraged holistic thinking by introducing four concepts:
Precautionary principle
Polluter pays
Sustainable development
Accountability and meaningful public involvement
Please take one of those concepts and explain how it can be applied and whether we have applied them in previous legislations. For example, in our module reading, we were asked the question “How have we treated chemicals we have regulated?” Innocent until proven guilty or guilty until proven innocent?
DQ3 Environmental Injustice
This was a difficult topic to write about – and will be a difficult topic to discuss. It is typically helpful to start discussions of difficult topics with definitions and assumptions.
Two different definitions of EJ that we have seen this week are:
“Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies.” EPA definition of EJ
“Meaningful and informed engagement, early and often, with impacted people and decision making bodies, as long term partners, for the purpose of determining a fair distribution of benefits, and, if any, acceptable burdens.” Tamara Toles O’Laughlin’s definition, 2019.
Which of these definitions provide more practical guidance on how to address environmental injustice? Why?
Tamara Toles O’Laughlin states that EJ should have an operational framework of equity, access, and justice. Do you agree or disagree? What do you think of her working definition of equity as a practice involving “habitual refocusing of resources and norms to support those persons, communities, and groups at risk of harm in a given action AND shifting policies, practices and activities to avoid those harms”? (Tamara Toles O’Laughlin from ELI 2019).
What about the assumptions in the equity and justice movement that:
No community, group or people should bear an outsized burden of environmental threats, ecological manipulation or be excluded form decisions that determine their future for any reason, particularly for profit.
Poverty is a function of design and is not biological.
Do you agree with these assumptions? Discuss the basis of these assumptions and then examine the various definitions of EJ that was presented to you this week and how they fit into these assumptions.
Dr. Emmanuel shared that there has been a 100% false negative EJ test? How can that be?
Dr. Ryan Emmanuel discussed some of the results from using the EJ test on the EIS. Can you share a summary of the specific cases he discussed where the final conclusion were that there were no EJ impacts when there clearly were? How does this relate to the conclusion that “Environmental injustice that does not require a bias intent”?
What are other critical thinking questions we need to ask when doing an EJ test?
Professor Carlton Waterhouse discussed the fact that non-whites in the U.S. are 38% more likely to be exposed to nitrogen dioxide than whites. And this is more than due to economic disparities since low-income whites have lower nitrogen dioxide exposures than high-income Latinos. Also, African-American children are four times more likely to have elevated blood lead levels than white children. Had you heard similar statistics before? And what are your thoughts on those statistics? What is it about our societal structures that resulted in such disparity?
Professor Hayes in your TED talk viewing this week demonstrated how atrazine pesticides pollution is a case of environmental justice. Do you agree or disagree? Explain using evidence for your conclusion.
ENMT303 Environmental Regulations and Policy
Week 8 Discussion
DQ1 Connections between international environmental law and your present life and your future careers
Share your thoughts about the international environmental laws you learned bout this week and your present life and/or future careers. For example, if you presently maintain heating and air conditioning systems, which of the environmental laws we learned about this week would most apply to your job? What if you are the Supplies Chain Manager for Martins Guitar? Share your connections between future careers, present jobs, and present lives and the international environmental laws you learned about this week.
DQ2 Framework and need for international environmental law
Discuss the framework presently used for international environmental law and compare it to the U.S. framework for environmental law. What are the similarities and differences?
DQ3 Some important international environmental agreements and programs
Take one of the topics we discussed this week and share your thoughts on whether it is a hard law, a soft law, not a law at all, and what makes the law or program effective or ineffective. Are there other international laws or programs we should cover that were not covered this week? Explain the importance of a law or program we did not cover that made a difference in our global environment.
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