I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 3484

To abolish the Council on Environmental Quality and to provide for the

transfer of the duties and functions of the Council.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NOVEMBER 9, 1993

Mr. STUDDS (for himself and Mr. DINGELL) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries

A BILL

To abolish the Council on Environmental Quality and to

provide for the transfer of the duties and functions of

the Council.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Environ5 mental Policy Act Administrative Reorganization Amend6 ments of 1993’’.
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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF NATIONAL ENVI2 RONMENTAL POLICY ACT COMPLIANCE.

3 Sections 201, 202, and 204 of title II of the National

4 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et

5 seq.) are redesignated and amended to read as follows:

6 ‘‘SEC. 201. (a) There is established in the Executive

7 Office of the President the Office of National Environ8 mental Policy Act Compliance. The Office may be referred

9 to as the ‘Office of NEPA Compliance’.

10 ‘‘(b) The head of the Office shall be the Director of

11 the Office of National Environmental Policy Act Compli12 ance, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with

13 the advice and consent of the Senate. The compensation

14 of the Director shall be at the rate of compensation pay15 able to the Deputy Director of the Office of Management

16 and Budget.

17 ‘‘SEC. 202. (a) The Director shall—

18 ‘‘(1) promulgate regulations governing the im19 plementation of this Act by all Federal agencies (in20 cluding independent regulatory commissions) which

21 include provisions for public review and comment on

22 the detailed statements required by section

23 102(2)(C) and, as appropriate, on other documents

24 prepared pursuant to this Act;

25 ‘‘(2) mediate interagency disputes, including

26 recommending to the President, as appropriate, res-
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1 olutions of referrals of interagency disagreements

2 under section 203;

3 ‘‘(3) monitor Federal agency implementation of

4 this Act and regulations issued under paragraph (1),

5 including—

6 ‘‘(A) reviewing and approving regulations

7 issued by other Federal agencies to implement

8 this Act;

9 ‘‘(B) determining which Federal agency is

10 the lead agency for purposes of compliance with

11 this Act in cases in which Federal agencies do

12 not agree on which is the lead agency;

13 ‘‘(C) developing alternative procedures for

14 complying with this Act in cases in which emer15 gency circumstances make it necessary for a

16 Federal agency to take an action with signifi17 cant environmental impact;

18 ‘‘(D) developing alternative procedures for

19 complying with this Act, in cases in which a

20 change in a proposed Federal agency action or

21 new information relating to the environmental

22 impacts of such an action makes it necessary to

23 supplement existing analysis under this Act;

24 and
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1 ‘‘(E) developing and publishing guidance

2 to Federal agencies regarding implementation

3 of title I and regulations promulgated under

4 paragraph (1); and

5 ‘‘(4) perform such other functions related to en6 vironmental laws, policies, and programs as the

7 President may specify.

8 ‘‘(b) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect,

9 alter, or limit the independence of independent regulatory

10 commissions under the laws establishing such commis11 sions. The policies, practices, and interpretations under

12 this Act and the Environmental Quality Improvement Act

13 of 1970 and other laws applicable to, or adopted by, such

14 commissions or the Council on Environmental Quality be15 fore the date of the enactment of the National Environ16 mental Policy Act Administrative Reorganization Amend17 ments of 1993 shall continue in effect to the extent they

18 are consistent with such independence and carry out the

19 purposes of such Acts.

20 ‘‘(c)(1) The Director, subject to paragraph (2),

21 shall—

22 ‘‘(A) review and appraise the various programs

23 and activities of the Federal Government in light of

24 the policy set forth in title I for the purpose of de25 termining the extent to which such programs and
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1 activities are contributing to the achievement of such

2 policy and make recommendations to the President

3 with respect thereto;

4 ‘‘(B) coordinate or facilitate the development of

5 recommendations to the President regarding na6 tional policies to foster and promote the improve7 ment of environmental quality to meet the conserva8 tion, social, economic, health, and other require9 ments and goals of the Nation; and

10 ‘‘(C) coordinate or facilitate the development of

11 such studies, reports thereon, and recommendations

12 with respect to matters of policy and legislation, as

13 the President may request.

