October 2007 Exam

[Dleg]

It's been so quiet here in the enviro forum... Is anyone taking the 100-question environmental exam in two weeks? If so, do you need any advice? Encouragement? Reassurance?

Check in and let us know how the studying is going.

 

[pe-enviro]

I'm taking the environmental exam in 10 days...any idea how the actual exam compares with the NCEES practice test.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

I took the NCEES practice exam under simulated exam conditions a couple weeks beforehand. I thought it was really difficult and I did poorly on it. When I got to the real exam however, I felt like I smoked it, and passed.

 

[Dleg]

I took the October 2006 exam. I thought it was very similar to the NCEES practice exam, both in terms of types of questions asked, and difficulty. Obviously there was some difference between the April and October exams last year, based on VTEnviro's experience, so your mileage may vary! At this point you're committed anyway, so good luck and report how it compared when you're finished!

 

[CVA07]

I am also taking the Enviro. PE this fall (again)...hopefully the second try is a charm! We'll see...

 

[Dleg]

Best of luck, CVA07! Remember to come back here after you're finished to give advice to the next round of test-takers. This place is also pretty fun to check in to while you're waiting for results, and after you get them.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

Me, jregieng, and DLeg are the Envl PE guys around here and we all passed the PE. Feel free to ask us any questions you may have.

A question for the people about to take the exam: Are you more overwhelmed by the breadth of the exam rather than the depth or complexity of problems? That's how I felt. You needed to know a little about every regulation in the books.

 

[Guest]

I'm taking the environmental exam in 10 days...any idea how the actual exam compares with the NCEES practice test.

Good luck !!!

I am also taking the Enviro. PE this fall (again)...hopefully the second try is a charm! We'll see...

Better luck on your second time around. I helped out a friend from school who took the Env PE Exam and he got it right the second time around

JR

 

[pe-enviro]

Me, jregieng, and DLeg are the Envl PE guys around here and we all passed the PE. Feel free to ask us any questions you may have.
A question for the people about to take the exam: Are you more overwhelmed by the breadth of the exam rather than the depth or complexity of problems? That's how I felt. You needed to know a little about every regulation in the books.

I felt most of the problems (numerical), atleast on the NCEES practice test, were quite straightforward. They weren't tricky and just involved finding the right formula and simple substitution. Its the theory (non-numerical) questions that are getting me., especially the one ones from Haz waste management/regulations. They were some ques, information for which I couldn't find in any of the 5,6 different books I have. What would you guys suggest to address those ques..is there a book that covers most of these topics or sometimes you HAVE to make those calculated guesses, theres no choice!!

 

[Guest]

Its the theory (non-numerical) questions that are getting me., especially the one ones from Haz waste management/regulations. They were some ques, information for which I couldn't find in any of the 5,6 different books I have.

Hmmm .. what references are do you have with you if I may ask?

I happen to be a hazardous waste regulator h34r: h34r:

Dleg is a regulator too but with broader focus, so I think we can help you get a few things together once we know what you have reference-wise

JR

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

^ And I'm the consultant who has to deal with the regulators. :16:

I had envl law class in college and used the Environmental Law Handbook as the text. It was a few years old by the time I took the exam, but the basics of things like the Clean Water Act or Superfund are still pretty much the same.

The other thing is that all those federal regulations are available online on the Code of Federal Regulations website. I got a lot of info there.

Whenever I saw a prctice problem that said, "According to 40 CFR 435..." I just typed it in there and got the statute.

The EPA website is helpful too, sometimes the fact sheets can help.

 

[pe-enviro]

Hmmm .. what references are do you have with you if I may ask?
I happen to be a hazardous waste regulator h34r: h34r:

Dleg is a regulator too but with broader focus, so I think we can help you get a few things together once we know what you have reference-wise

JR

I've got

Hazardous Waste Management (LaGrega et al)

Integrated Solid Waste Management (Tchobanaglous et al.)

NIOSH pocket guide to chemical hazards,

OSHA covering CFR 1900

Environmental law handbook

Hazardous waste management (dont remember the author)

Hazardous waste regulations

ABC of environmental law

 

[Guest]

^^^ Those are pretty good references.

One reference that might help you out is the RCRA Orientation Manual - this addresses federal regulations for solid and hazardous waste. I have uploaded it at PEwiki/References Page

What other kinds of qualitative questions did you find that you had a hard time with?

JR

 

[pe-enviro]

^^^ Those are pretty good references.
One reference that might help you out is the RCRA Orientation Manual - this addresses federal regulations for solid and hazardous waste. I have uploaded it at PEwiki/References Page

What other kinds of qualitative questions did you find that you had a hard time with?

JR

The link requires an ID and a password to log on??

 

[Guest]

The link requires an ID and a password to log on??

You create your own ID - try going here PEnotes Home

Password = civilengineer (all lower case).

I think that should fix it. Let me know if you are still having trouble.

JR

 

[snickerd3]

I've got
Hazardous Waste Management (LaGrega et al)

Integrated Solid Waste Management (Tchobanaglous et al.)

NIOSH pocket guide to chemical hazards,

OSHA covering CFR 1900

Environmental law handbook

Hazardous waste management (dont remember the author)

Hazardous waste regulations

ABC of environmental law

Which edition of the NIOSH do you have? They issued a new edition last year that had quite a few errors in it, as we noticed during our Hazwopper refresher course last fall.

 

[Dleg]

I think the LaGrega book (Hazardous Waste Management) combined with both the RCRA and CERLCA orientation manuals were enough to get me through the haz waste stuff, which I also found difficult because it has not been my specialty. The chapters on "process fundamentals" (ch3 - chemistry stuff), "fate and transport" (ch. 4) in LaGrega were particularly helpful, and would be good reading material between now and the test date. And, at a minimum, the first several chapters of the RCRA orientation manual.

You can get the RCRA orintation manual from EPA here, and the CERCLA manual here.

I'd print & read the RCRA manual if you only have time for one of the EPA documents. However, you can probably learn all you need to know about CERCLA from the brief description in Ch. 2 of LaGrega, which is very short but an excellent overview of the laws and regualtions. In fact, looking back over it now, I highly recommend you read that first, and only dig in to the EPA RCCRA manual if you have enough time. I think LaGrega covers the "what is a hazardous waste?" question quite well, and much more succinctly than EPA.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

^ I had a question on my actual exam that was word for word like a solved example out of the LaGrega haz waste book. I'll leave it at that.

Plus I gotta give the love to another Manhattan College engineer. :appl: