Documents / Official release
This 1995 Clinton Presidential Library file contains Presidential Determination No. 95-45, signed by President Clinton on September 29, 1995, and its supporting papers. The determination exempts the Air Force's operating location near Groom Lake, Nevada, from any hazardous waste law requirement to disclose classified information, following the lawsuits Kasza v. Browner and Frost v. Perry. The file also includes Air Force Secretary Sheila Widnall's unclassified declaration invoking the military and state secrets privilege, along with recommendation memos from Widnall, Deputy Secretary of Defense White and Anthony Lake.
“Cooper”5 pages
5 6. Invoking Military and State Secrets Privilege: It is my judgment, after personal consideration of the matter, that the national security information described in this Declaration and in the classified Declaration, concerning activities at the U.S. Air Force operating location near Groom Lake, Nevada, constitutes military and state secrets. As a result, disclosure of this information in documentary or testimonial evidence must be barred in the interests of national security of the United States. Pursuant to the authority vested in me as Secretary of the Air Force, I hereby invoke a formal claim of military and state secrets privilege with respect to the disclosure of the national security information listed in paragraph four of this Declaration and more fully discussed in the classified Declaration, whether through documentary or testimonial evidence. authorized access to the operating location near Groom Lake. The state representative’s role is and has been to monitor and enforce compliance with environmental laws and regulations and to advise on remedial efforts, if required. Appropriately cleared officers of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were recently granted access to the operating location near Groom Lake for inspection and enforcement of environmental laws. Federal inspectors from the Environmental Protection Agency commenced an inspection pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act, commonly referred to as a “RCRA inspection,” at the operating location near Groom Lake, Nevada on December 6, 1994. The Air Force has taken these steps to ensure full compliance with all applicable environmental laws. At the same time that the operating location near Groom Lake is being inspected for environmental compliance, it is essential to the national security that steps also be taken to prevent the disclosure of classified information. 7. Environmental Compliance: Although I have found it necessary to invoke the military and state secrets privilege, I believe it important to comment on the Air Force’s commitment to full compliance with the environmental laws of the United States. Our goal is to be the best possible
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Official release, from the nara collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 34 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.