103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 171

AN ACT

To establish the Department of Environmental Propurposes. proving Environmental Protection, and for other Statistics and a Presidential Commission on Im- tection, provide for a Bureau of Environmental
103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 171

AN ACT

To establish the Department of Environmental Protection,

provide for a Bureau of Environmental Statistics and

a Presidential Commission on Improving Environmental

Protection, and for other purposes.

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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Department of Environmental Protection Act of 1993’’.
2

•S 171 ES

1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents is

2 as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.

TITLE I—ELEVATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY TO CABINET LEVEL

Sec. 101. Short title.

Sec. 102. Findings.

Sec. 103. Establishment of the Department of Environmental Protection.

Sec. 104. Assistant Secretaries.

Sec. 105. Deputy Assistant Secretaries.

Sec. 106. Office of the General Counsel.

Sec. 107. Office of the Inspector General.

Sec. 108. Small business compliance assistance.

Sec. 109. Small governmental jurisdiction compliance assistance.

Sec. 110. Bureau of Environmental Statistics.

Sec. 111. Grant and contract authority for certain activities.

Sec. 112. Study of data needs.

Sec. 113. Miscellaneous employment restrictions.

Sec. 114. Termination of the Council on Environmental Quality and transfer of

functions.

Sec. 115. Administrative provisions.

Sec. 116. Inherently governmental functions.

Sec. 117. References.

Sec. 118. Savings provisions.

Sec. 119. Conforming amendments.

Sec. 120. Additional conforming amendments.

Sec. 121. Sense of the Senate.

Sec. 122. Office of Environmental Justice.

Sec. 123. Human health and safety or the environment final regulations.

Sec. 124. Wetland determinations by a single agency.

TITLE II—ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COMMISSION ON IMPROVING

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Sec. 201. Establishment; membership.

Sec. 202. Commission responsibilities.

Sec. 203. Report to the President and Congress.

Sec. 204. Commission staff.

Sec. 205. Advisory groups.

Sec. 206. Termination of Commission.

Sec. 207. Funding; authorization of appropriations.

TITLE III—EFFECTIVE DATE

Sec. 301. Effective date.
3

•S 171 ES

1 TITLE I—ELEVATION OF THE EN2 VIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

3 AGENCY TO CABINET LEVEL

4 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Envi6 ronmental Protection Act’’.

7 SEC. 102. FINDINGS.

8 The Congress finds that—

9 (1) recent concern with Federal environmental

10 policy has highlighted the necessity of assigning to

11 protection of the domestic and international environ12 ment a priority which is at least equal to that as13 signed to other functions of the Federal Govern14 ment;

15 (2) protection of the environment increasingly

16 involves cooperation with foreign states, including

17 the most highly industrialized states all of whose top

18 environmental officials have ministerial status;

19 (3) the size of the budget and the number of

20 Federal civil servants devoted to tasks associated

21 with environmental protection at the Environmental

22 Protection Agency is commensurate with depart23 mental status; and

24 (4) a cabinet-level Department of Environ25 mental Protection should be established.
4

•S 171 ES

1 SEC. 103. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVI2 RONMENTAL PROTECTION.

3 (a) REDESIGNATION.—The Environmental Protec4 tion Agency is hereby redesignated as the Department of

5 Environmental Protection (hereafter referred to as the

6 ‘‘Department’’) and shall be an executive department in

7 the executive branch of the Government. The official acro8 nym of the Department shall be the ‘‘U.S.D.E.P.’’.

9 (b) SECRETARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTEC10 TION.—(1) There shall be at the head of the Department

11 a Secretary of Environmental Protection who shall be ap12 pointed by the President, by and with the advice and con13 sent of the Senate. The Department shall be administered

14 under the supervision and direction of the Secretary.

15 (2) The Secretary may not assign duties for or dele16 gate authority for the supervision of the Assistant Sec17 retaries, the General Counsel, the Director of Environ18 mental Statistics, or the Inspector General of the Depart19 ment to any officer of the Department other than the Dep20 uty Secretary.

21 (3) Except as described under paragraph (2) of this

22 section and section 104(b)(2), and notwithstanding any

23 other provision of law, the Secretary may delegate any

24 functions including the making of regulations to such offi25 cers and employees of the Department as the Secretary

26 may designate, and may authorize such successive
5

•S 171 ES

1 redelegations of such functions within the Department as

2 determined to be necessary or appropriate.

3 (c) DEPUTY SECRETARY.—There shall be in the De4 partment a Deputy Secretary of Environmental Protec5 tion, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with

6 the advice and consent of the Senate. The Deputy Sec7 retary shall perform such responsibilities as the Secretary

8 shall prescribe and shall act as the Secretary during the

9 absence or disability of the Secretary or in the event of

10 a vacancy in the position of Secretary.

11 (d) OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY.—The Office of the

12 Secretary shall consist of a Secretary and a Deputy Sec13 retary and may include an Executive Secretary and such

14 other executive officers as the Secretary may determine

15 necessary.

16 (e) REGIONAL OFFICES.—The Secretary is author17 ized to establish, alter, discontinue, or maintain such re18 gional or other field offices as he may determine necessary

19 to carry out the functions vested in him or other officials

20 of the Department.

21 (f) INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SEC22 RETARY.—(1) In addition to exercising other international

23 responsibilities under existing provisions of law, the Sec24 retary is—
6

•S 171 ES

1 (A) encouraged to assist the Secretary of State

2 to carry out his primary responsibilities for coordi3 nating, negotiating, implementing and participating

4 in international agreements, including participation

5 in international organizations, relevant to environ6 mental protection; and

7 (B) authorized and encouraged to—

8 (i) conduct research on and apply existing

9 research capabilities to the nature and impacts

10 of international environmental problems and de11 velop responses to such problems; and

12 (ii) provide technical and other assistance

13 to foreign countries and international bodies to

14 improve the quality of the environment.

15 (2) The Secretary of State shall consult with the Sec16 retary of Environmental Protection and such other per17 sons as he determines appropriate on such negotiations,

18 implementations, and participations described under para19 graph (1)(A).

20 (g) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY WITHIN THE

21 DEPARTMENT.—Except as provided under section 112,

22 nothing in the provisions of this Act—

23 (1) authorizes the Secretary of Environmental

24 Protection to require any action by any officer of

25 any executive department or agency other than offi-
7

•S 171 ES

1 cers of the Department of Environmental Protection,

2 except that this paragraph shall not affect any au3 thority provided for by any other provision of law

4 authorizing the Secretary of Environmental Protec5 tion to require any such actions;

6 (2) modifies any Federal law that is adminis7 tered by any executive department or agency; or

8 (3) transfers to the Department of Environ9 mental Protection any authority exercised by any

10 other Federal executive department or agency prior

11 to the date of the enactment of this Act, except the

12 authority exercised by the Environmental Protection

13 Agency.

14 (h) APPLICATION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVI15 RONMENTAL PROTECTION.—The provisions of this Act

16 apply only to activities of the Department of Environ17 mental Protection, except where expressly provided other18 wise.