14 ‘‘(2) The President may transfer to another official

15 in the Executive Office of the President, by Executive

16 order, any function of the Director under this subsection.

17 ‘‘(d)(1) The Director, subject to paragraph (2),

18 shall—

19 ‘‘(A) assist Federal agencies and departments

20 in appraising the effectiveness of existing and pro21 posed facilities, programs, policies, and activities of

22 the Federal Government, and those specific major

23 projects designated by the President which do not

24 require individual project authorization by the Con25 gress, which affect environmental quality; and
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1 ‘‘(B) assist in coordinating among Federal de2 partments and agencies those programs and activi3 ties which affect, protect, and improve environmental

4 quality.

5 ‘‘(2) The President may transfer to another official

6 in the Executive Office of the President or to the head

7 of any Federal agency, by Executive order, any function

8 of the Director under this subsection.

9 ‘‘(e) The Director shall keep the appropriate Commit10 tees of the Senate and the House of Representatives in11 formed of the actions, regulations, policies, and practices

12 of the Office in carrying out the functions and other re13 quirements of the Director and the Office under this Act

14 (other than functions of the Director transferred in ac15 cordance with subsection (c)(2) or (d)(2)).

16 ‘‘SEC. 203. Referrals of interagency disagreements by

17 the head of any Federal agency concerning proposed

18 major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality

19 of the human environment under section 102(2)(C) or

20 concerning matters under section 309(b) of the Clean Air

21 Act shall be made to the Office for mediation and, as ap22 propriate, resolution by the President.’’.
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1 SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO

2 NEPA.

3 Sections 203, 205, 207, and 208 of the National En4 vironmental Policy Act of 1969, as in effect on the date

5 of enactment of this Act, are redesignated in order as sec6 tions 204, 205, 206, and 207, respectively; such sections

7 are each amended by striking ‘‘Council’’ and inserting

8 ‘‘Office’’ each place it appears; and section 206 of such

9 Act, as in effect on the day before the date of the enact10 ment of this Act, is repealed.

11 SEC. 4. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO

12 THE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY IMPROVE13 MENT ACT OF 1970.

14 The Environmental Quality Improvement Act of

15 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4372 et seq.) is amended—

16 (1) in section 202(c) by—

17 (A) striking ‘‘The purposes’’ and all that

18 follows through ‘‘(1) to’’ and inserting ‘‘the

19 purpose of this title is to’’; and

20 (B) striking ‘‘; and’’ and all that follows

21 through the end of the section and inserting a

22 period;

23 (2) in section 203, by striking subsections (a)

24 through (d) and the designation for subsection (e);

25 (3) by striking sections 204 and 205;
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1 (4) in section 206(a), by striking ‘‘Office of En2 vironmental Quality Management Fund’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘Office of National Environmental Policy Act

4 Compliance Management Fund’’;

5 (5) by redesignating section 206 as section 204;

6 and

7 (6) by adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘DEFINITIONS

9 ‘‘SEC. 205. In this title, each of the terms ‘Director’

10 and ‘Office’ has the meaning given that term in section

11 3 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.’’.

12 SEC. 5. ASSISTANCE FOR OFFICE OF NATIONAL ENVIRON13 MENTAL POLICY ACT COMPLIANCE.

14 The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (as

15 amended by section 3) is amended by inserting after sec16 tion 207 the following:

17 ‘‘SEC. 208. To assist in the timely performance of

18 the functions of the Office, the Director may utilize per19 sonnel or otherwise obtain assistance from other entities

20 in the Executive Office of the President or other Federal

21 agencies, by mutual consent with the heads of those enti22 ties or agencies, to assist the Director in performing the

23 functions of the Office.’’.

24 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

25 Section 209 of the National Environmental Policy

26 Act of 1969 is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 209. (a) There are authorized to be appro2 priated to the Director to carry out the functions of the

3 Director under this or any other Act—

4 ‘‘(1) $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1994;

5 ‘‘(2) $1,100,000 for fiscal year 1995;

6 ‘‘(3) $1,200,000 for fiscal year 1996; and

7 ‘‘(4) $1,400,000 for fiscal year 1997.

