AICP EXAM PREP QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED
ANSWER; 100% CORRECT; 2026 UPDATE
1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act - correct answer- Created the
Highway Trust Fund as the means of paying for the Interstate
Highway System
1962 Federal-Aid Highway Act - correct answer- Required a
formal comprehensive planning process for roadways
Acres in a square mile - correct answer- 640 acres = 1 sq
mile
Basic concepts of system theory - correct answer- Everything
is a system
Every system is part of one or more larger systems
Most systems are open systems that exchange energy with their
environments (which are larger systems)
Categorical Exclusion - correct answer- a category of actions
that the agency has determined does not individually or
cumulatively have a significant effect on the quality of the
human environment
,Clean Air Act - correct answer- 1963 - requires the EPA to
develop and enforce regulations to protect the general public
from exposure to airborne contaminants that are known to be
hazardous to human health. The Act was passed in 1963 and
significantly amended in 1970, 1977 and 1990.
1963: created a regulatory program in the U.S. Public Health
Service
1970: required comprehensive federal and state regulations for
both industrial and mobile sources. 4 new regulatory programs:
-National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)[7]
-State Implementation Plans (SIPs)
-New Source Performance Standards (NSPS); and
-National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants
(NESHAPs).
1977: required Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) of
air quality for areas attaining the NAAQS, and added
requirements for non-attainment areas.
1990: added regulatory programs for control of acid deposition
(acid rain) and stationary source operating permits. The
NESHAPs program was expanded to control additional toxic air
pollutants, and the NAAQS program was also expanded. Other
new provisions covered stratospheric ozone protection,
, increased enforcement authority, and expanded research
programs
Also: 1st major environmental law in the United States to
include a provision for citizen suits.
Clean Water Act - correct answer- 1972 - the primary federal
law in the United States governing water pollution. Established
the goals of eliminating releases of high amounts of toxic
substances into water, eliminating additional water pollution by
1985, and ensuring that surface waters would meet standards
necessary for human sports and recreation by 1983.
The principal body of law currently in effect is based on the
Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1972 and was
significantly expanded from the Federal Water Pollution Control
Amendments of 1984. Major amendments were enacted in the
Clean Water Act of 1977 and the Water Quality Act of 1987.
Coastal Zone Management Act - correct answer- 1972 -
encouraged coastal states to develop and implement coastal
zone management plan. Established national policy to preserve,
protect, develop, and where possible, restore or enhance, the
resources of the Nation's coastal zone for this and succeeding
generations
ANSWER; 100% CORRECT; 2026 UPDATE
1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act - correct answer- Created the
Highway Trust Fund as the means of paying for the Interstate
Highway System
1962 Federal-Aid Highway Act - correct answer- Required a
formal comprehensive planning process for roadways
Acres in a square mile - correct answer- 640 acres = 1 sq
mile
Basic concepts of system theory - correct answer- Everything
is a system
Every system is part of one or more larger systems
Most systems are open systems that exchange energy with their
environments (which are larger systems)
Categorical Exclusion - correct answer- a category of actions
that the agency has determined does not individually or
cumulatively have a significant effect on the quality of the
human environment
,Clean Air Act - correct answer- 1963 - requires the EPA to
develop and enforce regulations to protect the general public
from exposure to airborne contaminants that are known to be
hazardous to human health. The Act was passed in 1963 and
significantly amended in 1970, 1977 and 1990.
1963: created a regulatory program in the U.S. Public Health
Service
1970: required comprehensive federal and state regulations for
both industrial and mobile sources. 4 new regulatory programs:
-National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)[7]
-State Implementation Plans (SIPs)
-New Source Performance Standards (NSPS); and
-National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants
(NESHAPs).
1977: required Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) of
air quality for areas attaining the NAAQS, and added
requirements for non-attainment areas.
1990: added regulatory programs for control of acid deposition
(acid rain) and stationary source operating permits. The
NESHAPs program was expanded to control additional toxic air
pollutants, and the NAAQS program was also expanded. Other
new provisions covered stratospheric ozone protection,
, increased enforcement authority, and expanded research
programs
Also: 1st major environmental law in the United States to
include a provision for citizen suits.
Clean Water Act - correct answer- 1972 - the primary federal
law in the United States governing water pollution. Established
the goals of eliminating releases of high amounts of toxic
substances into water, eliminating additional water pollution by
1985, and ensuring that surface waters would meet standards
necessary for human sports and recreation by 1983.
The principal body of law currently in effect is based on the
Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1972 and was
significantly expanded from the Federal Water Pollution Control
Amendments of 1984. Major amendments were enacted in the
Clean Water Act of 1977 and the Water Quality Act of 1987.
Coastal Zone Management Act - correct answer- 1972 -
encouraged coastal states to develop and implement coastal
zone management plan. Established national policy to preserve,
protect, develop, and where possible, restore or enhance, the
resources of the Nation's coastal zone for this and succeeding
generations