19 (i) ISSUANCE OF PERMITS.—

20 (1) GUIDES.—At the time a person or small

21 business concern (as defined in section 3 of the

22 Small Business Act), including family farms, con23 tacts an officer or employee of the Department to

24 obtain a permit to engage in an activity under the

25 jurisdiction of the Department, the Secretary shall
8

•S 171 ES

1 make available, on request of the person, an em2 ployee of the Department to—

3 (A) act as a guide for the applicant in ob4 taining all necessary permits for the activity in

5 the least quantity of time practicable; and

6 (B) facilitate the gathering and dissemina7 tion of information with respect to the Federal

8 agencies and departments and agencies of

9 States and political subdivisions of States that

10 have a regulatory interest in the activity to re11 duce the period required to obtain all such nec12 essary permits.

13 (2) DUTIES OF SECRETARY.—In issuing a per14 mit to an applicant to carry out an activity under

15 the jurisdiction of the Department, the Secretary

16 shall—

17 (A) provide assistance and guidance to,

18 and otherwise facilitate the processing of the

19 application for, the applicant; and

20 (B) set reasonable deadlines for action to

21 be taken on an application for the permit.

22 (3) USE OF GUIDES.—An applicant that choos23 es to use the services of a guide referred to in para24 graph (1) may subsequently choose not to use the

25 services at any time after requesting the guide.
9

•S 171 ES

1 SEC. 104. ASSISTANT SECRETARIES.

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF POSITIONS.—There shall be

3 in the Department such number of Assistant Secretaries,

4 not to exceed 12, as the Secretary shall determine, each

5 of whom shall be appointed by the President, by and with

6 the advice and consent of the Senate.

7 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF ASSISTANT SECRETAR8 IES.—(1) The Secretary shall assign to Assistant Sec9 retaries such responsibilities as the Secretary considers

10 appropriate, including, but not limited to—

11 (A) enforcement;

12 (B) compliance monitoring;

13 (C) research and development;

14 (D) air;

15 (E) radiation;

16 (F) water;

17 (G) pesticides;

18 (H) toxic substances;

19 (I) solid waste;

20 (J) hazardous waste;

21 (K) hazardous waste cleanup;

22 (L) emergency response;

23 (M) international affairs;

24 (N) policy, planning, and evaluation;

25 (O) pollution prevention;

26 (P) congressional affairs;
10

•S 171 ES

1 (Q) intergovernmental affairs;

2 (R) public affairs;

3 (S) administration and resources management,

4 information resources management, procurement

5 and assistance management, and personnel and

6 labor relations; and

7 (T) regional operations and State and local ca8 pacity.

9 (2) The Secretary may assign and modify any respon10 sibilities at his discretion under paragraph (1), except that

11 the Secretary may not modify the responsibilities of any

12 Assistant Secretary without prior written notification with

13 explanation of such modification to the appropriate com14 mittees of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

15 (3) One of the Assistant Secretaries referred to under

16 paragraph (1) shall be an Assistant Secretary for Indian

17 Lands and shall be responsible for policies relating to the

18 environment of Indian lands and affecting Native Ameri19 cans.

20 (c) DESIGNATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES PRIOR TO

21 CONFIRMATION.—Whenever the President submits the

22 name of an individual to the Senate for confirmation as

23 Assistant Secretary under this section, the President shall

24 state the particular responsibilities of the Department

25 such individual shall exercise upon taking office.
11

•S 171 ES

1 (d) CONTINUING PERFORMANCE OF FUNCTIONS.—

2 On the effective date of this Act, the Administrator and

3 Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection

4 Agency shall be redesignated as the Secretary and Deputy

5 Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection,

6 Assistant Administrators of the Agency shall be redesig7 nated as Assistant Secretaries of the Department, the

8 General Counsel and the Inspector General of the Agency

9 shall be redesignated as the General Counsel and the In10 spector General of the Department, and the Chief Finan11 cial Officer of the Agency shall be redesignated as the

12 Chief Financial Officer of the Department, without re13 nomination or reconfirmation.

14 (e) CHIEF INFORMATION RESOURCES OFFICER.—(1)

15 The Secretary shall designate the Assistant Secretary

16 whose responsibilities include information resource man17 agement functions as required by section 3506 of title 44,

18 United States Code, as the Chief Information Resources

19 Officer of the Department.

20 (2) The Chief Information Resources Officer shall—

21 (A) advise the Secretary on information re22 source management activities of the Department as

23 required by section 3506 of title 44, United States

24 Code;
12

•S 171 ES

1 (B) develop and maintain an information re2 sources management system for the Department

3 which provides for—

4 (i) the conduct of and accountability for

5 any acquisitions made pursuant to a delegation

6 of authority under section 111 of the Federal

7 Property and Administrative Services Act of

8 1949 (40 U.S.C. 759);

9 (ii) the implementation of all applicable

10 government-wide and Department information

11 policies, principles, standards, and guidelines

12 with respect to information collection, paper13 work reduction, privacy and security of records,

14 sharing and dissemination of information, ac15 quisition and use of information technology,

16 and other information resource management

17 functions;

18 (iii) the periodic evaluation of and, as

19 needed, the planning and implementation of im20 provements in the accuracy, completeness, and

21 reliability of data and records contained with

22 Department information systems; and

23 (iv) the development and annual revision of

24 a 5-year plan for meeting the Department’s in25 formation technology needs; and
13

•S 171 ES

1 (C) report to the Secretary as required under

2 section 3506 of title 44, United States Code.

3 SEC. 105. DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARIES.

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF POSITIONS.—There shall be

5 in the Department such number of Deputy Assistant Sec6 retaries as the Secretary may determine.

7 (b) APPOINTMENTS.—Each Deputy Assistant Sec8 retary—

9 (1) shall be appointed by the Secretary; and

10 (2) shall perform such functions as the Sec11 retary shall prescribe.

12 (c) FUNCTIONS.—Functions assigned to an Assistant

13 Secretary under section 104(b) may be performed by one

14 or more Deputy Assistant Secretaries appointed to assist

15 such Assistant Secretary.

16 SEC. 106. OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL.

17 There shall be in the Department the Office of the

18 General Counsel. There shall be at the head of such office

19 a General Counsel who shall be appointed by the Presi20 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

21 The General Counsel shall be the chief legal officer of the

22 Department and shall provide legal assistance to the Sec23 retary concerning the programs and policies of the Depart24 ment.
14

•S 171 ES

1 SEC. 107. OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL.

2 The Office of Inspector General of the Environmental

3 Protection Agency, established in accordance with the In4 spector General Act of 1978, is hereby redesignated as the

5 Office of Inspector General of the Department of Environ6 mental Protection.

7 SEC. 108. SMALL BUSINESS COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE.

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Environ10 mental Protection shall establish within the Depart11 ment a Small Business Ombudsman Office (here12 after in this section referred to as the ‘‘Office’’). The

13 Office shall be headed by a Director designated by

14 the Secretary.

