Title 22Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-73

§262m–5 Environmental impact statements; factors considered; promotion of activities by United States Executive Directors

Title 22 › Chapter CHAPTER 7— - INTERNATIONAL BUREAUS, CONGRESSES, ETC. › § 262m–5

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of the Treasury must tell the United States Executive Director at each multilateral development bank to push the bank to make sure environmental concerns that can’t be measured in money are counted when decisions are made. The bank must include with each loan or assistance plan a clear environmental report that looks at benefits and costs, ways to reduce harm, harms that cannot be avoided, and possible alternatives. The Secretary must also tell the U.S. Executive Director to actively promote five things: more loans for environmentally helpful projects; environmental programs in policy loans to protect resources and biodiversity; hiring more staff trained in ecology and social impact analysis; strong involvement of local, community, and indigenous groups; and early, full sharing of planning documents with concerned nongovernmental and community organizations.

Full Legal Text

Title 22, §262m–5

Foreign Relations and Intercourse — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States Executive Director of each multilateral development bank to vigorously and continuously urge that each bank identify and develop methods and procedures to insure that in addition to economic and technical considerations, unquantified environmental values be given appropriate consideration in decisionmaking, and include in the documents circulated to the Board of Executive Directors concerning each assistance proposal a detailed statement, to include assessment of the benefits and costs of environmental impacts and possible mitigating measures, on the environmental impact of the proposed action, any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided if the proposal is implemented, and alternatives to the proposed action.
(b)The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States Executive Director of each multilateral development bank to vigorously and continuously promote—
(1)increases in the proportion of loans supporting environmentally beneficial policies, projects, and project components;
(2)the establishment of environmental programs in appropriate policy-based loans for the purpose of improving natural resource management, environmental quality, and protection of biological diversity;
(3)increases in the proportion of staff with professional training and experience in ecology and related areas and in the areas of anthropological and sociological impact analysis to ensure systematic appraisal and monitoring of environmental and sociocultural impacts of projects and policies;
(4)active and systematic encouragement of participation by borrowing countries nongovernmental environmental, community and indigenous peoples’ organizations at all stages of preparations for country lending strategies, policy based loans, and loans that may have adverse environmental or sociocultural impacts; and
(5)full availability to concerned or affected nongovernmental and community organization, early in the preparation phase and at all subsequent stages of planning of full documentary information concerning details of design and potential environmental and sociocultural impacts of proposed loans.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification section 1306 of Pub. L. 95–118 is based on section 701 of title VII of H.R. 3750, One Hundredth Congress, as introduced Dec. 11, 1987, and enacted into law by Pub. L. 100–202.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

22 U.S.C. § 262m–5

Title 22Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73