8 ‘‘(b) Amounts appropriated to, or available for the

9 use of, the Office or the Director shall remain available

10 until expended.’’.

11 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

12 The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 is

13 amended by inserting after section 2 (42 U.S.C. 4321)

14 the following:

15 ‘‘SEC. 3. In this Act:

16 ‘‘(1) The term ‘Director’ means the Director of

17 the Office of National Environmental Policy Act

18 Compliance appointed under section 201(b).

19 ‘‘(2) The term ‘Fund’ means the Office of Na20 tional Environmental Policy Act Compliance Man21 agement Fund established by section 204 of the En22 vironmental Quality Improvement Act of 1970.

23 ‘‘(3) The term ‘Office’ means the Office of Na24 tional Environmental Policy Act Compliance estab25 lished by section 201(a).’’.
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1 SEC. 8. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS TO SECRETARY OF THE

2 ENVIRONMENT.

3 (a) TRANSFERS.—There are transferred to the Sec4 retary of the Environment—

5 (1) the functions of the Council on Environ6 mental Quality under paragraphs (2), (5), (6), and

7 (7) of section 204 of the National Environmental

8 Policy Act of 1969, as in effect on the day before

9 the date of the enactment of this Act; and

10 (2) the functions of the Chairman of the Coun11 cil on Environmental Quality (as Director of the Of12 fice of Environmental Quality) under paragraphs

13 (3), (4), (6), and (7) of section 203(d) of the Envi14 ronmental Quality Improvement Act of 1970, as in

15 effect on the day before the date of the enactment

16 of this Act.

17 (b) CONSTRUCTION.—The functions transferred to

18 the Secretary of the Environment by this section or pursu19 ant to any executive order issued pursuant to amendments

20 made by this Act shall not be construed by anyone to af21 fect, alter, change, or amend any other law or regulation

22 administered by the Secretary or his or her delegate.

23 (c) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The Secretary of the Envi24 ronment shall be accountable to the appropriate commit25 tees of the Senate and House of Representatives for all

26 functions described in subsection (b).
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1 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

2 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums

3 as may be necessary specifically to carry out the functions

4 described in subsection (b) effectively and in a timely

5 manner.

6 SEC. 9. TERMINATION OF COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL

7 QUALITY AND OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL

8 QUALITY.

9 (a) TERMINATION.—The Council on Environmental

10 Quality and the Office of Environmental Quality are ter11 minated.

12 (b) REFERENCES.—Reference to the Council on En13 vironmental Quality, the Office of Environmental Quality,

14 or any officer or employee of that council or that office

15 in any other Federal law, Executive order, rule, regulation,

16 or delegation of authority, or in any document of or relat17 ing to the Council on Environmental Quality—

18 (1) with respect to functions that were vested in

19 that council or office on the day before the date of

20 the enactment of this Act and are vested in the Di21 rector of the Office of National Environmental Pol22 icy Act Compliance Office by section 202 of the Na23 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amend24 ed by section 2 of this Act, is deemed to refer to the

25 Director of the Office of National Environmental
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1 Policy Act Compliance or to such other official to

2 whom such a function is transferred in accordance

3 with section 202(c)(2) or (d)(2) of that Act, as ap4 propriate; or

5 (2) with regard to disputes, disagreements, and

6 matters described in sections 202(a)(2) and 203 of

7 that Act, as amended by section 2 of this Act, is

8 deemed to refer to the Director of the Office of Na9 tional Environmental Policy Act Compliance or to

10 that office, as appropriate.

11 (c) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.—

12 (1) CONTINUATION OF ORDERS, ETC.—All or13 ders, determinations, rules, regulations, agreements,

14 grants, contracts, privileges, and other administra15 tive actions—

16 (A) which have been issued, made, grant17 ed, or allowed to become effective by the Presi18 dent, the Council on Environmental Quality, or

19 the Office of Environmental Quality, in the per20 formance of functions of the Council on Envi21 ronmental Quality or the Office of Environ22 mental Quality, or by a court of competent ju23 risdiction with respect to those functions, and

24 (B) which are in effect on the date of the

25 enactment of this Act, or were final before that
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1 date of enactment and are to become effective

2 on or after that date of enactment,

3 shall continue in effect according to their terms until

4 modified, terminated, superseded, set aside, or re5 voked in accordance with law by the President, the

6 Director of the Office of National Environmental

7 Policy Act Compliance, any other authorized official,

8 a court of competent jurisdiction, or operation of

9 law.