15 (2) DUTIES.—

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall re17 port directly to the Secretary. The Secretary,

18 acting through the Director, shall develop and

19 carry out programs of environmental compli20 ance and technical assistance for small business

21 concerns (as defined in section 3 of the Small

22 Business Act), including family farms.

23 (B) SPECIFIC DUTIES.—The duties of the

24 Office shall include—

25 (i) providing to small business con26 cerns—
15

•S 171 ES

1 (I) confidential compliance assist2 ance;

3 (II) explanations of environ4 mental regulatory requirements; and

5 (III) available environmental re6 ports and documents;

7 (ii) assembling and disseminating to

8 small business concerns information on ap9 proaches to achieving compliance with en10 vironmental laws and improving environ11 mental performance and product yield, in12 cluding new environmental technologies

13 and techniques for preventing pollution;

14 (iii) carrying out the functions as15 signed to the Small Business Ombudsman

16 under section 507 of the Clean Air Act

17 Amendments of 1990;

18 (iv) serving as the Department’s liai19 son to and advocate for the small business

20 community;

21 (v) ensuring, as appropriate, consider22 ation of the concerns of small business in

23 the regulatory development process, includ24 ing ensuring that reporting requirements

25 are consistent and avoid unnecessary re-
16

•S 171 ES

1 dundancy across regulatory programs, to

2 the extent possible, and ensuring effective

3 implementation of the Regulatory Flexibil4 ity Act;

5 (vi) coordinating the Department’s

6 small business compliance and technical

7 assistance programs with other Federal

8 and State agencies having responsibilities

9 for carrying out and enforcing environ10 mental laws; and

11 (vii) providing assistance in permit12 ting, where appropriate.

13 (b) COORDINATION WITH NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF

14 STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY.—Not later than 180 days

15 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of

16 Environmental Protection and the Secretary of Commerce

17 shall enter into such agreements as may be necessary to

18 permit the Department to provide technical assistance and

19 support to the Manufacturing Technology Centers admin20 istered by the National Institute of Standards and Tech21 nology of the Department of Commerce. Such assistance

22 shall include—

23 (1) preparing environmental assistance pack24 ages for small business concerns generally, and
17

•S 171 ES

1 where appropriate, for specific small business sec2 tors, including information on—

3 (A) environmental compliance require4 ments and methods for achieving compliance;

5 (B) new environmental technologies;

6 (C) alternatives for preventing pollution

7 that are generally applicable to the small busi8 ness sector; and

9 (D) guidance for identifying and applying

10 opportunities for preventing pollution at indi11 vidual facilities;

12 (2) providing technical assistance to small busi13 ness concerns seeking to act on the information pro14 vided under paragraph (1);

15 (3) coordinating with the National Institute of

16 Standards and Technology to identify those small

17 business sectors that need improvement in environ18 mental compliance or in developing methods to pre19 vent pollution; and

20 (4) developing and implementing an action plan

21 for providing assistance to improve environmental

22 performance of small business sectors in need of

23 such improvement.

24 (c) COORDINATION WITH OTHER FEDERALLY SUP25 PORTED EXTENSION PROGRAMS.—The Secretary of Envi-
18

•S 171 ES

1 ronmental Protection may coordinate with other small

2 business and agricultural extension programs and centers,

3 as appropriate, to provide environmental assistance to

4 small businesses.

5 SEC. 109. SMALL GOVERNMENTAL JURISDICTION COMPLI6 ANCE ASSISTANCE.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Environmental

8 Protection shall develop and carry out programs of envi9 ronmental compliance and technical assistance for small

10 governmental jurisdictions as defined in section 601(5) of

11 title 5, United States Code.

12 (b) SPECIFIC DUTIES.—The duties of the Secretary

13 of Environmental Protection shall include—

14 (1) providing to small governmental jurisdic15 tions—

16 (A) compliance assistance;

17 (B) explanations of environmental regu18 latory requirements; and

19 (C) available environmental reports and

20 documents;

21 (2) assembling and disseminating to small gov22 ernmental jurisdictions information on approaches to

23 achieving compliance with environmental laws and

24 improving environmental performance, including new
19

•S 171 ES

1 environmental technologies and techniques for pre2 venting pollution;

3 (3) designating liaisons to serve as advocates

4 for small governmental jurisdictions, as appropriate;

5 (4) ensuring, as appropriate, consideration of

6 the concerns of small governmental jurisdictions in

7 the regulatory development process, including ensur8 ing that reporting requirements are consistent and

9 avoid unnecessary redundancy across regulatory pro10 grams, to the extent possible, and ensuring effective

11 implementation of the Regulatory Flexibility Act;

12 and

13 (5) coordinating the Department of Environ14 mental Protection’s small governmental jurisdiction

15 environmental compliance and technical assistance

16 programs with other Federal and State agencies

17 having responsibilities for carrying out and enforcing

18 environmental laws; and

19 (6) providing assistance in permitting, where

20 appropriate.

21 SEC. 110. BUREAU OF ENVIRONMENTAL STATISTICS.

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—(1) There is established with23 in the Department a Bureau of Environmental Statistics

24 (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Bureau’’). The Bureau shall

25 be responsible for—
20

•S 171 ES

1 (A) compiling, analyzing, and publishing a com2 prehensive set of environmental quality statistics

3 which should provide timely summary in the form of

4 industrywide aggregates, multiyear averages, or to5 tals or some similar form and include information

6 on—

7 (i) the nature, source, and amount of pol8 lutants in the environment; and

9 (ii) the effects on the public and the envi10 ronment of those pollutants;

11 (B) promulgating guidelines for the collection of

12 information by the Department required for the sta13 tistics under this paragraph to assure that the infor14 mation is accurate, reliable, relevant, and in a form

15 that permits systematic analysis;

16 (C) coordinating the collection of information

17 by the Department for developing such statistics

18 with related information-gathering activities con19 ducted by other Federal agencies;

20 (D) making readily accessible the statistics pub21 lished under this paragraph; and

22 (E) identifying missing information of the kind

23 described under subparagraph (A) (i) and (ii), re24 viewing these information needs at least annually

25 with the Science Advisory Board, and making rec-
21

•S 171 ES

1 ommendations to the appropriate Department of En2 vironmental Protection officials concerning extra3 mural and intramural research programs to provide

4 such information.

5 (2) Nothing in the provisions of paragraph (1) shall

6 authorize the Bureau to require the collection of any data

7 by any other Department, State or local government, or

8 to establish observation or monitoring programs. The Bu9 reau shall not duplicate the information collection func10 tions of other Federal agencies.

11 (3) Information compiled by the Bureau of Environ12 mental Statistics, which has been submitted for purposes

13 of statistical reporting requirements of this law, shall not

14 be disclosed publicly in a manner that would reveal the

15 identity of the submitter, including submissions by Fed16 eral, State, or local governments, or reveal the identity of

17 any individual consistent with the provisions of section

18 552a of title 5, United States Code (the Privacy Act of

19 1974). This paragraph shall not affect the availability of

20 data provided to the Department under any other provi21 sion of law administered by the Department. The con22 fidentiality provisions of other statutes authorizing the col23 lection of environmental statistics shall also apply, includ24 ing but not limited to, section 14 of the Toxic Substances

25 Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2613), section 2(h) of the Federal
22

•S 171 ES

1 Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C.

