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Title 42, The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-102

§7274 Environmental Impact Statements Relating to Defense Facilities of Department of Energy

Title 42 › CHAPTER 84 — DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY › SUBCHAPTER VI — ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS › Part C — General Administrative Provisions › § 7274

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must not start preparing an environmental impact statement for building or operating a Department of Energy defense facility if the estimated cost would be more than $250,000. The Secretary can only begin after notifying the Senate and House Armed Services Committees and waiting 30 days from when they get the notice, or if both committees give written agreement before the 30-day period ends. This limit does not apply to any statement the Secretary started preparing before December 4, 1981.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §7274

The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(1)The Secretary may not proceed with the preparation of an environmental impact statement relating to the construction or operation of a defense facility of the Department of Energy if the estimated cost of preparing such statement exceeds $250,000 unless—
(A)the Secretary has notified the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives of his intent to prepare such statement and a period of thirty days has expired after the date on which such notice was received by such committees; or
(B)the Secretary has received from each such committee, before the expiration of such thirty-day period, a written notice that the committee agrees with the decision of the Secretary regarding the preparation of such statement.
(2)The provisions of paragraph (1) shall not apply in the case of any environmental impact statement on which the Secretary began preparation before December 4, 1981.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was enacted as part of the Department of Energy National Security and Military Applications of Nuclear Energy Authorization Act of 1982, and not as part of the Department of Energy Organization Act which comprises this chapter.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

National Environmental Policy Act Compliance Report Requirement Pub. L. 101–510, div. C, title XXXI, § 3133, Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1832, directed Secretary of Energy, not later than 30 days after the end of each quarter of fiscal years 1991 and 1992, to submit to Congress a brief report on Department of Energy’s compliance with National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), which was to contain a brief description of each proposed action to be taken by the Department of Energy, the environmental impact of which was not clearly insignificant, and a description of the steps taken or proposed to be taken by the Department of Energy to assess the environmental impact of the proposed action, and if the Secretary found that the proposed action of the Department of Energy would have no significant impact, the Secretary was to include the rationale for that determination.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 7274

Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102