I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 332 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to require the Department of Defense 
and all other defense-related agencies of the United States to fully 
comply with Federal and State environmental laws, including certain 
laws relating to public health and worker safety, that are designed 
to protect the environment and the health and safety of the public, 
particularly those persons most vulnerable to the hazards incident to 
military operations and installations, such as children, members of the 
Armed Forces, civilian employees, and persons living in the vicinity 
of military operations and installations. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 19, 2011 
Mr. FILNER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on Energy 
and Commerce, Transportation and Infrastructure, Natural Resources, 
and Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to require the De-
partment of Defense and all other defense-related agen-
cies of the United States to fully comply with Federal 
and State environmental laws, including certain laws re-
lating to public health and worker safety, that are de-
signed to protect the environment and the health and 
safety of the public, particularly those persons most vul-
nerable to the hazards incident to military operations 
and installations, such as children, members of the 
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Armed Forces, civilian employees, and persons living in 
the vicinity of military operations and installations. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Military Environmental Responsibility Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Purposes. 
Sec. 3. Compliance of Federal defense agencies with public safety and environ-
mental laws. 
Sec. 4. Applicability of NEPA to weapon system development and procurement. 
Sec. 5. Repeal of prohibitions on use of defense funds for environmental compli-
ance and payment of penalties. 
Sec. 6. Savings provision. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are as follows: 
(1) To require the Department of Defense and 
all other defense-related agencies of the United 
States, as defined in the amendment made by sec-
tion 3(a), to comply with all Federal and State laws 
that are designed to protect the environment or the 
health and safety of the public to the same extent 
as all other entities subject to those laws. 
(2) To entirely waive any and all sovereign im-
munity and to entirely revoke any and all exemp-
tions of the Department of Defense and all other de-
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fense-related agencies of the United States within 
the United States and abroad that might in any way 
limit or exempt those agencies from complying with 
all Federal and State environmental laws designed 
to protect the health and safety of the public or the 
environment. 
(3) To leave no ambiguity for the executive or 
judicial branches that the Department of Defense 
and all other defense-related agencies are fully sub-
ject to all the requirements and possible enforcement 
of all Federal and State environmental laws designed 
to protect the health and safety of the public or the 
environment. 
SEC. 3. COMPLIANCE OF FEDERAL DEFENSE AGENCIES 
WITH PUBLIC SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL 
LAWS. 
(a) COMPLIANCE REQUIRED.—Chapter 160 of title 
10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
the following new section: 
‘‘§ 2711. Applicability of environmental laws to the 
Department of Defense and defense-re-
lated agencies 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘Federal defense agency’ 
means— 
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‘‘(A) the Department of Defense; 
‘‘(B) the Department of Energy; 
‘‘(C) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; 
‘‘(D) the Office of Naval Nuclear Reactors 
provided for by Executive Order 12344 (47 
Fed. Reg. 4979; 50 U.S.C. 2511 note; Feb-
ruary 3, 1982), relating to the Naval Nuclear 
Propulsion Program; 
‘‘(E) any other defense-related agency of 
the United States designated by the President 
for purposes of this section; and 
‘‘(F) installations, facilities, and operations 
of the Department of Defense and other de-
fense-related agencies covered by this para-
graph, whether located or conducted inside or 
outside of the United States. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘defense agency head’ means— 
‘‘(A) the Secretary of Defense, with respect 
to the Department of Defense and installations, 
facilities, and operations of the Department of 
Defense, whether located or conducted inside or 
outside of the United States; and 
‘‘(B) the head of a Federal defense agency 
covered by any of subparagraphs (B) through 
(E) of paragraph (1), with respect to that agen-
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cy and installations, facilities, and operations of 
that agency, whether located or conducted in-
side or outside of the United States. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘administering Federal agency’ 
means the Federal agency responsible for the admin-
istration or enforcement, or both, of a Federal law 
covered by subsection (c). In most cases that agency 
is the Environmental Protection Agency. 
‘‘(4) The term ‘State’ includes any unit of local 
government within a State, and the term ‘State law’ 
includes any local law and any interstate compact or 
agreement. 
‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS.— 
The substantive and procedural requirements of each of 
the laws covered by subsection (c) shall apply to each Fed-
eral defense agency in the same manner and to the same 
extent as any person is subject to those requirements. To 
the extent not provided before the date of the enactment 
of the Military Environmental Responsibility Act in any 
other provision of law, the United States hereby expressly 
waives any immunity, and revokes any exemption, other-
wise applicable to a Federal defense agency with respect 
to any such substantive or procedural requirement. 
