Documents / Official release
This Clinton Presidential Library file holds National Security Council records on Presidential Determination No. 96-54, signed around September 28 to 30, 1996. The Determination renewed for one year an exemption under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The exemption covers the Air Force's operating location near Groom Lake, Nevada, and applies to any requirement to disclose classified information, not to environmental standards. It was issued while the Kasza v. Browner and Frost v. Perry litigation was on appeal. Supporting memos from Anthony Lake, the Deputy Secretary of Defense and NSC staff recommend the renewal.
2 5 SEP 1995 Attachment: SECAF Memo 50* MEMORANDUM FOR PRESIDENT CLINTON THRU: MR. LAKE SUBJECT: Classified Information Concerning the Air Force's Operating Location Near Groom Lake, Nevada DEPUTY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE 1O1O DEFENSE PENTAGON WASHINGTON, DC 20301-1010 J- ■+ck-T-f I Ml 11Ml On September 29,1995, you issued an exemption under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) protecting from disclosure classified information concerning an Air Force operating location near Groom Lake, Nevada. By statute, the exemption is effective for one year, unless renewed. The exemption was necessitated by a Federal district court ruling that held that classified information could not be witoheld from public disclosure under RCRA absent such an exemption. That ruling is now being appealed. In the meantime, and for reasons addressed in the attached memorandum from Secretary Widnall, I concur in her request and recommendation that you renew the exemption to provide continued protection for the full one-year statutory period while the matter is on appeal. I note that EPA Administrator Browner and the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division concur in this recommendation. 'yj |V> Ml
Not linked to a story yet.
Official release, from the nara collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 16 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.