FAQs
CERCLA section 101(8) defines "environment" as "(A) the navigable waters, the waters of the contiguous zone, and the ocean waters of which the natural resources are under the exclusive management authority of the United States under the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976, and (B) any other surface water, ...
What is the official definition of environment? ›
en·vi·ron·ment in-ˈvī-rən-mənt -ˈvī(-ə)rn- 1. : the complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors (as climate, soil, and living things) that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival.
What is the EPA definition of environmental professional? ›
someone who possesses sufficient specific education, training, and experience necessary to exercise professional. judgment to develop opinions and conclusions regarding. conditions indicative of releases or threatened releases of. hazardous substances on, at, in, or to a property, sufficient.
What is the EPA definition of release to the environment? ›
Releases. A "release" refers to different ways that toxic chemicals from industrial facilities enter the air, water, and land. Releases include spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing into the environment.
What is the environment according to CERCLA? ›
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act -- otherwise known as CERCLA or Superfund -- provides a Federal "Superfund" to clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous-waste sites as well as accidents, spills, and other emergency releases of pollutants and contaminants into the environment ...
What are 3 aspects of the environment that the EPA is concerned with? ›
4 As part of their mission, they seek to ensure that Americans have a clean environment, including the air, water, and land they use and enjoy.
What is considered an environment? ›
environment noun (NATURE)
the air, water, and land in or on which people, animals, and plants live: Certain chemicals have been banned because of their damaging effect on the environment.
What is classified as the environment? ›
The environment refers to our immediate surroundings in which all living and non-living components co-exist.
How can the environment be defined? ›
“The environment is the sum of all external conditions affecting the life, development and survival of an organism. Environment refers to the physical conditions that affect natural resources (climate, geology, hazards) and the ecosystem services that sustain them (e.g. carbon, nutrient and hydrological cycles)”.
What is the EPA definition of an environmental incident? ›
An environmental incident is an event that is a departure from standard operating conditions that can or does have an impact on human health or the environment.
EPA defines “environmental justice” as 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.
How does the EPA define sustainability? ›
Sustainability is based on a simple principle: Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment.
What are the EPA key environmental factors? ›
The EPA has 14 environmental factors, organised into five themes: Sea, Land, Water, Air and People. The EPA has identified an environmental objective for each environmental factor.