‘‘(c) COVERED LAWS.—The laws covered by this sub-
section are all Federal laws, including treaties and regula-
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tions, and all State laws, that are designed to protect the 
environment or designed to protect the health and safety 
of the public. At a minimum, those laws include the fol-
lowing Federal laws and their analogous State counter-
parts: 
‘‘(1) The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 
U.S.C. 2011 et seq.). 
‘‘(2) The Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et 
seq.). 
‘‘(3) The Comprehensive Environmental Re-
sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 
U.S.C. 9601 et seq.). 
‘‘(4) The Coastal Zone Management Act of 
1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.). 
‘‘(5) The Department of Energy Organization 
Act (42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.). 
‘‘(6) The Emergency Planning and Community 
Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 11001 et 
seq.). 
‘‘(7) The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 
‘‘(8) The Federal Water Pollution Control Act 
(33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.). 
‘‘(9) The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 
1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.). 
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‘‘(10) The National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 
‘‘(11) The Noise Control Act of 1972 (42 
U.S.C. 4901 et seq.). 
‘‘(12) The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 
(42 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.). 
‘‘(13) The Occupational Safety and Health Act 
of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.). 
‘‘(14) The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 
2701 et seq.). 
‘‘(15) The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et 
seq.). 
Notwithstanding the first sentence of this subsection, the 
Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.) and 
the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.) 
are not covered by this subsection, such laws containing 
sovereign immunity waiver provisions that otherwise ap-
propriately provide for protection of the environment and 
the health and safety of the public. 
‘‘(d) COVERED SUBSTANTIVE AND PROCEDURAL RE-
QUIREMENTS.—(1) The substantive and procedural re-
quirements referred to in subsection (b) include the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘(A) All regulatory standards, guidelines, and 
prohibitions including all emission standards, tox-
icity standards, exposure standards, and use prohibi-
tions. 
‘‘(B) All administrative orders. 
‘‘(C) All civil and administrative penalties and 
fines, regardless of whether such penalties or fines 
are punitive or coercive in nature or are imposed for 
isolated, intermittent, or continuing violations. 
‘‘(D) All conditions for permits or reporting. 
‘‘(E) All provisions for injunctive relief and 
such sanctions as may be imposed by a court to en-
force such relief. 
‘‘(F) The payment of service charges. 
‘‘(2) The service charges referred to in paragraph 
(1)(F) include fees or charges assessed in connection with 
the processing and issuance of permits, renewal of per-
mits, amendments to permits, review of plans, studies, and 
other documents, and inspection and monitoring of facili-
ties, as well as any other nondiscriminatory charges that 
are assessed in connection with a Federal or State regu-
latory program under a law covered by subsection (c). 
‘‘(3) Neither the United States, nor any agent, em-
ployee, or officer thereof, shall be immune or exempt from 
any process or sanction of any State or Federal Court with 
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respect to the enforcement of any such injunctive relief. 
No agent, employee, or officer of the United States shall 
be personally liable for any civil penalty under any Federal 
or State law covered by subsection (c) with respect to any 
act or omission within the scope of the official duties of 
the agent, employee, or officer. An agent, employee, or of-
ficer of the United States shall be subject to any criminal 
sanction (including any fine or imprisonment) under any 
Federal or State law covered by subsection (c), but no de-
partment, agency, or instrumentality of the executive, leg-
islative, or judicial branch of the United States shall be 
subject to any such sanction. 
‘‘(e) USE OF EXEMPTION AUTHORITY.—If a Federal 
law covered by subsection (c) authorizes the President or 
the head of the administering Federal agency to grant ex-
emptions from any substantive or procedural requirement 
of that law, any use of that authority on behalf of a Fed-
eral defense agency after the date of the enactment of the 
Military Environmental Responsibility Act shall be effec-
tive only for a specified period, not to exceed 180 days, 
unless such period is specifically extended by Act of Con-
gress. 
‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.— 
The head of an administering Federal agency shall com-
mence an administrative enforcement action against a de-
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fense agency head pursuant to the enforcement authorities 
contained in the relevant Federal law covered by sub-
section (c) in the same manner and under the same cir-
cumstances as an action would be initiated against an-
other person. Any voluntary resolution or settlement of 
such an action shall be set forth in a consent order. 
‘‘(g) CITIZEN SUITS.—(1) Except as provided in 
paragraph (3) or (4), any person may commence a civil 
action on the person’s own behalf against— 
‘‘(A) a defense agency head who is alleged to be 
in violation of any permit, standard, regulation, con-
dition, requirement, prohibition, or order that has 
become effective pursuant to a Federal law covered 
by subsection (c); or 
‘‘(B) the head of an administering Federal 
agency where there is alleged a failure of the head 
of the administering Federal agency to perform any 
act or duty under a Federal law covered by sub-
section (c) that is not discretionary. 
