I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 3512

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 16, 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; and

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).

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

6 alter, or limit the independence of independent regulatory

7 commissions under the laws establishing such commis8 sions. The policies, practices, and interpretations under

9 this Act and the Environmental Quality Improvement Act

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

11 commissions or the Council on Environmental Quality be12 fore the date of the enactment of the National Environ13 mental Policy Act Administrative Reorganization Amend14 ments of 1993 shall continue in effect to the extent they

15 are consistent with such independence and carry out the

16 purposes of such Acts.

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

18 shall—

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

20 and activities of the Federal Government in light of

21 the policy set forth in title I for the purpose of de22 termining the extent to which such programs and

23 activities are contributing to the achievement of such

24 policy and make recommendations to the President

25 with respect thereto;
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1 ‘‘(B) coordinate or facilitate the development of

2 recommendations to the President regarding na3 tional policies to foster and promote the improve4 ment of environmental quality to meet the conserva5 tion, social, economic, health, and other require6 ments and goals of the Nation; and

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

8 such studies, reports thereon, and recommendations

9 with respect to matters of policy and legislation, as

10 the President may request.

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

12 in the Executive Office of the President, by Executive

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

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

15 shall—

16 ‘‘(A) assist Federal agencies and departments

17 in appraising the effectiveness of existing and pro18 posed facilities, programs, policies, and activities of

19 the Federal Government, and those specific major

20 projects designated by the President which do not

21 require individual project authorization by the Con22 gress, which affect environmental quality; and

23 ‘‘(B) assist in coordinating among Federal de24 partments and agencies those programs and activi-
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1 ties which affect, protect, and improve environmental

2 quality.

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

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

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

6 of the Director under this subsection.

7 ‘‘(e) The Director shall keep the appropriate Commit8 tees of the Senate and the House of Representatives in9 formed of the actions, regulations, policies, and practices

10 of the Office in carrying out the functions and other re11 quirements of the Director and the Office under this Act

12 (other than functions of the Director transferred in ac13 cordance with subsection (c)(2) or (d)(2)).

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

15 the head of any Federal agency concerning proposed

16 major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality

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

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

19 Act shall be made to the Office for mediation and, as ap20 propriate, resolution by the President.’’.

21 SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO

22 NEPA.

23 Sections 203, 205, 207, and 208 of the National En24 vironmental Policy Act of 1969, as in effect on the date

25 of enactment of this Act, are redesignated in order as sec-
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1 tions 204, 205, 206, and 207, respectively; such sections

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

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

4 Act, as in effect on the day before the date of the enact5 ment of this Act, is repealed.

6 SEC. 4. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO

7 THE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY IMPROVE8 MENT ACT OF 1970.

9 The Environmental Quality Improvement Act of

10 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4372 et seq.) is amended—

11 (1) in section 202(c) by—

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

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

14 purpose of this title is to’’; and

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

16 through the end of the section and inserting a

17 period;

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

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

20 (3) by striking sections 204 and 205;

21 (4) in section 206(a), by striking ‘‘Office of En22 vironmental Quality Management Fund’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘Office of National Environmental Policy Act

24 Compliance Management Fund’’;
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1 (5) by redesignating section 206 as section 204;

2 and

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

4 ‘‘DEFINITIONS

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

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

7 3 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.’’.

8 SEC. 5. ASSISTANCE FOR OFFICE OF NATIONAL ENVIRON9 MENTAL POLICY ACT COMPLIANCE.

10 The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (as

11 amended by section 3) is amended by inserting after sec12 tion 207 the following:

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

14 the functions of the Office, the Director may utilize per15 sonnel or otherwise obtain assistance from other entities

16 in the Executive Office of the President or other Federal

17 agencies, by mutual consent with the heads of those enti18 ties or agencies, to assist the Director in performing the

19 functions of the Office.’’.

20 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

21 Section 209 of the National Environmental Policy

22 Act of 1969 is amended to read as follows:

23 ‘‘SEC. 209. (a) There are authorized to be appro24 priated to the Director to carry out the functions of the

25 Director under this or any other Act—

26 ‘‘(1) $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1994;
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1 ‘‘(2) $1,100,000 for fiscal year 1995;

2 ‘‘(3) $1,200,000 for fiscal year 1996; and

3 ‘‘(4) $1,400,000 for fiscal year 1997.

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

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

6 until expended.’’.

7 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

8 The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 is

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

10 the following:

11 ‘‘SEC. 3. In this Act:

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

13 the Office of National Environmental Policy Act

14 Compliance appointed under section 201(b).

15 ‘‘(2) The term ‘Fund’ means the Office of Na16 tional Environmental Policy Act Compliance Man17 agement Fund established by section 204 of the En18 vironmental Quality Improvement Act of 1970.

19 ‘‘(3) The term ‘Office’ means the Office of Na20 tional Environmental Policy Act Compliance estab21 lished by section 201(a).’’.

22 SEC. 8. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS TO SECRETARY OF THE

23 ENVIRONMENT.

24 (a) TRANSFERS.—There are transferred to the Sec25 retary of the Environment—
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1 (1) the functions of the Council on Environ2 mental Quality under paragraphs (2), (5), (6), and

3 (7) of section 204 of the National Environmental

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

5 the date of the enactment of this Act; and

6 (2) the functions of the Chairman of the Coun7 cil on Environmental Quality (as Director of the Of8 fice of Environmental Quality) under paragraphs

9 (3), (4), (6), and (7) of section 203(d) of the Envi10 ronmental Quality Improvement Act of 1970, as in

11 effect on the day before the date of the enactment

12 of this Act.