2 136h), section 114(c) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.

3 741(c)), and section 1905 of title 18, United States Code.

4 (b) DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL STATISTICS.—

5 The Bureau shall be under the direction of a Director of

6 Environmental Statistics (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Di7 rector’’) who shall be appointed by the President, by and

8 with the advice and consent of the Senate. The term of

9 the Director shall be 4 years. The Director shall be a

10 qualified individual with experience in the compilation and

11 analysis of environmental statistics. The Director shall re12 port directly to the Secretary. The Director shall be com13 pensated at the rate provided for at level V of the Execu14 tive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United States

15 Code.

16 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL STATISTICS ANNUAL RE17 PORT.—On July 1, 1995, and each July 1 thereafter, the

18 Director shall submit to the President an Environmental

19 Statistics Annual Report (hereafter referred to as the

20 ‘‘Report’’). The Report shall include, but not be limited

21 to—

22 (1) statistics on environmental quality includ23 ing—

24 (A) The environmental quality of the Na25 tion with respect to all aspects of the environ-
23

•S 171 ES

1 ment, including, but not limited to, the air,

2 aquatic ecosystems, including marine, estuarine,

3 and fresh water, and the terrestrial ecosystems,

4 including, but not limited to, the forest, dry5 land, wetland, range, urban, suburban, and

6 rural environment; and

7 (B) changes in the natural environment,

8 including the plant and animal systems, and

9 other information for a continuing analysis of

10 these changes or trends and an interpretation

11 of their underlying causes;

12 (2) statistics on the effects of changes in envi13 ronmental quality on human health and nonhuman

14 species and ecosystems;

15 (3) documentation of the method used to obtain

16 and assure the quality of the statistics presented in

17 the Report;

18 (4) economic information on the current and

19 projected costs and benefits of environmental protec20 tion; and

21 (5) recommendations on improving environ22 mental statistical information.

23 (d) CONTINUING PERFORMANCE OF THE FUNCTIONS

24 OF THE DIRECTOR PENDING CONFIRMATION.—An indi25 vidual who, on the effective date of this Act, is performing
24

•S 171 ES

1 any of the functions required by this section to be per2 formed by the Director may continue to perform such

3 functions until such functions are assigned to an individ4 ual appointed as the Director under this Act.

5 (e) ADVISORY COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL STA6 TISTICS.—The Director shall appoint an Advisory Council

7 on Environmental Statistics, comprised of no more than

8 6 private citizens who have expertise in environmental sta9 tistics and analysis (except that at least one of such ap10 pointees should have expertise in economics) to advise the

11 Director on environmental statistics and analyses, includ12 ing whether the statistics and analyses disseminated by

13 the Bureau are of high quality and are based upon the

14 best available objective information. The Council shall be

15 subject to the provisions of the Federal Advisory Commit16 tee Act.

17 (f) REVIEW OF REGULATIONS.—For each proposed

18 new regulation and each proposed change to existing regu19 lations the Director shall publish in the Federal Register

20 as part of the notice of the proposed rulemaking, a com21 prehensive assessment of specific costs and benefits result22 ing from implementation of the proposed new regulation

23 or the proposed regulatory change including an assess24 ment of the total number of direct and indirect jobs to

25 be gained or lost as a result of implementation of the pro-
25

•S 171 ES

1 posed new regulation or the proposed regulatory change.

2 Such assessment shall be required to the extent that the

3 Department of Environmental Protection is not in compli4 ance with any applicable Executive Order requiring an

5 analysis of costs and benefits for proposed regulations

6 submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for

7 review. The assessment required by this subsection shall

8 not be construed to amend, modify, or alter any statute

9 and shall not be subject to judicial review. Nothing in this

10 section shall be construed to grant a cause of action to

11 any person.

12 SEC. 111. GRANT AND CONTRACT AUTHORITY FOR CER13 TAIN ACTIVITIES.

14 The Secretary may make grants to and enter into

15 contracts with State and local governments, Indian tribes,

16 universities, and other organizations to assist them in

17 meeting the costs of collecting specific data and other

18 short term activities that are related to the responsibilities

19 and functions under section 108(a)(1) (A), (B), (C), and

20 (D).

21 SEC. 112. STUDY OF DATA NEEDS.

22 (a) STUDY OF DATA NEEDS.—(1) No later than 1

23 year after the start of Bureau operations, the Secretary

24 of the Department of Environmental Protection, in con25 sultation with the Director of the Bureau and the Assist-
26

•S 171 ES

1 ant Secretary designated as Chief Information Resources

2 Officer, shall enter into an agreement with the National

3 Academy of Sciences for a study, evaluation, and report

4 on the adequacy of the data collection procedures and ca5 pabilities of the Department. No later than 18 months fol6 lowing an agreement, the National Academy of Sciences

7 shall report its findings to the Secretary and the Congress.

8 The report shall include an evaluation of the Department’s

9 data collection resources, needs, and requirements, and

10 shall include an assessment and evaluation of the following

11 systems, capabilities, and procedures established by the

12 Department to meet those needs and requirements:

13 (A) data collection procedures and capabilities;

14 (B) data analysis procedures and capabilities;

15 (C) the ability to integrate data bases;

16 (D) computer hardware and software capabili17 ties;

18 (E) management information systems, including

19 the ability to integrate management information sys20 tems;

21 (F) Department personnel; and

22 (G) the Department’s budgetary needs and re23 sources for data collection, including an assessment

24 of the adequacy of the budgetary resources provided

25 to the Department and budgetary resources used by
27

•S 171 ES

1 the Department for data collection needs and pur2 poses.

3 (2) The report shall include recommendations for im4 proving the Department’s data collection systems, capa5 bilities, procedures, data collection, and analytical hard6 ware and software, and for improving its management in7 formation systems.

8 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

9 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as necessary

10 to carry out the provisions of this section.

11 SEC. 113. MISCELLANEOUS EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS.

12 (a) PROHIBITED EMPLOYMENT AND ADVANCEMENT

13 CONSIDERATIONS.—Except as otherwise provided in this

14 Act, political affiliation or political qualification may not

15 be taken into account in connection with the appointment

16 of any person to any position in the career civil service

17 or in the assignment or advancement of any career civil

18 servant in the Department.

19 (b) REPORTS ON IMPLEMENTATION.—One year after

20 the date of the enactment of this title and again 3 years

21 after the date of the enactment of this title, the Secretary

22 shall report to the Senate Committees on Appropriations,

23 Governmental Affairs, and Environment and Public

24 Works and to the House of Representatives on the esti25 mated additional cost of implementing this title over the
28

•S 171 ES

1 cost as if this title had not been implemented, including

2 a justification of increased staffing not required in the exe3 cution of this title.