‘‘(2) Any action under paragraph (1)(A) shall be 
brought in the district court for the district in which the 
alleged violation occurred. Any action brought under para-
graph (1)(B) may be brought in the district court for the 
district in which the alleged violation occurred or in the 
District Court of the District of Columbia. The district 
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court shall have jurisdiction, without regard to the amount 
in controversy or the citizenship of the parties— 
‘‘(A) to enforce the permit, standard, regula-
tion, condition, requirement, prohibition, or order, 
referred to in paragraph (1)(A); 
‘‘(B) to restrain a defendant from continuing a 
violation of a Federal law covered by subsection (c); 
‘‘(C) to order the head of an administering 
Federal agency to perform the act or duty referred 
to in paragraph (1)(B); 
‘‘(D) to order a defendant to take such other 
action as may be necessary; and 
‘‘(E) to apply any appropriate civil penalties 
available under the Federal law at issue. 
‘‘(3) No action may be commenced under paragraph 
(1)(A)— 
‘‘(A) prior to 60 days after the plaintiff has 
given notice of the violation to— 
‘‘(i) the head of the relevant administering 
Federal agency; 
‘‘(ii) the State in which the alleged viola-
tion occurs; and 
‘‘(iii) the defense agency head in violation 
of the permit, standard, regulation, condition, 
requirement, prohibition, or order at issue; or 
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‘‘(B) if the head of the administering Federal 
agency or State has commenced and is diligently 
prosecuting a civil or criminal action in a court of 
the United States or a State to require compliance 
with such permit, standard, regulation, condition, re-
quirement, prohibition, or order. 
‘‘(4) No action may be commenced under paragraph 
(1)(B) prior to 60 days after the plaintiff has given notice 
to the head of the relevant administering Federal agency 
that the plaintiff will commence such action. Notice under 
this subsection shall be given in such manner as the head 
of the administering Federal agency shall prescribe by reg-
ulation. 
‘‘(5) In any action under this subsection, the head 
of the relevant administering Federal agency, if not a 
party, may intervene as a matter of right. 
‘‘(6) The court, in issuing any final order in any ac-
tion brought pursuant to this subsection, may award costs 
of litigation (including reasonable attorney and expert wit-
ness fees) to the prevailing or substantially prevailing 
party, whenever the court determines such an award is 
appropriate. The court may, if a temporary restraining 
order or preliminary injunction is sought, require the filing 
of a bond or equivalent security in accordance with the 
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 
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‘‘(7) Nothing in this subsection shall restrict any 
right that a person (or class of persons) may have under 
a Federal law covered by subsection (c) or common law 
to seek enforcement of that Federal law or to seek any 
other relief (including relief against the head of an admin-
istering Federal agency or a State agency). 
‘‘(h) JUDICIAL INTERPRETATION.—The courts of the 
United States and of the States shall construe the provi-
sions of this section and any other provision of law waiving 
the sovereign immunity of the United States under a law 
covered by subsection (c) liberally to effect the intent of 
Congress that the United States, acting through a covered 
defense agency, comply with, and be subject to enforce-
ment under, those laws to the same extent as private par-
ties.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 
at the end the following new item: 
‘‘2711. Applicability of environmental laws to the Department of Defense and 
defense-related agencies.’’. 
SEC. 4. APPLICABILITY OF NEPA TO WEAPON SYSTEM DE-
VELOPMENT AND PROCUREMENT. 
Section 2431 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
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‘‘(d) In the case of each weapon system for which 
the Secretary of Defense is required to submit documents 
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall ensure that all 
development and procurement decisions regarding the 
weapon system are made in compliance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.).’’. 
SEC. 5. REPEAL OF PROHIBITIONS ON USE OF DEFENSE 
FUNDS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE 
AND PAYMENT OF PENALTIES. 
(a) RESTORED AVAILABILITY OF RESTORATION AC-
COUNT.—Section 2703 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by striking subsection (f); and 
(2) by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as 
subsections (f) and (g), respectively. 
(b) FORMERLY USED SITE REMEDIAL ACTION PRO-
GRAM.—Section 3131 of the National Defense Authoriza-
tion Act for Fiscal Year 2000 (10 U.S.C. 2701 note) is 
repealed. 
(c) CONFORMING REPEAL.—Section 8149 of the De-
partment of Defense Appropriations Act, 2000 (Public 
Law 106–79; 113 Stat. 1271), is repealed. 
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SEC. 6. SAVINGS PROVISION. 
Nothing in section 2711 of title 10, United States 
Code, as added by section 3 of this Act, or any other provi-
sion of this Act, may be construed as creating an inference 
that any provision of Federal law enacted before the date 
of the enactment of this Act that waived the sovereign im-
munity of the United States under a law of the United 
States or of any State was not fully effective and in force 
under its own terms before the date of the enactment of 
this Act. 
Æ 
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