Official Document Text
Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)
By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, and in furtherance of the purpose and policies of the Clean Air Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1857), the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended (33 U.S.C. 1251), the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 3251), the Noise Control Act of 1972 (42 U.S.C. 4901), the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1431), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, as amended by the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act of 1972 (7 U.S.C. 136), and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321), it is ordered as follows: SECTION 1. Policy. It is the purpose of this order to assure that the Federal Government, in the design, construction, management, operation, and maintenance of its facilities, shall provide leadership in the nationwide effort to protect and enhance the quality of our air, water, and land resources through compliance with applicable standards for the prevention, control, and abatement of environmental pollution in full cooperation with State and local governments. Compliance by Federal facilities with Federal, State, interstate, and local substantive standards and substantive limitations, to the same extent that any person is subject to such standards and limitations, will accomplish the objective of providing Federal leadership and cooperation in the prevention of environmental pollution. In light of the principle of Federal supremacy embodied in the Constitution, this order is not intended, nor should it be interpreted, to require Federal facilities to comply with State or local administrative procedures with respect to pollution abatement and control. SEC. 2. Definitions. As used in this order: (1) The term "Administrator" means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. (2) The term "Federal agencies" means the departments, agencies, establishments, and instrumentalities of the executive branch. (3) The term "State, interstate, and local agencies" means any of the following: (A) a State agency designated by the Governor of that State as an official State agency responsible for enforcing State and local laws relating to the prevention, control, and abatement of environmental pollution; (B) any agency established by two or more States and having substantial powers or duties pertaining to the prevention, control, and abatement of environmental pollution; (C) a city, county, or other local government authority charged with responsibility for enforcing ordinances or laws relating to the prevention, control, and abatement of environmental pollution; or (D) an agency of two or more municipalities located in the same State or in different States and having substantial powers or duties pertaining to the prevention, control, and abatement of environmental pollution. (4) The term "facilities" means the buildings, installations, structures, land, public works, equipment, aircraft, vessels, and other vehicles and property, owned by, or constructed or manufactured for the purpose of leasing to, the Federal Government. (5) The term "United States" means the fifty States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. SEC. 3. Responsibilities. (a) Heads of Federal agencies shall, with regard to all facilities under their jurisdiction in the United States: (1) Ensure that applicable standards specified in section 4 of this order are met on a continuing basis. (2) Cooperate with the Administrator and State, interstate, and local agencies in the prevention, control, and abatement of environmental pollution and, in accordance with guidelines issued by the Administrator, provide to the Administrator and to those agencies such information as is necessary to determine compliance with applicable standards. Such cooperation shall include development of an abatement plan and schedule for meeting applicable standards. (3) Present to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, annually, a plan to provide for such improvement in the design, construction, management, operation, and maintenance of existing facilities as may be necessary to meet applicable standards specified in section 4. (4) Consider the environmental impact in the initial stages of planning for each new facility or modification to an existing facility in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. (5) Include with all budget requests for the design and construction of new facilities or for modification of existing facilities funds for such measures as may be necessary to meet applicable standards specified in section 4. Budget requests shall reflect the most efficient alternative for meeting applicable standards. (6) Consult, as appropriate, with the Administrator and with State and local agencies concerning the best techniques and methods available for the prevention, control, and abatement of environmental pollution. (7) Ensure that any funds appropriated and apportioned for the prevention, control, and abatement of environmental pollution are not used for any other purpose unless permitted by law and unless specifically approved by the Office of Management and Budget. (b) Where activities are carried out at Federal facilities acquired by leasing or other Federal agreements, the head of the responsible agency may at his discretion, to the extent permissible under applicable statutes and regulations, require the lessee or permittee to assume full responsibility for complying with standards for the prevention, control, and abatement of environmental pollution. (c) Heads of Federal agencies responsible for the construction and operation of Federal facilities outside the United States