4 SEC. 114. TERMINATION OF THE COUNCIL ON ENVIRON5 MENTAL QUALITY AND TRANSFER OF FUNC6 TIONS.

7 (a) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS OF THE COUNCIL ON

8 ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY.—(1) Except as provided

9 under paragraph (2), all functions of the Council on Envi10 ronmental Quality under titles I and II of the National

11 Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and

12 under any other law, are transferred to the Secretary. The

13 Secretary is authorized to take all necessary action, in14 cluding the promulgation of regulations, to carry out these

15 functions.

16 (2) Referrals of interagency disagreements concern17 ing proposed major Federal actions significantly affecting

18 the quality of the human environment under section

19 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (42

20 U.S.C. 102(2)(C)) and concerning matters under section

21 309(b) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7609(b)) shall be

22 made to the President for resolution.

23 (b) TERMINATION OF THE COUNCIL ON ENVIRON24 MENTAL QUALITY.—(1) Section 204 of the National Envi25 ronmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4344) is amended by
29

•S 171 ES

1 striking out ‘‘Council’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Sec2 retary of Environmental Protection’’.

3 (2) Sections 202, 203, 205, 206, 207, and 208 of

4 the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4342,

5 4343, 4345, 4346, 4346a, and 4346b) are repealed.

6 (3) The Environmental Quality Improvement Act of

7 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4371 through 4375) is repealed.

8 (4) Section 204 of the National Environmental Policy

9 Act (42 U.S.C. 4344) (as amended by paragraph (1) of

10 this subsection) is redesignated as section 202 of such Act.

11 (5) The heading for title II of the National Environ12 mental Policy Act is amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘TITLE II

14 ‘‘ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REPORT’’.

15 (c) REFERENCES IN FEDERAL LAW.—Reference in

16 any other Federal law, Executive order, rule, regulation,

17 or delegation of authority, or any document of or relating

18 to the Council on Environmental Quality—

19 (1) with regard to functions transferred under

20 subsection (a)(1), shall be deemed to refer to the

21 Secretary; and

22 (2) with regard to disagreements and matters

23 described under subsection (a)(2), shall be deemed

24 to refer to the President.
30

•S 171 ES

1 (d) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Unobligated funds

2 available to the Council on Environmental Quality shall

3 remain available to the Department until expended for the

4 gradual and orderly termination of the Council and trans5 fer of Council functions as provided in this Act.

6 (e) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.—(1) All orders, determina7 tions, rules, regulations, permits, agreements, grants, con8 tracts, certificates, licenses, registrations, privileges, and

9 other administrative actions—

10 (A) which have been issued, made, granted, or

11 allowed to become effective by the President, by the

12 Council on Environmental Quality, or by a court of

13 competent jurisdiction, in the performance of func14 tions of the Council on Environmental Quality, and

15 (B) which are in effect at the time this Act

16 takes effect, or were final before the effective date

17 of this Act and are to become effective on or after

18 the effective date of this Act,

19 shall continue in effect according to their terms until

20 modified, terminated, superseded, set aside, or revoked in

21 accordance with law by the President, the Secretary of En22 vironmental Protection, or other authorized official, a

23 court of competent jurisdiction, or by operation of law.

24 (2) The provisions of this Act shall not affect any

25 proceedings or any application for any license, permit, cer-
31

•S 171 ES

1 tificate, or financial assistance pending before the Council

2 on Environmental Quality at the time this Act takes ef3 fect, but such proceedings and applications shall be contin4 ued. Orders shall be issued in such proceedings, appeals

5 shall be taken therefrom, and payments shall be made pur6 suant to such orders, as if this Act had not been enacted,

7 and orders issued in any such proceedings shall continue

8 in effect until modified, terminated, superseded, or re9 voked by a duly authorized official, by a court of com10 petent jurisdiction, or by operation of law. Nothing in this

11 paragraph shall be deemed to prohibit the discontinuance

12 or modification of any such proceeding under the same

13 terms and conditions and to the same extent that such

14 proceeding could have been discontinued or modified if

15 this Act had not been enacted.

16 (3) The provisions of this section shall not affect suits

17 commenced before the date this Act takes effect, and in

18 all such suits, proceedings shall be had, appeals taken, and

19 judgments rendered in the same manner and with the

20 same effect as if this Act had not been enacted.

21 (4) No suit, action, or other proceeding commenced

22 by or against the Council on Environmental Quality, or

23 by or against any individual in the official capacity of such

24 individual as an officer of the Council on Environmental
32

•S 171 ES

1 Quality, shall abate by reason of the enactment of this

2 Act.

3 (5) Any administrative action relating to the prepara4 tion or promulgation of a regulation by the Council on

5 Environmental Quality may be continued by the Depart6 ment or the President with the same effect as if this Act

7 had not been enacted.

8 (6) The contracts, liabilities, records, property, and

9 other assets and interests of the Council on Environmental

10 Quality shall, after the effective date of this Act, be con11 sidered to be the contracts, liabilities, records, property,

12 and other assets and interests of the Department.

13 SEC. 115. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

14 (a) ACCEPTANCE OF MONEY AND PROPERTY.—(1)

15 The Secretary may accept and retain money, uncompen16 sated services, and other real and personal property or

17 rights (whether by gift, bequest, devise, or otherwise) for

18 the purpose of carrying out the Department’s programs

19 and activities, except that the Secretary shall not endorse

20 any company, product, organization, or service. Gifts, be21 quests, and devises of money and proceeds from sales of

22 other property received as gifts, bequests, or devises shall

23 be credited in a separate fund in the Treasury of the Unit24 ed States and shall be available for disbursement upon the

25 order of the Secretary.
33

•S 171 ES

1 (2) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations and

2 guidelines setting forth the criteria the Department shall

3 use in determining whether to accept a gift, bequest, or

4 devise. Such criteria shall take into consideration whether

5 the acceptance of the property would reflect unfavorably

6 upon the Department’s or any employee’s ability to carry

7 out its responsibilities or official duties in a fair and objec8 tive manner, or would compromise the integrity of or the

9 appearance of the integrity of a Government program or

10 any official involved in that program.

11 (b) SEAL OF THE DEPARTMENT.—(1) On the effec12 tive date of this Act, the seal of the Environmental Protec13 tion Agency with appropriate changes shall be the seal of

14 the Department of Environmental Protection, until such

15 time as the Secretary may cause a seal of office to be made

16 for the Department of Environmental Protection of such

17 design as the Secretary shall approve.

18 (2)(A) Chapter 33 of title 18, United States Code,

19 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new

20 section:

21 ‘‘§ 716. Department of Environmental Protection Seal

22 ‘‘(a) Whoever knowingly displays any printed or other

23 likeness of the official seal of the Department of Environ24 mental Protection, or any facsimile thereof, in, or in con25 nection with, any advertisement, poster, circular, book,
34

•S 171 ES

1 pamphlet, or other publication, public meeting, play, mo2 tion picture, telecast, or other production, or on any build3 ing, monument, or stationery, for the purpose of convey4 ing, or in a manner reasonably calculated to convey, a

5 false impression of sponsorship or approval by the Govern6 ment of the United States or by any department, agency,

7 or instrumentality thereof, shall be fined not more than

8 $250 or imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both.

