Regulatory Environmental interview prep.

Behavioural questions to expect

1. Walk me through your regulatory + environmental background.
2. Tell me about a regulatory or environmental programme you've owned.
3. Why chemicals + materials regulatory vs pure environmental consulting or law firm?
4. Why this domain - air permitting / wastewater / waste / product stewardship / sustainability?
5. Why the firm?
6. What's your read on our plant footprint + regulatory posture?
7. Tell me what you understand about our EHS culture + management system.
8. Walk me through a Title V or NSR / PSD permit project you led.

Technical concepts to master

• Clean Air Act - Title V + NSR / PSD + MACT

  Title V operating permits · NSR (nonattainment) + PSD (attainment) - pre-construction · BACT / LAER / MACT · NESHAP / MACT source categories (40 CFR Part 63) · Compliance certification + deviation reporting

• CWA + RCRA + CERCLA + EPCRA

  NPDES + pretreatment + ELGs · SPCC + FRP + stormwater · RCRA hazardous waste discipline · CERCLA / SARA Superfund liability · EPCRA Tier II + TRI Form R + Section 304

• TSCA + REACH + product stewardship

  TSCA Section 5 PMN + SNUR · TSCA Section 6 risk evaluation + management · TSCA Section 8(a) + 8(b) + 8(e) · REACH registration + Annex XIV authorisation + Annex XVII restriction · Global chemical inventories + SDS / GHS

• GHG + decarbonisation + sustainability disclosure

  GHG Protocol scope 1 / 2 / 3 · EPA GHGRP (40 CFR 98) subparts · SBTi + decarbonisation pathway · CSRD + ESRS + double materiality · TCFD + ISSB IFRS S1 / S2 + SEC climate

Practical drills

• A specialty chemicals plant in an attainment area wants to debottleneck a reactor train, raising NOx PTE by 35 tpy + VOC PTE by 28 tpy. The site is a Title V major source. Walk through your NSR / PSD applicability analysis + permit strategy.
• Routine monitoring shows your scrubber on a MACT-controlled unit operated below required pressure drop for 14 hours - a permit deviation. Two months later EPA issues a Section 114 information request followed by an NOV alleging Title V + MACT violations. Walk through your response.
• Your specialty chemicals company wants to set a near-term SBTi target. Walk through scope 1 + 2 + 3 inventory boundary, key data + methodology choices, target structure + assurance readiness.

Smart-question anchors

• Plant + permit footprint - Title V majors + RCRA TSDFs + NPDES outfalls + recent renewals
• Recent enforcement + consent decree posture - EPA + state agency relationships
• EHS organisation + authority - reporting line + independence + audit programme
• EPA RMP + OSHA PSM coordination - process safety meets environmental discipline
• Product stewardship footprint - TSCA Section 5 + 6 activity + REACH registrations + global inventory

Sourced from

EPA - Clean Air Act Title V + NSR / PSD + NESHAP regulatory programmes · EPA - NPDES + RCRA + CERCLA + EPCRA programme pages · EPA - TSCA programme + Lautenberg implementation guidance · ECHA - REACH + CLP regulation guidance · GHG Protocol Corporate Standard + Scope 3 Standard · EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) + 40 CFR 98 subparts · TCFD + ISSB IFRS S1 + S2 + EU CSRD + ESRS disclosure frameworks · OSHA PSM 29 CFR 1910.119 + EPA RMP 40 CFR 68 coordinated programme guidance