shall assure that such facilities are operated so as to comply with the environmental pollution standards of general applicability in the host country or jurisdictions concerned. (d) The Administrator shall: (1) Provide technical advice and assistance to the heads of Federal agencies in connection with their duties and responsibilities under this order. (2) Maintain such review of Federal facilities' compliance with the standards specified in section 4 as may be necessary. (3) Provide liaison as required to assure that actions taken by Federal agencies pursuant to this order are coordinated with State, interstate, and local programs for the prevention, control, and abatement of environmental pollution. (4) Mediate conflicts between Federal agencies and State, interstate, or local agencies in matters affecting the application of, or compliance with, applicable standards specified in section 4. (5) Develop in consultation with the heads of other Federal agencies a coordinated strategy for Federal facility compliance with applicable standards specified in section 4 which incorporates, to the maximum extent practicable, common procedures for an integrated approach to Federal agency compliance with such standards, and issue such regulations and guidelines as are deemed necessary to facilitate implementation of that strategy and to provide a framework for coordination and cooperation among the Environmental Protection Agency, the other Federal agencies, and the State, interstate, and local agencies. (6) Maintain a continuing review of the implementation of this order and, from time to time, report to the President on the progress of the Federal agencies in implementing this order. SEC. 4. Standards. (a) Heads of Federal agencies shall ensure that all facilities under their jurisdiction are designed, constructed, managed, operated, and maintained so as to conform to the following requirements: (1) Federal, State, interstate, and local air quality standards and emission limitations adopted in accordance with or effective under the provisions of the Clean Air Act, as amended. (2) Federal, State, interstate, and local water quality standards and effluent limitations respecting the discharge or runoff of pollutants adopted in accordance with or effective under the provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended. (3) Federal regulations and guidelines respecting dumping of material into ocean waters adopted in accordance with the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended. (4) Guidelines for solid waste recovery, collection, storage, separation, and disposal systems issued by the Administrator pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended. (5) Federal noise emission standards for products adopted in accordance with provisions of the Noise Control Act of 1972 and State, interstate, and local standards for control and abatement of environmental noise. (6) Federal guidance on radiation and generally applicable environmental radiation standards promulgated or recommended by the Administrator and adopted in accordance with the Atomic Energy Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2011), and rules, regulations, requirements, and guidelines on discharges of radioactivity as prescribed by the Atomic Energy Commission. (7) Federal regulations and guidelines respecting manufacture, transportation, purchase, use, storage, and disposal of pesticides promulgated pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, as amended by the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act of 1972. (b) In those cases in which there are no environmental pollution standards as specified in subsection (a) for a particular geographic area or class of Federal facilities, the Administrator, in consultation with appropriate Federal, State, interstate, and local agencies, may issue regulations, which shall be published in the Federal Register, establishing environmental pollution standards for the purpose of this order. SEC. 5. Exemptions. (a) The heads of Federal agencies, in consultation with the Administrator, may, from time to time, identify facilities or uses thereof which are exempted from applicable standards specified in section 4 in the interest of national security or in extraordinary cases in which it is in the paramount interest of the United States. No such exemptions shall be made except as are permissible under applicable Federal law. (b) In any case in which the Administrator does not agree with a determination to exempt a facility or use thereof from the provisions of this order, the head of the Federal agency making such a determination must have the approval of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to exempt that facility or use thereof; except that, the Administrator is solely responsible for approval of exemptions under section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, as amended by the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act of 1972. (c) The heads of Federal agencies shall present to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget at the end of each calendar year a report of all exemptions made during that year, together with the justification for each such exemption. SEC. 6. Saving Provisions. Except to the extent that they are inconsistent with this order, all outstanding rules, regulations, orders, delegations, or other forms of administrative action issued, made, or otherwise taken under the order superseded by section 7 hereof or relating to the subject of this order shall remain in full force and effect until amended, modified, or terminated by proper authority. SEC. 7. Order Superseded. Executive Order No. 11507 of February 4, 1970, is hereby superseded. RICHARD NIXON The White House, December 17, 1973.