13 (b) CONSTRUCTION.—The functions transferred to

14 the Secretary of the Environment by this section or pursu15 ant to any executive order issued pursuant to amendments

16 made by this Act shall not be construed by anyone to af17 fect, alter, change, or amend any other law or regulation

18 administered by the Secretary or his or her delegate.

19 (c) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The Secretary of the Envi20 ronment shall be accountable to the appropriate commit21 tees of the Senate and House of Representatives for all

22 functions described in subsection (b).

23 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

24 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums

25 as may be necessary specifically to carry out the functions
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1 described in subsection (b) effectively and in a timely

2 manner.

3 SEC. 9. TERMINATION OF COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL

4 QUALITY AND OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL

5 QUALITY.

6 (a) TERMINATION.—The Council on Environmental

7 Quality and the Office of Environmental Quality are ter8 minated.

9 (b) REFERENCES.—Reference to the Council on En10 vironmental Quality, the Office of Environmental Quality,

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

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

13 or delegation of authority, or in any document of or relat14 ing to the Council on Environmental Quality—

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

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

17 the enactment of this Act and are vested in the Di18 rector of the Office of National Environmental Pol19 icy Act Compliance Office by section 202 of the Na20 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amend21 ed by section 2 of this Act, is deemed to refer to the

22 Director of the Office of National Environmental

23 Policy Act Compliance or to such other official to

24 whom such a function is transferred in accordance
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1 with section 202(c)(2) or (d)(2) of that Act, as ap2 propriate; or

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

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

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

6 deemed to refer to the Director of the Office of Na7 tional Environmental Policy Act Compliance or to

8 that office, as appropriate.

9 (c) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.—

10 (1) CONTINUATION OF ORDERS, ETC.—All or11 ders, determinations, rules, regulations, agreements,

12 grants, contracts, privileges, and other administra13 tive actions—

14 (A) which have been issued, made, grant15 ed, or allowed to become effective by the Presi16 dent, the Council on Environmental Quality, or

17 the Office of Environmental Quality, in the per18 formance of functions of the Council on Envi19 ronmental Quality or the Office of Environ20 mental Quality, or by a court of competent ju21 risdiction with respect to those functions, and

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

23 enactment of this Act, or were final before that

24 date of enactment and are to become effective

25 on or after that date of enactment,
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1 shall continue in effect according to their terms until

2 modified, terminated, superseded, set aside, or re3 voked in accordance with law by the President, the

4 Director of the Office of National Environmental

5 Policy Act Compliance, any other authorized official,

6 a court of competent jurisdiction, or operation of

7 law.

8 (2) CONTINUATION OF PROCEEDINGS AND AP9 PLICATIONS.—The provisions of this Act shall not

10 affect any proceedings pending before the Council on

11 Environmental Quality on the date of the enactment

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

13 Orders shall be issued in such proceedings, appeals

14 shall be taken therefrom, and payments shall be

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

16 been enacted, and orders issued in any such proceed17 ings shall continue in effect until modified, termi18 nated, superseded, or revoked by a duly authorized

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

20 operation of law. Nothing in this paragraph shall be

21 considered to prohibit the discontinuance or modi22 fication of any such proceeding under the same

23 terms and conditions and to the same extent that

24 such proceeding could have been discontinued or

25 modified if this Act had not been enacted.
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1 (3) SUITS NOT AFFECTED.—The provisions of

2 this section shall not affect suits commenced before

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

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

5 and judgments rendered in the same manner and

6 with the same effect as if this Act had not been en7 acted.

8 (4) SUITS INVOLVING COUNCIL OR OFFICE.—

9 No suit, action, or other proceeding commenced by

10 or against the Council on Environmental Quality or

11 the Office of Environmental Quality, or by or

12 against any individual in the official capacity of such

13 individual as an officer or employee of the Council

14 or that Office, shall abate by reason of the enact15 ment of this Act.

16 (5) RULEMAKING.—Any administrative action

17 relating to the preparation or promulgation of a reg18 ulation by the Council on Environmental Quality

19 shall be continued by the Director of the Office of

20 National Environmental Policy Act Compliance or

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

22 not been enacted.

23 (6) ASSETS AND INTERESTS.—The contracts,

24 liabilities, records, property, and other assets and in25 terests of the Council on Environmental Quality and
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1 the Office of Environmental Quality shall, on and

2 after the date of the enactment of this Act, be con3 sidered to be the contracts, liabilities, records, prop4 erty, and other assets and interests of the Office of

5 National Environmental Policy Act Compliance.

6 (d) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—

7 Amounts available to the Council on Environmental Qual8 ity on the date of the enactment of this Act shall be avail9 able for use by the Director of the Office of National Envi10 ronmental Policy Act Compliance.

11 SEC. 10. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

12 The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42

13 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) is amended—

14 (1) in section 2 (42 U.S.C. 4321)—

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

16 (B) by striking ‘‘Nation;’’ and all that fol17 lows through the end of the section and insert18 ing ‘‘Nation.’’;

19 (2) by striking ‘‘Council on Environmental

20 Quality’’ each place that term appears and inserting

21 ‘‘Director’’;

22 (3) in section 102(2)(B) (42 U.S.C.

23 4332(2)(B)) by striking ‘‘established by title II of

24 this Act’’;
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1 (4) in section 102(2)(G) (42 U.S.C.

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

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

4 4332(2)(H)) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a

5 period;

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

7 4332(2)(I));

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

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

10 ‘‘and with’’; and

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

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

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