9 ‘‘(b) Whoever, except as authorized under regulations

10 promulgated by the Secretary of Environmental Protec11 tion and published in the Federal Register, knowingly

12 manufactures, reproduces, sells, or purchases for resale,

13 either separately or appended to any article manufactured

14 or sold, any likeness of the official seal of the Department

15 of Environmental Protection, or any substantial part

16 thereof, except for manufacture or sale of the article for

17 the official use of the Government of the United States,

18 shall be fined not more than $250 or imprisoned not more

19 than 6 months, or both.

20 ‘‘(c) A violation of subsection (a) or (b) may be en21 joined at the suit of the Attorney General of the United

22 States upon complaint by any authorized representative

23 of the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Pro24 tection.’’.
35

•S 171 ES

1 (B) The table of sections for chapter 33 of title 18,

2 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

3 thereof:

‘‘716. Department of Environmental Protection Seal.’’.

4 (c) ACQUISITION OF COPYRIGHTS AND PATENTS.—

5 The Secretary is authorized to acquire any of the following

6 described rights if the property acquired thereby is for use

7 by or for, or useful to, the Department:

8 (1) copyrights, patents, and applications for

9 patents, designs, processes, and manufacturing data;

10 (2) licenses under copyrights, patents, and ap11 plications for patents; and

12 (3) releases, before suit is brought, for past in13 fringement of patents or copyrights.

14 (d) ADVISORY COMMITTEE COMPENSATION.—The

15 Secretary is authorized to pay members of advisory com16 mittees and others who perform services as authorized

17 under section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, at rates

18 for individuals not to exceed the per diem rate equivalent

19 to the rate for level V of the Executive Schedule under

20 section 5316 of title 5, United States Code.

21 SEC. 116. INHERENTLY GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTIONS.

22 (a) GOVERNMENT OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.—(1)

23 Inherently governmental functions of the Department

24 shall be performed only by officers and employees of the

25 United States. For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘in-
36

•S 171 ES

1 herently governmental function’’ means any activity which

2 is so intimately related to the public interest as to man3 date performance by Government officers and employees.

4 Inherently governmental functions include those activities

5 which require either the exercise of discretion in applying

6 Government authority or the use of value judgment in

7 making decisions for the Government. The Secretary shall

8 promulgate regulations or internal guidance to implement

9 this section. This section is not intended, and may not be

10 construed, to create any right or benefit, substantive or

11 procedural, enforceable at law by a party against the Unit12 ed States, the Department, its officers, or any person.

13 (b) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—(1) The Secretary

14 shall by regulation require any person proposing to enter

15 into a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement whether

16 by sealed bid or negotiation, for the conduct of research,

17 development, evaluation activities, or for consulting serv18 ices, to provide the Secretary, prior to entering into any

19 such contract, agreement, or arrangement, with all rel20 evant information, as determined by the Secretary, bear21 ing on whether that person has a possible conflict of inter22 est with respect to—

23 (A) being able to render impartial, technically

24 sound, or objective assistance or advice in light of
37

•S 171 ES

1 other activities or relationships with other persons;

2 or

3 (B) being given an unfair competitive advan4 tage.

5 (2) Such person shall ensure, in accordance with reg6 ulations prescribed by the Secretary, compliance with this

7 section by subcontractors of such person who are engaged

8 to perform similar services.

9 (3) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘‘con10 sulting services’’ includes—

11 (A) management and professional support serv12 ices;

13 (B) studies, analyses, and evaluations;

14 (C) engineering and technical services, exclud15 ing routine engineering services such as automated

16 data processing and architect and engineering con17 tracts; and

18 (D) research and development.

19 (c) REQUIRE AFFIRMATIVE FINDING; CONFLICTS OF

20 INTEREST WHICH CANNOT BE AVOIDED; MITIGATION OF

21 CONFLICTS.—(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph

22 (2), the Secretary may not enter into any such contract,

23 agreement, or arrangement, unless he affirmatively finds,

24 after evaluating all such information and any other rel25 evant information otherwise available to him, either that—
38

•S 171 ES

1 (A) there is little or no likelihood that a conflict

2 of interest would exist; or

3 (B) that such conflict has been avoided after

4 appropriate conditions have been included in such

5 contract, agreement, or arrangement.

6 (2) If the Secretary determines that such conflict of

7 interest exists and that such conflict of interest cannot be

8 avoided by including appropriate conditions therein, the

9 Secretary may enter into such contract, agreement, or ar10 rangement, if the Secretary—

11 (A) determines that it is in the best interests of

12 the United States to do so; and

13 (B) includes appropriate conditions in such con14 tract, agreement, or arrangement to mitigate such

15 conflict.

16 (d) PUBLIC NOTICE REGARDING CONFLICTS OF IN17 TEREST.—The Secretary shall promulgate regulations

18 which require public notice to be given whenever the Sec19 retary determines that the award of a contract, agreement,

20 or arrangement may result in a conflict of interest which

21 cannot be avoided by including appropriate conditions

22 therein.

23 (e) DISCLAIMER.—Nothing in this section shall pre24 clude the Department from promulgating regulations to

25 monitor potential conflicts after the contract award.
39

•S 171 ES

1 (f) CENTRAL FILE.—The Department shall maintain

2 a central file regarding all cases when a public notice is

3 issued. Other information required under this section shall

4 also be compiled. Access to this information shall be con5 trolled to safeguard any proprietary information.

6 (g) REGULATIONS.—No later than 120 days after the

7 effective date of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate

8 regulations for the implementation of this section.

9 SEC. 117. REFERENCES.

10 Reference in any other Federal law, Executive order,

11 rule, regulation, or delegation of authority, or any docu12 ment of or pertaining—

13 (1) to the Administrator of the Environmental

14 Protection Agency shall be deemed to refer to the

15 Secretary of Environmental Protection;

16 (2) to the Environmental Protection Agency

17 shall be deemed to refer to the Department of Envi18 ronmental Protection;

19 (3) to the Deputy Administrator of the Envi20 ronmental Protection Agency shall be deemed to

21 refer to the Deputy Secretary of Environmental Pro22 tection; or

23 (4) to any Assistant Administrator of the Envi24 ronmental Protection Agency shall be deemed to
40

•S 171 ES

1 refer to an Assistant Secretary of the Department of

2 Environmental Protection.

3 SEC. 118. SAVINGS PROVISIONS.

4 (a) CONTINUING EFFECT OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS.—

5 All orders, determinations, rules, regulations, permits,

6 agreements, grants, contracts, certificates, licenses, reg7 istrations, privileges, and other administrative actions—

8 (1) which have been issued, made, granted, or

9 allowed to become effective by the President, by the

10 Administrator of the Environmental Protection

11 Agency, or by a court of competent jurisdiction, in

12 the performance of functions of the Administrator or

13 the Environmental Protection Agency, and

14 (2) which are in effect at the time this Act

15 takes effect, or were final before the effective date

16 of this Act and are to become effective on or after

17 the effective date of this Act,

18 shall continue in effect according to their terms until

19 modified, terminated, superseded, set aside, or revoked in

20 accordance with law by the President, the Secretary of En21 vironmental Protection, or other authorized official, a

22 court of competent jurisdiction, or by operation of law.

