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.
6505 THE WHITE HOUSE WASH INGTON ACTION MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT THROUGH: THE EXECUTIVE CLERK FROM: ANTHONY SUBJECT: Purpose To continue Background Presidential Determination on RCRA Exemption for the Operating Location at Groom Lake to exempt the Air Force from public disclosure requirements concerning the inspection and inventory of hazardous waste at the Air Force "operating location near Groom Lake." That ruling is now being appealed, as is plaintiffs' challenge to the sufficiency of your original exemption. In the interim, Deputy Secretary of Defense White and Secretary of the Air Force Widnall recommend that you renew the exemption to provide continued protection for national security information while the matter is on appeal. EPA Administrator Browner and Department of Justice, Environmental and Natural Resources Division concur in this recommendation as does Katie McGinty. As with last year's exemption, the attached document is worded narrowly, to exempt the location only from disclosure requirements and not from applicable environmental standards. cc: Vice President Chief of Staff On September 29, 1995, you issued an exemption under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) protecting from disclosure classified information regarding an Air Force facility near Groom Lake, Nevada. By statute, the exemption is effective for one year, unless renewed. As a result, the attached exemption should be signed by September 29. The exemption was necessitated by litigation over RCRA compliance at the facility. While ruling that the information in question was appropriately classified, the Federal district court ruled that under RCRA classified information could only be protected from public disclosure pursuant to a Presidential exemption.
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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.