10 (2) CONTINUATION OF PROCEEDINGS AND AP11 PLICATIONS.—The provisions of this Act shall not

12 affect any proceedings pending before the Council on

13 Environmental Quality on the date of the enactment

14 of this Act, but such proceedings shall be continued.

15 Orders shall be issued in such proceedings, appeals

16 shall be taken therefrom, and payments shall be

17 made pursuant to such orders, as if this Act had not

18 been enacted, and orders issued in any such proceed19 ings shall continue in effect until modified, termi20 nated, superseded, or revoked by a duly authorized

21 official, by a court of competent jurisdiction, or by

22 operation of law. Nothing in this paragraph shall be

23 considered to prohibit the discontinuance or modi24 fication of any such proceeding under the same

25 terms and conditions and to the same extent that
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1 such proceeding could have been discontinued or

2 modified if this Act had not been enacted.

3 (3) SUITS NOT AFFECTED.—The provisions of

4 this section shall not affect suits commenced before

5 the date of the enactment of this Act, and in all

6 such suits, proceedings shall be had, appeals taken,

7 and judgments rendered in the same manner and

8 with the same effect as if this Act had not been en9 acted.

10 (4) SUITS INVOLVING COUNCIL OR OFFICE.—

11 No suit, action, or other proceeding commenced by

12 or against the Council on Environmental Quality or

13 the Office of Environmental Quality, or by or

14 against any individual in the official capacity of such

15 individual as an officer or employee of the Council

16 or that Office, shall abate by reason of the enact17 ment of this Act.

18 (5) RULEMAKING.—Any administrative action

19 relating to the preparation or promulgation of a reg20 ulation by the Council on Environmental Quality

21 shall be continued by the Director of the Office of

22 National Environmental Policy Act Compliance or

23 the President with the same effect as if this Act had

24 not been enacted.
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1 (6) ASSETS AND INTERESTS.—The contracts,

2 liabilities, records, property, and other assets and in3 terests of the Council on Environmental Quality and

4 the Office of Environmental Quality shall, on and

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, be con6 sidered to be the contracts, liabilities, records, prop7 erty, and other assets and interests of the Office of

8 National Environmental Policy Act Compliance.

9 (d) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—

10 Amounts available to the Council on Environmental Qual11 ity on the date of the enactment of this Act shall be avail12 able for use by the Director of the Office of National Envi13 ronmental Policy Act Compliance.

14 SEC. 10. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

15 The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42

16 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) is amended—

17 (1) in section 2 (42 U.S.C. 4321)—

18 (A) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘man;’’; and

19 (B) by striking ‘‘Nation;’’ and all that fol20 lows through the end of the section and insert21 ing ‘‘Nation.’’;

22 (2) by striking ‘‘Council on Environmental

23 Quality’’ each place that term appears and inserting

24 ‘‘Director’’;
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1 (3) in section 102(2)(B) (42 U.S.C.

2 4332(2)(B)) by striking ‘‘established by title II of

3 this Act’’;

4 (4) in section 102(2)(G) (42 U.S.C.

5 4332(2)(G)) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon;

6 (5) in section 102(2)(H) (42 U.S.C.

7 4332(2)(H)) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a

8 period;

9 (6) by striking section 102(2)(I) (42 U.S.C.

10 4332(2)(I));

11 (7) in section 205(1) (42 U.S.C. 4345(1)) by

12 striking ‘‘the Citizen’s’’ and all that follows through

13 ‘‘and with’’; and

14 (8) in section 205(2) (42 U.S.C. 4345(2)) by

15 striking ‘‘the Council’s’’ and inserting ‘‘the Office’s’’.

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