23 (b) PROCEEDINGS NOT AFFECTED.—The provisions

24 of this Act shall not affect any proceedings or any applica25 tion for any license, permit, certificate, or financial assist-
41

•S 171 ES

1 ance pending before the Environmental Protection Agency

2 at the time this Act takes effect, but such proceedings and

3 applications shall be continued. Orders shall be issued in

4 such proceedings, appeals shall be taken therefrom, and

5 payments shall be made pursuant to such orders, as if this

6 Act had not been enacted, and orders issued in any such

7 proceedings shall continue in effect until modified, termi8 nated, superseded, or revoked by a duly authorized official,

9 by a court of competent jurisdiction, or by operation of

10 law. Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to prohibit

11 the discontinuance or modification of any such proceeding

12 under the same terms and conditions and to the same ex13 tent that such proceeding could have been discontinued

14 or modified if this Act had not been enacted.

15 (c) SUITS NOT AFFECTED.—The provisions of this

16 Act shall not affect suits commenced before the date this

17 Act takes effect, and in all such suits, proceedings shall

18 be had, appeals taken, and judgments rendered in the

19 same manner and with the same effect as if this Act had

20 not been enacted.

21 (d) NONABATEMENT OF ACTIONS.—No suit, action,

22 or other proceeding commenced by or against the Environ23 mental Protection Agency, or by or against any individual

24 in the official capacity of such individual as an officer of
42

•S 171 ES

1 the Environmental Protection Agency, shall abate by rea2 son of the enactment of this Act.

3 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS RELATING TO PRO4 MULGATION OF REGULATIONS.—Any administrative ac5 tion relating to the preparation or promulgation of a regu6 lation by the Environmental Protection Agency may be

7 continued by the Department with the same effect as if

8 this Act had not been enacted.

9 (f) PROPERTY AND RESOURCES.—The contracts, li10 abilities, records, property, and other assets and interests

11 of the Environmental Protection Agency shall, after the

12 effective date of this Act, be considered to be the con13 tracts, liabilities, records, property, and other assets and

14 interests of the Department.

15 (g) SAVINGS.—The Department of Environmental

16 Protection and its officers, employees, and agents shall

17 have all the powers and authorities of the Environmental

18 Protection Agency.

19 SEC. 119. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

20 (a) PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION.—Section 19(d)(1)

21 of title 3, United States Code, is amended by inserting

22 before the period at the end thereof the following: ‘‘, Sec23 retary of Environmental Protection’’.

24 (b) DEFINITION OF DEPARTMENT, CIVIL SERVICE

25 LAWS.—Section 101 of title 5, United States Code, is
43

•S 171 ES

1 amended by adding at the end thereof the following: ‘‘The

2 Department of Environmental Protection’’.

3 (c) COMPENSATION, LEVEL I.—Section 5312 of title

4 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

5 thereof the following: ‘‘Secretary of Environmental Protec6 tion’’.

7 (d) COMPENSATION, LEVEL II.—Section 5313 of title

8 5, United States Code, is amended by striking out ‘‘Ad9 ministrator of Environmental Protection Agency’’ and in10 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘Deputy Secretary of Environ11 mental Protection’’.

12 (e) COMPENSATION, LEVEL IV.—Section 5315 of

13 title 5, United States Code, is amended—

14 (1) by striking out ‘‘Inspector General, Envi15 ronmental Protection Agency’’ and inserting in lieu

16 thereof ‘‘Inspector General, Department of Environ17 mental Protection’’; and

18 (2) by striking each reference to an Assistant

19 Administrator of the Environmental Protection

20 Agency and by adding at the end thereof the follow21 ing:

22 ‘‘Assistant Secretaries, Department of Environ23 mental Protection (12).

24 ‘‘General Counsel, Department of Environ25 mental Protection.’’; and
44

•S 171 ES

1 (3) by striking out ‘‘Chief Financial Officer,

2 Environmental Protection agency’’ and inserting in

3 lieu thereof ‘‘Chief Financial Officer, Department of

4 Environmental Protection’’.

5 (f) COMPENSATION, LEVEL V.—Section 5316 of title

6 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

7 thereof the following:

8 ‘‘Director of the Bureau of Environmental Sta9 tistics, Department of Environmental Protection.

10 ‘‘Executive Director of the Commission on Im11 proving Environmental Protection.’’.

12 (g) INSPECTOR GENERAL ACT.—The Inspector Gen13 eral Act of 1978 is amended—

14 (1) in section 11(1), by inserting ‘‘Environ15 mental Protection,’’ after ‘‘Energy,’’; and

16 (2) in section 11(2), by inserting ‘‘Environ17 mental Protection,’’ after ‘‘Energy,’’.

18 SEC. 120. ADDITIONAL CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

19 After consultation with the Committee on Govern20 mental Affairs and the Committee on Environment and

21 Public Works and other appropriate committees of the

22 United States Senate and the appropriate committees of

23 the House of Representatives, the Secretary of Environ24 mental Protection shall prepare and submit to the Con25 gress legislation which the Secretary determines is nec-
45

•S 171 ES

1 essary and appropriate containing technical and conform2 ing amendments to the United States Code, and to other

3 provisions of law, to reflect the changes made by this Act.

4 SEC. 121. SENSE OF THE SENATE.

5 It is the sense of the Senate that building the capac6 ity of State and local governments to more efficiently and

7 effectively implement and manage environmental regula8 tions should be a primary mission of the Department of

9 Environmental Protection.

10 SEC. 122. OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.

11 There is established within the Department the Office

12 of Environmental Justice. The Office of Environmental

13 Justice shall—

14 (1) develop a strategic plan to ensure equality

15 in environmental protection;

16 (2) evaluate whether environmental policy is

17 helping individuals who suffer the highest exposure

18 to pollution, and identify opportunities for prevent19 ing or reducing such exposure;

20 (3) compile an annual report on progress in

21 achieving environmental equity;

22 (4) require the collection of data on environ23 mental health effects so that impacts on different in24 dividuals or groups can be understood;
46

•S 171 ES

1 (5) identify environmental high impact areas

2 which are subject to the highest loadings of toxic

3 chemicals, through all media; and

4 (6) assess the health effects that may be caused

5 by emissions in the environmental high impact areas

6 of highest impact.

7 SEC. 123. HUMAN HEALTH AND SAFETY OR THE ENVIRON8 MENT FINAL REGULATIONS.

9 (a) In promulgating any final regulation relating to

10 human health and safety or the environment after the date

11 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Environmental

12 Protection shall publish in the Federal Register—

13 (1) an estimate, performed with as much speci14 ficity as practicable, of the risk to the health and

15 safety of individual members of the public addressed

16 by the regulation and its affect on human health or

17 the environment and the costs associated with imple18 mentation of, and compliance with, the regulation;

19 (2) a comparative analysis of the risk addressed

20 by the regulation relative to other risks to which the

21 public is exposed;

22 (3) the Secretary’s certification that—

23 (A) the estimate under paragraph (1) and

24 the analysis under paragraph (2) are based

25 upon a scientific evaluation of the risk to the
47

•S 171 ES

1 health and safety of individual members of the

2 public and to human health or the environment

3 and are supported by the best available sci4 entific data;

5 (B) the regulation will substantially ad6 vance the purpose of protecting the human

7 health and safety or the environment against

8 the specified identified risk; and

9 (C) the regulation will produce benefits to

10 the human health and safety or the environ11 ment that will justify the cost to the Govern12 ment and the public of implementation of and

13 compliance with the regulation.

