Documents / Official release
This Clinton Presidential Library file from the National Security Council holds Presidential Determination No. 97-35, dated September 26, 1997. It renews the exemption for the Air Force's operating location near Groom Lake, Nevada, under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The file also contains memoranda from Samuel Berger, James Baker, the Deputy Secretary of Defense and Air Force Secretary Sheila Widnall. They describe the Kasza v. Browner litigation and say the exemption shields classified information from disclosure but leaves environmental standards in force.
“The Pentagon”3 pages
6404 THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON ACTION MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT THE EXECUTIVE CLERKTHROUGH: SAMUEL R. BERGERFROM: SUBJECT: Purpose Background teirib' /Com] n^/- . laAs with To continue to exempt the Air Force from requirements concerning the inspection cc: Vice President Chief of Staff Presidential Determination on RCRA Exemption for the Operating Location at Groom Lake protectio Browner a Resources Divisio McGinty. word' and/ ublic disclosure d inventory of hazardous waste at the Air Force "operating location near Groom Lake." That ruling regains under appeal. Secretary of /D(----- --- recommend that you renew the exemption to provide continued /for national security information. EPA Administrator d^Department of Justice^ Environmental and Natural j--—‘-concur in this recommendation as does Katie ast year's exemption, the attached document is zTto exempt the location only from disclosure requirements ot from applicable environmental standards. You have twice issued an exemption under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (XCRA) protecting from disclosure classified information concerning an Air Force location near Groom Lake, Nevada. By statidte, the exemption is effective for one year, unless renewed. As a result, the attached exemption should be signed by September 27. The exemption was necessitated by litigation over RCRA/Compliance at the facility. While ruling that the information ih 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. In the interim, ±h«^Deputy efense Hamre and Secretary of the Air Force Widnall
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Official release, from the nara collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 24 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.