§6281 — Title 10 Armed Forces | U.S. Code

§6281 Transfer of Defense Environmental Cleanup Funds

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— General Military Law › Part VI— ELEMENTS OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND OTHER MATTERS › Subpart B— Atomic Energy Defense › Chapter 607— BUDGET AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT MATTERS › Subchapter I— RECURRING NATIONAL SECURITY AUTHORIZATION PROVISIONS › § 6281

Last updated Apr 18, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Energy must let each Department of Energy field office manager move defense environmental cleanup money from one project or program to another run by that office. Only one transfer to or from any project is allowed in a fiscal year. Each transfer can be no more than $5,000,000. A manager may make a transfer only if it is needed to deal with a health, safety, or environmental risk or to use the cleanup money more efficiently. Transferred money cannot pay for something Congress banned or for a new, unauthorized program. The usual rules in section 6272 do not apply to these moves. The Secretary, through the Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management, must tell Congress about any transfer within 30 days. Program or project here means a field office’s defense cleanup activity that has been authorized and funded. Defense environmental cleanup funds are the appropriated money for those defense cleanup activities.

Title 10, §6281

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary of Energy shall provide the manager of each field office of the Department of Energy with the authority to transfer defense environmental cleanup funds from a program or project under the jurisdiction of that office to another such program or project.

(b)(1)Not more than one transfer may be made to or from any program or project under subsection (a) in a fiscal year.

(2)The amount transferred to or from a program or project in any one transfer under subsection (a) may not exceed $5,000,000.

(3)A transfer may not be carried out by a manager of a field office under subsection (a) unless the manager determines that the transfer is necessary—

(A)to address a risk to health, safety, or the environment; or

(B)to assure the most efficient use of defense environmental cleanup funds at the field office.

(4)Funds transferred pursuant to subsection (a) may not be used for an item for which Congress has specifically denied funds or for a new program or project that has not been authorized by Congress.

(c)The requirements of section 6272 shall not apply to transfers of funds pursuant to subsection (a).

(d)The Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management, shall notify Congress of any transfer of funds pursuant to subsection (a) not later than 30 days after such transfer occurs.

(e)In this section:

(1)The term “program or project” means, with respect to a field office of the Department of Energy, a program or project that is for defense environmental cleanup activities necessary for national security programs of the Department, that is being carried out by that office, and for which defense environmental cleanup funds have been authorized and appropriated.

(2)The term “defense environmental cleanup funds” means funds appropriated to the Department of Energy pursuant to an authorization for carrying out defense environmental cleanup activities necessary for national security programs.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in section 2750 of Title 50, War and National Defense, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 119–60, § 3111(b)(1).

Amendments

2025—Pub. L. 119–60, § 3111(d)(2)(B), realigned margins. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 119–60, § 3111(d)(2)(A), struck out pars. (1) to (4) headings which read as follows: “Number of transfers”, “Amounts transferred”, “Determination required”, and “Impermissible uses”, respectively.