14 (b) In the event that the Secretary cannot make the

15 certification required under subsection (a), the Secretary

16 shall report to Congress that such certification cannot be

17 made and shall include a statement of the reasons therefor

18 in such report and in the final regulation.

19 (c) The certification required by this section shall not

20 be construed to amend, modify, or alter any statute and

21 shall not be subject to judicial review. Nothing in this sec22 tion shall be construed to grant a cause of action to any

23 person.
48

•S 171 ES

1 SEC. 124. WETLAND DETERMINATIONS BY A SINGLE AGEN2 CY.

3 In consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, the

4 Secretary of Environmental Protection, the Secretary of

5 the Army, and the Secretary of the Interior, the President

6 shall, within 90 days of the date of enactment of this Act,

7 make recommendations and report to the Congress on

8 measures to—

9 (1) provide that a single Federal agency be re10 sponsible for making technical determinations, in11 cluding identification of wetlands, on agricultural

12 lands with respect to wetland or converted wetland

13 in order to reduce confusion among agricultural pro14 ducers; and

15 (2) provide that the Soil Conservation Service

16 be the Federal agency responsible for all such tech17 nical determinations concerning wetlands on agricul18 tural lands.

19 TITLE II—ESTABLISHMENT OF

20 THE COMMISSION ON IM21 PROVING ENVIRONMENTAL

22 PROTECTION

23 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT; MEMBERSHIP.

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Com25 mission on Improving Environmental Protection (here26 after referred to as ‘‘the Commission’’) whose 13 members
49

•S 171 ES

1 including the Chairman shall be composed of experts in

2 governmental organization (with emphasis on environ3 mental organization), management of organizations and

4 environmental regulation and improved environmental

5 governmental service delivery, consisting of—

6 (1) 7 members to be appointed by the Presi7 dent;

8 (2) 2 members to be appointed by the Speaker

9 of the House of Representatives;

10 (3) 1 member to be appointed by the Minority

11 Leader of the House of Representatives;

12 (4) 2 members to be appointed by the Senate

13 Majority Leader; and

14 (5) 1 member to be appointed by the Senate

15 Minority Leader.

16 (b) CHAIRMAN.—The Chairman of the Commission

17 shall be appointed by the President.

18 (c) POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION.—Notwithstand19 ing any other provision of this section, no more than 7

20 members of the Commission may be from the same politi21 cal party.

22 SEC. 202. COMMISSION RESPONSIBILITIES.

23 (a) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Commission shall be

24 responsible for examining and making recommendations

25 on the management and implementation of the environ-
50

•S 171 ES

1 mental laws and programs within the jurisdiction of the

2 Department of Environmental Protection in order to en3 hance the ability of the Department to preserve and pro4 tect human health and the environment. The Commission

5 shall make recommendations and otherwise advise the

6 President and the Congress on the need to—

7 (1) enhance and strengthen the management

8 and implementation of existing programs within the

9 Department;

10 (2) enhance the organization of the Department

11 to eliminate duplication and overlap between dif12 ferent programs;

13 (3) enhance the coordination between different

14 programs and offices within the Department;

15 (4) enhance the consistency of policies through16 out the Department;

17 (5) establish new and enhanced small business

18 and small governmental jurisdictions compliance as19 sistance programs, and to strengthen organizational

20 mechanisms in the Department for providing better

21 compliance and technical assistance to small busi22 nesses and small governmental jurisdictions; and

23 (6) enhance the capacity of State and local gov24 ernments to manage, finance, and implement envi25 ronmental laws (including regulations).
51

•S 171 ES

1 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission shall

2 provide specific steps and proposals for implementing the

3 Commission’s recommendations including an estimate of

4 the costs of implementing such recommendations, except

5 that the Commission shall not suggest substantive changes

6 in the policy expressed by existing laws.

7 (c) CONFLICT OF INTERESTS.—For purposes of the

8 provisions of chapter 11 of part I of title 18, United States

9 Code, a member of the Commission (to whom such provi10 sions would not otherwise apply except for this subsection)

11 shall be a special Government employee.

12 SEC. 203. REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS.

13 The Commission shall report to the President and the

14 Congress on its investigation, findings, and recommenda15 tions in an interim report no later than 12 months after

16 the effective date of this title, and in a final report no

17 later than 24 months after the effective date of this title.

18 The interim report shall be made available for public re19 view and comment, and the comments taken into account

20 in finalizing the report.

21 SEC. 204. COMMISSION STAFF.

22 The Commission shall appoint an Executive Director

23 who shall be compensated at a rate not to exceed the rate

24 of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive Sched25 ule under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code.
52

•S 171 ES

1 With the approval of the Commission the Executive Direc2 tor may appoint and fix the compensation of staff suffi3 cient to enable the Commission to carry out its duties.

4 SEC. 205. ADVISORY GROUPS.

5 The Chairman shall convene at least one advisory

6 group to assist the Commission in developing its rec7 ommendations. One advisory group shall be composed of

8 past staff of the Department of Environmental Protection

9 and its predecessor Environmental Protection Agency,

10 other Federal and State officials experienced in admin11 istering environmental protection programs, members of

12 the regulated community and members of public interest

13 groups organized to further the goals of environmental

14 protection. The Executive Director is authorized to pay

15 members of advisory committees and others who perform

16 services as authorized under section 3109 of title 5, Unit17 ed States Code, at rates for individuals not to exceed the

18 per diem rate equivalent to the rate for level V of the Ex19 ecutive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United

20 States Code. The advisory group shall be subject to the

21 provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

22 SEC. 206. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.

23 No later than 90 days after the date on which the

24 Commission submits its final report, the Commission shall

25 terminate unless otherwise directed by the President.
53

•S 171 ES

1 SEC. 207. FUNDING; AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000

3 in fiscal year 1993 and $2,000,000 in fiscal year 1994

4 to carry out the provisions of this title.

5 TITLE III—EFFECTIVE DATE

6 SEC. 301. EFFECTIVE DATE.

7 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall

8 take effect on such date during the 6-month period begin9 ning on the date of enactment, as the President may direct

10 in an Executive order. If the President fails to issue an

11 Executive order for the purpose of this section, this Act

12 and such amendments shall take effect 6 months after the

13 date of the enactment of this Act.

Passed the Senate May 4 (legislative day, April 19),

1993.

Attest:

Secretary.
54

•S 171 ES

S 171 ES——2

S 171 ES——3

S 171 ES——4

S 171 ES——5